I’m taking a seat and pulling my chair in when Lincoln returns with a bright smile on his face. As he holds the phone in the air, he’s practically dancing.

“I have good news,” he says as if it’s an announcement.

“What’s up?” Rex asks.

Lincoln points at me with his phone. “And, babe, you should be receiving a call soon, but I can’t keep this from you. Louis wasn’t supposed to tell me, but he thinks you should know.”

I frown at Louis even though I shouldn’t. I appreciate all the help he’s given with Quinton, but I hate that he’s connected to Isla. It makes me uneasy because all I remember is the look of heartbreak she gave when Lincoln told her to leave.

She loves my boyfriend.

Therefore, I don’t like her.

Lincoln sets his phone down before sliding his hands together. “First, they have Quinton in custody.”

“Hell yes,” Kyle says while Chloe squeals, shimmying in her chair.

Quinton hasn’t sent a text or made an unwanted visit since his arrest.

“With the evidence they have, he should be facing some time,” Lincoln continues. “I don’t know all the details yet, but we did it.” He walks around the table and stops to high-five Rex. “And secondly …” He pauses, going quiet while taking the seat next to me. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he beams down in my direction. “Cass, Louis plans to expunge your record.”

“What?” I gasp.

He nods, and Kyle jumps out of his chair, knocking his fists in the air.

“Holy shit!” Rex shouts. “That’s fucking awesome.”

My heart batters against my chest, and I repeat, “What?” because I have no other words.

For so long, I’ve accepted being a criminal. Having that misdemeanor was a part of me, forever who I would be. That might change now.

Lincoln nods. “Yep, say good-bye to your record.”

Tears are in my mother’s eyes. “That means … that means you can go back to school, get a degree, go back to do whatever you want.”

“Best damn birthday present ever,” Lincoln says, smashing a kiss to my forehead.

We’re still riding the high of Quinton going down and me losing my record when we get back to the townhome. We talked on the way home, and Lincoln decided he wanted to move in with us.

Best day ever, seriously.

I’m ecstatic for us to take the next step in our relationship.

All the lights, except for the hallway bathroom, are off when we walk in, which is strange because Grace’s car is parked in the drive. She rarely leaves the lights off. The girl sleeps with a night-light and has one in every room.

Lincoln glances at me, his brow raised in concern. “You think everything is okay?”

No.