“If it makes you feel any better, Cassidy has never brought a guy home since high school, so she must really like you. She seems happier than she’s been in months. Don’t break her heart.”

“Did you enjoy meeting your future in-laws?” Cassidy asks when we get back to her place.

I nod and smile, both of them overexaggerated. “Oh, yes, I definitely enjoyed it. I don’t think it could’ve gone any better.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “Of course, my brother had to know you’ve been in trouble with the law.”

I slump down on her bed. “It was all over the news. I tend to be more shocked when people don’t know or don’t recognize my last name.”

It’s humiliating when I see the recognition cross people’s faces when they figure out who I am.

What I am.

It’s no secret that Cassidy deserves better than someone with a record, but if she’s okay with it, then why would I run away from my own happiness?

I want that life—the life that Archer, Cohen, and Maliki have. A relationship. Another half. Someone to come home to. Someone to be my everything and vice versa. Never have I wanted a relationship before. Never has someone slid into my life, into my head, and—dare I say it—into my heart.

Cassidy joins me on the bed, perky and ready for conversation. “Other than that, what’d you think?”

“They’re cool. Your mom is a kick-ass cook.”

She smiles with pride. “My mom is a kick-ass everything.”

I shift to face her, leaning in, and kiss her cheek. “Just like her daughter.”

She smiles harder before it slips. “What are we?”

Now, if that question doesn’t nearly knock me on the ass. It’s not the turn I expected this conversation to take so quickly. It is the turn we need to take though because there’s nothing worse than not knowing where you stand with somebody—with someone you want to stand next to, love, and be with.

“What do you mean?” I choke out.

For people who like to talk about everything, we’ve done a poor job of broaching serious topics. It’s almost as if dragging out the complicated questions will change something and ruin us.

Nervousness covers her face as she plays with her hands. “I mean, my sister asked me what we were tonight, and I had no idea what to tell her.”

My chest tightens. “I guess we’d better clear that up then, huh?”

She raises her gaze, her eyes searching mine. “We should definitely clear that up.”

My heart turns in my chest. “I’m whatever you want me to be.”

I want to be her everything.

I want her to want every piece of me for the rest of our lives.