Chase Our Forever (Sutten Mountain #3)

52. Dean

52

DEAN

My friends and family are gathered around the large table we’d reserved for the night at Slopes when I clear my throat and sit up straight in my chair. “Liv and I have something we want to tell all of you,” I begin, waiting to get their attention.

The table goes quiet as all eyes look at us. I suddenly feel nervous, having everyone’s attention on me. After Liv’s accident, I hadn’t wanted to celebrate my birthday at all. I’d just wanted to spend the day in bed with her, nursing her back to health. She had other plans and conspired with Hattie and Ashton to still give me a birthday celebration, even if it was two weeks late. I’d protested at first, but now, as the people I care about most sit around the table and wait for me to speak, I realize how nice it is to have a night out with them.

I look at Liv for a moment, fully aware everyone is waiting for me to speak. It seems like I went over many different things in my head that I could say to tell them about Liv and me, but I’ve forgotten everything.

“If you’re about to tell us that the two of you are banging, we already know,” Reed shouts from the opposite end of the table.

Pippa lets out a snort.

Jace high-fives Reed.

Hattie and Ashton share a knowing look.

Cade tries to hide his laugh by coughing into his arm.

Liv’s entire face turns pink.

And I stare at my brother in disbelief, not knowing how to even respond to him. “Excuse me?” I ask.

Reed laughs. “It’s obvious, Dean, and we’re very happy for you. It took you long enough to finally admit you were crazy about her. I could tell the first time I saw you two together. It’s why I nudged it along a little.” He winks across the table at Finn.

I can’t help but laugh. I already suspected Reed was trying to make me jealous with his insistence on getting Liv alone and asking her on dates. I shake my head at him, looking to my side at a beaming Liv. I wrap my arm around her and pull her body to mine, planting a kiss on her lips in front of everyone.

“Well, even though it was already apparently so obvious, I just wanted to tell you that this beautiful, incredible woman is my girlfriend. And I love her, and somehow, I’m lucky enough that she loves me, too.”

Pippa’s chair crashes to the ground as she stands up and claps dramatically. Mare joins her until the entire table stands up and is clapping for us.

Liv buries her face in the crook of my neck, her body shaking with laughter. “Oh my god, they’re making this a bigger deal than I thought,” she mutters for only me to hear.

“Let them.” I kiss her temple, pure happiness radiating through me at the way everyone celebrates us.

Almost everyone here tonight saw me in my darkest hours. They sat there with me, letting me have all the time I needed to mourn the life I thought I’d have with Selena. They encouraged me to go on and were there for me despite the shell of a man I became after Selena’s death.

To have them here with me tonight, to get to tell them that I made it out and somehow got lucky enough to find love again, it means everything to me. I want to cherish this moment with them.

“I knew it!” Pippa gloats, taking a seat again. She begins to pull one bottle of beer after the next out of the buckets that line our table until everyone has one in their hand. She points the top of her bottle at Liv and me with a wide grin on her face. “Lexi and I are matchmakers.”

Liv reaches out her hand and waits for Pippa to take it. “It really is because of you, Pippa. Thank you.”

Camden lets out a low, amused groan as Liv pulls her hand back. “Giving her the credit is really going to go to her head.”

Pippa places a kiss on his cheek. “Hell yes it is, Hunter. Deal with it.”

I shake my head at them before looking back to the people here to celebrate my birthday. “No matter who we’re giving credit to, I really just have to give credit to the woman right next to me.” I look at Liv, reaching up to cup her cheek. “I’m so happy you took that nanny job and that you didn’t let my grumpiness deter you for a second. I love you and I’m excited for the world to know it.”

Liv leans forward and kisses me. There’s a wild smile on her mouth when she pulls away. “I like the grumpiness. Don’t ever change.”

This makes everyone break out into laughter.

“To the happy couple!” Hattie calls, holding up her beer to cheers. “To Liv’s quick recovery. And I guess Dean’s birthday.”

Everyone picks up their beers and joins in on the cheers before taking a drink. We settle into an easy conversation between all of us. Since Selena passed, I hadn’t celebrated my birthday. It didn’t feel right to celebrate getting another year older when she’d never have another birthday again.

Now, I’m in a better mindset where I can accept that Selena would want me to celebrate every single birthday I’m given. She wouldn’t want me to live in a state of darkness and grief forever. I don’t know if that’s something I wouldn’t have realized if not for Liv.

I grab the corner of Liv’s chair and pull her closer to me, wanting her as close as possible as I put my arm around the back of her chair.

“Liv! Are you going to ride the bull?” Pippa asks, wagging her eyebrows in excitement.

Liv’s eyes go wide before she shakes her head. “I don’t think I wore the right clothes for that. I think I’d rip my jeans.”

I laugh. “I’ll buy you another pair again. Ride the bull if you want.”

Liv’s head whips in my direction. “What do you mean again ? I bought these at Sutten Mountain Treasures.”

I clear my throat. “Yeah. You did.” It turns out I’m a terrible liar because she raises her eyebrows and playfully swats at my stomach.

“That’s why Ms. Beth was acting so weird!” She lowers her voice a little as Pippa gets distracted by another conversation, leaving no one paying attention to us for the moment. “I didn’t just get lucky, did I? All those new clothes there that happened to be my size were all because of you, weren’t they?”

My eyes roam her face as I try to figure out if she’s upset or not. It was something I was never going to tell her. It seemed important for her to buy her own clothes; I just wanted to make sure she had options. But the smile on her face tells me that maybe she isn’t upset at all. “Okay, I admit it was me, but baby, I only did it because I wanted you to have new clo?—”

She interrupts me by kissing me. The kiss is a little heated, considering we have a table full of people bearing witness to it, but maybe they’re all too distracted with their own conversations to even notice. It doesn’t really matter even if they are watching. They can watch me kiss my girl for all I care.

Eventually, she pulls away. “If it wasn’t so thoughtful, maybe I’d be mad at you, but that’s one of the sweetest things anyone’s ever done for me. Thank you.”

I smile, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose before leaning back in my chair. “I can’t wait to do even sweeter things for you, sunshine. You deserve the world, and I’m going to give it to you.”

She smiles, her dimples making an appearance. “I can’t wait. Now, let’s get back to celebrating you . It is your birthday, after all. And I want us to have the best night ever before I get you home and give you the rest of your gift.” She winks at me, and it makes my blood heat.

I lift an eyebrow. “The rest of my gift?”

She bites her lip playfully and nods. “I can’t tell you about it here, but something tells me you’ll really love it.”

I smile, knowing whatever she has planned, I’ll love. I’m already excited to get her alone to find out exactly what she means.

I’m quiet as she insists we order another round of beers before she even thinks about riding the famous bull at Slopes. I enjoy watching her interact with my loved ones, feeling incredibly grateful that of all the towns she could’ve ended up in, she ended up in mine.

Falling in love with Liv was unexpected. Little by little, she chipped away at the defense I’d put in place until she became my entire world. It didn’t take long for her to become a part of every future I imagined for Clara and me.

I’ll make sure I wake up every morning grateful that I’ll get to know three great loves in my lifetime. First Selena’s, then Clara’s, and now…Liv’s.

My sunshine on a cloudy day. The person who showed me you can find love even at your lowest point. I don’t know what I did to ever deserve her, but now that I have her, I’m never letting go. She and Clara are my family, one I hope to add on to one day, if that’s something Liv wants. My future looks brighter because of her.

I’ve spent years running away from the pain of loving someone. Liv made me want to stop running. For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to run. I wanted to chase. A forever with her and Clara is everything I want. I’m so excited for a future with her by my side.

I can’t wait to chase our forever.