His version of us getting cleaned up meant I lay where I was and let him clean the rather shocking mess we'd made of my thighs and sex, each touch gentle and tender and reverent. Only then did he let me get dressed.
He drove us to the original Badd's Bar location on the boardwalk overlooking the Inside Passage. Being late afternoon on a Wednesday, there were only a few die-hard regulars at the bar, which was being tended by a middle-aged woman with light brown hair laced with silver.
She lit up as we entered. "Duncan! And I finally get to meet my newest niece-in-law." She swept out from behind the bar and embraced Duncan, gave him a light kiss on one cheek, and then, to my shock, did the same to me—after the cheek-kiss, she held me by the arms and looked me over. "My god, you really are gorgeous. I mean, you’ve definitely got the preggo-glow, but you're just stunning."
I wondered if she could tell the glow was more of a 'my fiancé just fucked my brains out twice' glow. Unthinking, I brushed a lock of hair out of my face with my left hand, and the woman—who hadn't been introduced to me yet—squealed like a teenager and clapped a hand over her mouth. "No! You're engaged?”
Duncan laughed. "Yeah, and you're the first know, so don't spill the beans. We want to tell Mom and Dad."
She mimed zipping her lips. "I won't say a word." She took my hand and examined the ring. "You did good, nephew, I'll say that. It's beautiful. Just like your bride."
Bride.
That hits different. Bride…mom…I've got a lot of new titles coming my way.
“So, Aunt Kitty—" Duncan started.
"Oh!" I exclaimed. "You're Kitty? The one the bar is named after?"
She rolled her eyes. "I've been annoyed by that for twenty years. But yes. I'm Kitty Badd. Sorry—we're not great at introductions, sometimes."
Duncan huffed. "Sorry, babe. Yeah, this my Aunt Kitty. Aunt Kitty, this is my fiancée, Rune Rigby."
"Now that we've got introductions out of the way," Duncan said. "I was hoping—"
"Right this way," Kitty said, cutting him off. "It's been professionally deep-cleaned after the tenant moved out. And I'll say, it'll be a relief to have family in there again. It's been weird having strangers live above this place."
I frowned at Duncan. "What's going on? Why are we here?"
He just grinned. "C'mon, I'll show you."
"It's unlocked,” Kitty said. "I'll be up after you, I just gotta top off a couple beers."
Duncan led me across the bar to the kitchen, but instead of going through the doorless entryway into the kitchen, he opened a door next to it marked "Private" and held it for me.
A set of stairs led up; the stairwell, while steep and narrow, was clean and well-lit, and none of the stairs creaked as we ascended them. The door at the top was also unlocked, and Duncan pushed through it. I followed him into a surprisingly expansive and well-lit great room. A bank of windows let in buckets of natural light, bathing an unfurnished living room, opposite which was a kitchen—recently remodeled by the look of things. Beyond the kitchen and living room was a long hallway with three doors, two on one side, one opposite. Another small window at the end of that hallway let in more light.
"What is this place, Duncan?" I asked.
He grinned at me. "Home."
I gasped. "What?"
He nodded, showing me keys he had in his pocket. "We own the building—my family, I mean, not you and me. Dad and my uncles grew up here, and Mom and Dad lived here with a various assortment of uncles. When all the aunts and uncles had houses and kids, they rented it out. The lease just ran out and the tenant didn't want to renew it. We need somewhere to live that's not with Mom and Dad, so…voila. Home."
I looked around again, envisioning it with my furniture, maybe a few new pieces we picked together. "Duncan. Really? It's ours?"
He nodded. "Aunt Kitty wants to step back from managing this place, and Elias is way overdue for a promotion, so I'm taking over here, and Elias is stepping up at the Kitty."
"I'll still be around if you ever need help," Kitty's voice said from the top of the stairs. "Not that you need it. I'm just ready to hang out at home with Rome. Maybe take a few longer vacations and wait for our kids to give us grandbabies. I'm jealous of Dru, you know. She's already got one, and now she's getting another? Donovan needs to step up his game."
Duncan barked a guffawing laugh at this. "Don’t hold your breath, Aunt Kitty. I'm not sure Donovan has any plans to settle down any time soon."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well, neither did you, and now look. Engaged and having a baby!"
I grabbed Duncan's hand. "I love it."
He grinned. "Me too! I was hoping you'd like it, because this way, we can keep saving money and live close to work. If Dane ever moves out, he may want one of the rooms, but I don't see that being a problem, do you?"
