The Bucket List (49 page)

"Congratulations, sweetheart. You've been part of the family so long, I suppose we had to make it official," Ethan chuckled when he let her go. "And I can't thank you enough for putting
Corey and all of us out of our misery. I was this close to dragging you over to our house and locking you two in a room together."

Well, she'd certainly learned her lesson. She hoped to God they never went through anything like that again, even if the make-up sex had been off the charts.

She accepted hugs from everyone else before she came to stand in front of Nate. He was smiling at her, and she could see in his eyes he was being genuine.

"Told you it would work out, didn't I?" he said as he pulled her into a hug.

"That you did," she smiled.

Another time, another life, she would probably have settled down with this man. She truly hoped
he would work his own issues out and find happiness for himself, he deserved it.

"I've never seen you so happy,"
Nate smiled.

"Well, we met under quite unhappy circumstances, but I'm sure I was never this happy even before that," she said.

"It suits you," he stated. "I'm happy for you, I really am. I hope you and I can still be friends."

"After all the trouble I've brought to your door, I'm really honoured you'd still want to be my friend," she smiled at him. "Does that mean I can start calling you at stupid hours again?"

"Yes," he smiled. "As long as Corey doesn't threaten to kill me again."

He walked up to his brother, who immediately hugged him and congratulated him.

"Now, don't you feel like a dick for not listening to me in the first place?" Ethan teased.

"More than you know," he answered seriously.

"Mum and Dad will be here soon. I told them you had something to tell them, figured you'd want to do it yourself," Ethan said as he turned some steaks over. "And before I forget, I burnt your stupid letter, so Vince is still calling the house, asking when you'll be 'well enough' to return to work."

He had been willing to give
fighting up for the love of Rae, but he was so grateful his brother hadn't done as he'd asked. He would need his job to support his wife... and their babies. The thought of it made him smile.

"Thanks, bro," he said. "I owe you for that."

"What's taking you so long with my damn steaks? Some of us have to go to work in a little bit," John teased as he came to stand next to him by the grill.

"Do them your damn self then" Ethan laughed, knowing John would be the first to eat but the last to offer to cook anything.

He looked at his friend, the man who'd been through so much with him and Rae. It still bothered him that he'd slept with her but he understood why it had happened and he understood it would never happen again. Not if he had anything to do with it!

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood. Finally," John teased, directing this last bit at him. "Dude, it took you long enough! I hope you understand that after all this, if I'm not your best man there'll be huge problems."

"I'd guessed that much," he laughed before he accepted a manly hug of congratulations.

"You have a lot to answer for, though," John said after.

"I know," he said. "I'm really sorry."

"The sorriest!" John agreed, teasing him again. "Now, go on, I know you're dying to get to Rae. You and I can talk later."

He smiled at his friend as he continued on to where Rae was standing with Nate, after pausing briefly for a hug from Mandy and handshakes from Matt and Shane.

Nate
smiled at him as he put an arm around Rae and dropped a kiss on her lips.

"I, uh, I want to apologise for earlier," he started, looking at the man he'd unfairly blamed for his unhappiness.

"It's already forgotten," Nate cut in, waving it off. "I understand where you were coming from. I saw it coming, actually, after that stuff at the hospital. But for the record, Rae and I can never be more than friends. We were both meant for someone else, and I knew this from the very beginning."

He nodded his head at the other man, happy for this reassurance.

"You're welcome here anytime you want, Nate. I will never forget what you did for this family when we were going through that hell."

Nate
smiled at him and was about to turn away when he stopped and pulled something from his pocket.

"I almost forgot," he said, "I found this when I was doing my laundry the other day."

"Oh, my God! This is what started all this yet I haven't even thought about in a long time," Rae said as she looked down at it.

The famed Bucket List. He'd never got the chance to read it.

"I'm sorry I invaded your privacy by reading it," Nate said. "But it opened my eyes to a lot of things. You're one lucky man, Corey. She's a keeper."

"I know," he smiled, looking down at the woman who'd taken pity on him and agreed to be his for a lifetime.

It was a new beginning, a new chapter in their lives. A second chance. He was never going to mess it up again.

"Do you have a pen?" Rae asked.

"No. Why?"

"Are you kidding me? When I do finally die, I'm going to make sure this baby has at least a thousand things on it, maybe even more. This bucket list was just pathetically short."

"Did it serve its purpose, though?" he asked, turning her round in his arms so she was facing him.

"It made me realise what's important in my life," she answered softly. "You. Dad.
My new family. My friends. So, yes. It served its purpose."

He bent his head to kiss her softly.

"I know what you can write down on it next," he told her.

"What?"

"Become Mrs. Corey Steele and have his five babies."

"Five, huh?"

"Yes. Five. If you give me any lip I'll make it six," he smiled against her lips.

"Five it is then," she chuckled, kissing him again, oblivious to the other people around them again.

For the moment, all was well in his world. He'd done a lot of shit in his lifetime, but none of it had pushed her away. He'd be forever thankful for that. He couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he felt that he got the chance to spend the rest of his life with her, showing her every single day how much he loved her. She was his best friend, his lover, and soon she would be his wife.

The only thing he needed on his Bucket List.

The End