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Charlie stood in the middle of her old apartment. Vid had made sure there were boxes and
wrapping paper and all the other things necessary for moving. It was lucky he knew what he was doing. Charlie had only moved two times in her life. The first time had been when she moved in with her father after her mother had become too ill to take care of her and Huxton.
It had been her mother that had packed her things back then. The second time was when she left her father’s house. That time she had left with four suitcases and nothing else. This time, she would have a whole apartment to pack and move.
“Where do we even start?” she asked Vidar, who was studying the content of her bookshelf.
He turned around and looked at her with a smile..
“Where ever you want.”
“What do I do with all the furniture?” she asked.
“We bring it with us if you want to keep it,” he said, nudging her desk with an outstretched finger and made it sway. Did she want to keep any furniture? She only had a bed, the old desk, the old dresser on which the fish tank stood, her desk chair, the bookshelf and a small
table and two chairs. None of it had any sentimental value for her.
“No, I think most of it can go to the dump. I don’t think they are worth driving to the
secondhand store,” she said.
“Then we leave them and my men will take care of it,” Vidar told her and wrapped her in a
tight hug.
“But I think I would like to keep the paintings,” she told him. They were the one thing she splurged on. Most of them were original paintings from lesser known artist that she had found selling their art on the streets or online. Each one was chosen because it moved her in some way. Her favourite hung above her bed. It was a rectangular oil painting. Broad strokes of paint in blue, white, and red hues sculpted the head of an Arabian horse. Vidar walked
around, looking at each one.
“They are beautiful,” he told her. “This one is stunning,” he said, looking at the one over her
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bed.
“It’s my favourite. I found it when I was out walking in the park. The artist was selling some of her paintings. I knew I had to have it. Now I follow her on social media and she is having her first real gallery showing in three months. I have already bought tickets to the opening. night,” she told him.
“What do I need to bribe you with to get one of the tickets?” Vidar asked and stalked up to her, standing close to her. Charlie forced herself to swallow, even if it sounded more like a gulp.
“I think I can find something,” she told him, leaning into him. As she was about to close the last space between them there was a knock on the door. Charlie froze. She was so close to
him.
“We could always ignore it,” Vidar suggested, his lips almost skimming hers as he spoke.
“We could, but we need their help.” Charlie took a step back, sighed and walked towards the door. Vicar’s arm where around her waist before she had taken more than one step. He pulled
her in and k*ssed her. Then he left her dazed in the middle of the floor as he smirked and
walked to open the door. Huxton and Tyson walked over to her and gave her each a hug.
“Are you sure about this?” Huxton asked, glancing over at Vidar.
“I am,” she told him and gave him a smile.
“You could rent it out. There’s no need to sell it,” he suggested.
“I know, but I don’t want to be a landlady. Too much to worry about. I have loved living here, but I’m ready to move on. And if everything fails, I can always move in with you guys,” she said.
“That is true,” he agreed.
“Where do we start?” Tyson asked. He looked eager to get started.
“If you two clear out the kitchen. All food should either be eaten or thrown out. Everything
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else should be donated, except for the princess glasses. Those I’ll keep,” she told her brother
and Tyson.
“Sure thing,” Huxton told her and gave her a k*ss on her forehead as he took his husband and headed for the kitchen.
“And me?” Vidar asked.
“You will get the task of sorting out the livingroom, aka my office. I want to bring everything, so just pack it. But don’t touch the computer or the fish tank. I’ll deal with those after I go
through my bedroom.” Charlie headed into her bedroom and started sorting through her clothes. She tried to only keep the thongs she really liked and used. Charlie found the box with old memorabilia that Huxton had rescued from their father’s house and given to her. She gathered the small faux–leather albums and walked out into the living room where Vidar was almost done. She continued into the kitchen. “Your payment,” she said to Tyson with a smile. Tyson stopped working and took the albums.
“What are those?” Huxton asked and Vidar joined them, standing behind Charlie and putting his arms around her in a casual way.
“Our baby books and photos from when we were kids.” He looked at her in disbelief and tried to grab the stack from his husband.
“Oh, look at this, isn’t he adorable?” Tyson cooed as he sidestepped Huxton’s hands. He turned the album around and showed them a picture of Huxton, around five years old. He was n*ked, eating an ice cream. It had smeared all over his face and dripped down all over his
chest.
“He is,” Charlie agreed, trying to hide her smile.
“Agreed,” Vidar said. Huxton looked at them both with terror on his face.
“Why would you give those to him?” he asked Charlie.
“It’s a cheap way to have fun,” she admitted and laughed as Tyson let out a series of cooing and admiring sounds.
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“We need to frame this,” he told them. Showing them a picture of a toddler version of Huxton
in a sailor suit.
“Oh yes, that should be displayed in a prominent spot,” Charlie agreed.
“Ty, please, can you give those to me?” Huxton asked.
“But I haven’t finished with the first one,” Tyson objected.
“I can hold them as you look through the first one,” Huxton tried.
“No, you won’t give them back.”
“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” Vidar chuckled in Charlie’s ear as they both
watched the married couple squabble over the albums.
“Let’s leave them to it. I don’t want to be around when they get to the making up part,”
Charlie told him. He went with her into her bedroom.
“Are you still okay with this?” he asked her as she handed him things that he wrapped and
put into a box.
“Moving? Yes, I haven’t changed my mind,” she told him. He nodded and kept helping her.
Two hours later, they had packed everything, including stored the fishes for transport. The tank, the computer and the fishes were the only thing Charlie had demanded they move on. their own. The rest of the things would be picked up by some of Vidar’s men and brought. back to the apartment the next day.
“If you have the time, why don’t the two of you follow us and come and have dinner with us
at home?” Vidar asked as he carried the container with the fishes.
“I don’t know…” Huxton started to say.
“We would love to,” Tyson interrupted.
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“Fun,” Charlie said excitedly. Vidar had used his SUV, making sure they had plenty of room to
load the things they took with them.
“Thank you for inviting them,” Charlie said to Vidar as they drove back.
“It’s your home as well. They are your family. They are always welcome. That includes your
nephews and your friends as well,” he told her. Charlie smiled. She imagined movie marathons with the twins in the movie theatre and lazy days by the pool with Lilly. She
k*ssed Vidar’s cheek.
“I’m a lucky woman,” she told him. They parked in the garage and Vidar showed her brother where he could park. The three men took most of the things they had brought with them, leaving Charlie only a bag with the cords and accessories to the computer. She opened the door to the apartment and her brother and Tyson followed Vidar into her office to place the things where they belonged. Charlie followed them as she had closed and locked the door.
“I do too. Vidar was kind enough to get it for me,” Charlie told him.
“It was a thank you for moving in with me gift. The book cases were a welcome home gift,” Vidar said, giving her a sweet k*ss.
“Let me show you the place, you will love it,” Charlie said, taking Tyson’s hand and started her tour. She intentionally left her brother and Vidar to walk behind her and Tyson. Tyson. was impressed by the apartment, she showed him all her favourite things about it, but saved the best to last. As they walked back down after viewing the top floor, she heard her brother and Vidar talking about the cinema. Her brother was a movie enthusiast and Charlie had hoped seeing the movie room would get the two of them talking.
“This view is to die for,” Tyson told her as he looked out over the city from the living room.
“It is, but I think you will like this even more,” she told him and guided him into the kitchen.
“Oh my lord,” Tyson sighed and walked up to the stove and let his hand run along it. He looked around and made small excited sounds as he saw a new gadget.
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“I wish he was this excited in the bedroom,” her brother huffed in played annoyance as he
watched his husband.
1
“You cook?” Tyson asked Vidar.
“I do. It’s how I relax. How did you know?”
“This kitchen is clearly put together by someone who knows what to do in the kitchen. Charlie, I love you, but you’re a bit of a disaster when it comes to cooking,” Tyson said. Charlie laughed and nodded as Vidar placed a k*ss on her hair. His phone chimed, and he
looked at it.
“The food is here. I’ll get it if you set the table,” he told her. Charlie recruited her brother and Tyson to help her set the dining table and they were done when Vidar came walking with two bags of food from ‘La petite cuisine“.
“I didn’t know they had a delivery service,” Huxton said as they sat down.
“They usually don’t. The owner is a close friend, and he wanted to contribute to the occasion,” Vidar told them.
“Remind me to thank Henry on Thursday,” Charlie told him.
“You know the owner of ‘La petite cuisine‘ by first name?” Tyson asked her, sounding like it
was an achievement.
“He is really sweet,” Charlie told him. Vidar chuckled.
“You need to stop calling my friends sweet, Charlie,” he told her. They spent a couple of hours around the table. The mood was more relaxed than the previous time they had shared at
meal.