“Deal!”
A laugh burst out of me. “You know I love you, right?”
She pressed her cheek to my chest, wrapping her arms around me tightly. “I do know. I love you too.”
My fingers began playing with her long blond hair. It was something that soothed me just as much as it did her, the silky strands sliding over my fingers calming something deep inside me. We drifted into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. But I had something on my mind, and I needed to talk to her about it because I wasn’t going to get any sleep if I didn’t.
“Where do you want to get married?”
She tipped her head back, and I could see her brow was furrowed slightly as she looked up at me. “I don’t know. Do you have somewhere in mind?”
“I’m okay with anywhere. If you want to have it here in New York or back in Creswell Springs. Hell, if you want to have a destination wedding somewhere, that’s fine too. Whatever makes you happy, baby.”
“We could run off to Atlantic City one weekend and tie the knot,” she teased.
“No. And Vegas is out of the question too. I might not care about the location, but we are not eloping. I want a real wedding.” I stroked my fingertips over her cheek, tracing the shape of her face. “I want to watch you walk down the aisle with your dad. Our moms sobbing on either side of the aisle. Samara, Ciana, and maybe Delaney as your bridesmaids. Perhaps Finn could be the ring bearer, or those devil twins of Mila’s.”
“Whoa, you’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“I’ve been dreaming of marrying you since I was eight years old, Nova.” At times, thinking about our wedding was the only thing that gave me peace when there was an entire country separating us. Knowing that one day, with an exchange of vows before God and our families, the world would finally know who Nova belonged to was what helped me sleep at night. “More than anything, I want our wedding day to be perfect for you.”
Her arms tightened around me, and I heard a hitch in her breathing. “The world could burn down around us that day, and it would still be perfect because I’ll get to marry you. Not only my best friend, but the person I love the most.”
Grasping her chin, I lifted her face so I could skim my lips over hers. I ached to deepen the kiss but didn’t trust myself. I was an idiot for promising her dad we would wait, but I wouldn’t break it.
“Sleep.” I kissed her once more and rolled onto my back, taking her with me. One of her legs lifted over mine, and I was thankful for having enough brain power to keep the blanket over her earlier. She pillowed her head on my shoulder and placed her hand right over my heart. “We’ll talk more about the wedding in the morning.”
It was less than a minute before her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. My eyes were already growing heavy, the feel of her in my arms quickly luring me to sleep…
A loud crashing sound startled me awake. Nova gasped and jerked upright, one of her hands clutching at mine. “What was that?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.” The noise came again, followed by a vicious curse. Whoever it was wasn’t being stealthy, but that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. “Stay here,” I commanded, getting out of bed.
“Be careful.”
I made my way to the door in the dark. Cautiously, I cracked it open, my hand going for my gun, only to remember I’d taken off my holster as soon as I got home. My gun was in the living room, where I’d dropped it on the couch. Silently cursing myself, I stepped out of the bedroom and quietly walked toward the noise.
Another curse reached me, and I realized it was Garret. By the slur of his words, I knew he was drunk. Relaxing, I reached the living room to find him destroying everything that was unfortunate enough to be in his path.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Nova’s voice filled the room.
I spun around, surprised that she had not only followed me, but that I hadn’t sensed her behind me. For the first time, I noticed what she’d been wearing, and I was thankful it was only her brother in the apartment with us, because if anyone else saw her in those tiny shorts and tank top without a bra, I would have lost my fucking mind. “I told you to stay in bed.”
She rolled her eyes at me before turning her glare back on her brother.
Garret blinked at his sister, trying to focus on her. “You…” He took a stumbling step toward her. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“Knew what?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“About Lis…Cali. Whatever the fuck her name is.” He stumbled into a side table. Cursing, he picked up the lamp and threw it, causing it to shatter against the wall. It was still plugged in and began to spark. “You knew who she really was, didn’t you?”
“Garret…” Nova’s voice turned from hard to soothing in a heartbeat. “Are you really going to tell me you didn’t know who she is? How many hours did you spend looking at all of her pictures? Don’t lie to me and say you had no clue that Lis was Calista.”
“I didn’t,” he shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth. “She lied to me. For months. I bet you and she had a real good laugh, playing me along.” He let out a pained sound, like a wounded animal, before he slammed his fist down on the side table that was still in his way. “No wonder that bastard Ramirez is in the city. He’s here to take her away from me.”
“No one was laughing at you, dumbass. And if you had no clue who she really was, then that is completely on you. Do you even remember how you were back then, Garret? The way you would bully her?” Nova shook her head in disgust. “You were a monster at times.”
“No,” he denied, shaking his head, his eyes filling with tears. “I wasn’t like that—”
“You were.” When he tried to argue, Nova stomped up to him and slapped him across the face so hard his head snapped back, causing me to tense. I hadn’t seen the Hannigan siblings get physical since the one and only time Nova had kicked Garret that first day we met. The rage that filled his eyes had me ready to intervene in case he struck her back. “You told her she deserved to be raped!”
His legs seemed to give out, and he dropped to his knees. “I said that,” he whispered. “I really said that to her.” He lifted stricken eyes to his sister. “I told her that and so much more, but I never meant it, Nova. I was a bastard to her. How…” His face turned green, and he swallowed convulsively before he was able to speak again. “How could she possibly love me when I treated her like that back then?”
“I don’t know, but she does.” Nova touched his face, wiping away one of his tears. “Please tell me you didn’t spew more stupid shit when she told you the truth.”
“No,” he panted, shaking his head adamantly. “I didn’t say anything. I just let her talk, and then I left.”
“Idiot,” she muttered.
He dropped his head until his chin was touching his chest. “I know. I’m an idiot who doesn’t deserve her.” He snapped his head up, his eyes pleading. “But I love her.”
“I’m not the one you should be saying that to, stupid.”
Garret got unsteadily to his feet. “You’re right. I have to talk to her.” He turned toward the elevator but nearly tripped over his own feet. “I have to tell her how sorry I am, and that I love her. I have to—”