“You look a hell of a lot better than the last time we saw you. Besides, I couldn’t pass up free booze and the chance to meet allthese hot single women.” Cash’s gaze swept across the rooftop bar.
Damon Kingsley walked up and slung his arm around Cash. “You know what works best for picking up the ladies?”
“What’s that?” Cash asked, absentmindedly adjusting his tie clip.
“Sympathy.” Damon grinned and then shoved Cash straight into the pool, suit and all.
“Oh, my God.” Sara groaned, returning with several glasses of champagne, looking bewitchingly beautiful. “You guys are relentless.”
I caught Theo’s eye from across the rooftop, and he dipped his chin to me before he returned to glaring at Ariana from several paces away.
“Congratulations!” Sloane waltzed up, slinging an arm around Sara. “You mind if I steal your girl away for a bit?”
“Don’t keep her too long.” I joked, but it wasn’t all that much of a joke, not really. Sara shot me a little smile as Sloane hauled her off towards the girls.
I love you, I mouthed, and she beamed, mouthing it back.
“So you finally decided to join us in the real world.” I turned finding one of Liam’s cousins.
“Remi Devereux?” I shook my head. “Damn, everybody’s coming out of the woodwork tonight.”
“Oh, it’s only going to get worse from here.” He clinked his glass to mine. “That was some fucked-up shit that went down.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That’s fine, everybody else does.” He smirked and then turned more solemn. “But seriously man, glad everyone’s alright and glad that bastard got what he deserved.
“Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I shrugged, taking another casual sip of my drink.
The evening was filled with raised glasses, claps on the back, and congratulations issued for my new business venture.
Now that I was officially back in the civilian world, I was juggling several businesses, one of them being my new commercial airline venture. Maybe I couldn’t fly at mock speeds anymore, but with precious cargo, who would want to. I was more than ready to put the past to bed and focus on the promise of my future. My heart started to pound as I clutched a very special box in my pocket.
The sound of a beer bottle hissed next to me. “You been doing some home redecorating?” Liam asked. “Blue is a bold choice.”
I shook my head with a chuckle, realizing I must still have paint in my hair. “Something like that.” I wasn’t about to correct him. I liked all my teeth right where they were.
Liam looked in Sara’s direction. “It might take me a minute to warm up to all this, but you’re right, she looks really damn happy.” Liam admitted as he tipped the bottle to his lips.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” I said, sipping my drink. “Because I already married her.”
I smirked as my best friend sputtered. “Goddamn it.” Liam groaned. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
I suppressed a smile. “There is nothing more serious than til death do us part.”
He stared at me for a long beat and then clapped me on the shoulder. “Then I guess I should say welcome to the family.Officially.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t forget, if you break her heart, make her cry, or knock her up?—”
“I could make so many dirty jokes right now.” I cut him off with a shake of my head. “Especially about those last two little details?—”
“If you finish that sentence, you’ll give me no choice but to break your neck,” Liam grumbled. “Don’t you ever say that shit to me again.”
“Noted.” I grinned, and his own mouth hooked up into a smile.
“In all seriousness, I’m really glad she has you, she’s beenthrough a lot.” His expression turned glazed, and I hummed in agreement, knowing that fact all too well.
Sara may have been my wife, given me her vows, but I knew it would be a long while before she gave me the last of her secrets. I’d explored every inch of her body, but there were doors in her heart that were locked up so damn tight that the only key to opening them would be the passage of time.
But someday, when she was finally ready, I knew she’d come to me, explain the many lies she’d told to protect herself—the box of tampons she’d never opened that night, the surgery she’d never had—I’d pulled her medical records, heartbroken to confirm what I’d known the minute she’d said it, the scar on her stomach was very real, but the surgery to cover it up was not. When she was finally ready to explain, I would be ready and waiting. Until then, I could rest peacefully, knowing the man who’d carved up my wife was long gone, and I’d never let anyone hurt her like that ever again.
