A firm grip collars the back of my neck, anchoring me just as everything threatens to shatter.
“You’re okay.” Ethan’s thumb traces gentle circles over my thrashing pulse.
“They’re…” I swallow hard, my own eyes filling with tears. “Perfect.”
“Yes,” he dips his head and whispers, “and so are you, so are we. Fate works in mysterious ways, baby. You have nothing to fear.”
Am I afraid? Afraid I fucked up and it’s too late? Afraid of losing the best thing to ever happen to me? Afraid of being alone with my nightmares?
You’re not there anymore. You’re not alone.
They’re not my words, not my voice.
I stare into those stormy gray eyes. He’s right. He’s always right. I’m far from alone and far from my past.
“What do you need?” His breath is hot against my ear, and goosebumps erupt along my skin.
He continues to caress the curve of my neck, and the tightness in my chest eases. His touch grounds me, pulls me back from the edge. I draw a full inhale, then another.
The ceremony progresses, and the officiant binds the couple’s joined hands with a red ribbon. I focus on the steady pressure of Ethan’s grip, the warmth of his body beside mine. The panicked thoughts slow then quiet.
I glance at Aurora and Reece again, but this time without the crushing weight of inadequacy and dread. They’re perfect, yes, but that doesn’t diminish what we have, what we’ve been through.
Aurora turns as if she senses my gaze, offers me a soft smile, and weaves our fingers together. I give her hand a squeeze and face the man who saves me every damn time.
“We could have a wedding,” I say, circling back to his earlier question about what I need. It’s more what Aurora needs, but her needs are my needs too, same with Ethan, with Reece, and I know he’d appreciate a wedding. He probably fucking dreams about it, probably has his vows already written.
“You could,” Ethan agrees.
My heart rate spikes, but not because I’m having another episode. “Do you want to get married?”
His dark brows pinch in a scowl. “To?”
“Me. Us.” I gesture to our foursome. “Wecould have a wedding.”
His eyes search mine. “You want that?”
“Yes.” The snark returns to my body with a wicked grin. “I’d marry you. I’d marry the shit out of you.”
His mouth quirks up at one corner. “A commitment ceremony? With the four of us?”
“I guess.” I give a half-assed shrug. “What else is there? You already have the rings.” I glance down at the tattoo on his finger, uncovered today. He was quite a baby when I applied ointment to it this morning—until I removed my shirt to apply ointment to mine, and he couldn’t take his eyes off his teeth marks.
He nods, a slow smile creeping across his lips. “After Eli—when Aurora is ready,” he corrects. “Where would we go? Somewhere private? Tropical? You could surf.”
“You could relax.” I picture him stretched out on white sand, playing on his phone, because he never truly relaxes.
“I’d watch you.”
“And worry,” I add.
His smile widens—a genuine smile that shows off those dimples. “Most definitely.”
Chapter 46
Aurora
Danny fusses throughout most of the two-hour flight. Not even Jax can console or entertain him, and Harper is overwhelmed.
