To my surprise, she insisted we still go over to my parents’ house for dinner, but we spent the morning eating cake, drinking coffee, and watching Jiji chase after balled up wrapping paper as Eden opened her gifts.
I’d decided to swap out the dragon statue she’d admired, though I had it hidden away in case I was able to feel her out about it in the future—it was a work of art, and I didn’t want her to hold one woman’s violence against the sweet little dragon, but it definitely felt too soon to appreciate the sculpted pewter.
Instead, I’d found her an old-fashioned filigree locket and added tiny portraits Carter had painted of the two of us.
Inscribed on the back of it were the words,Welcome to Paradise.
Eden threw herself across the couch and into my arms, where she cried into the crook of my neck until I thought my heart would break.
“Baby, please,” I whispered. “This is a joyful day. Please don’t cry.”
“I love you. I love you, and I need time, but I want it. I want it all.”
I stared at her in confusion. “You want what?”
“Everything. Marriage, babies, employees to watch the store while we’re on vacation. I want all of it.”
My grin grew so big, it was hard to kiss her, but I managed it. Several minutes later, I was still kissing her, soaking in the beauty of all that was my sweet Eden, when her phone rang in the kitchen.
“I’ll get it,” I told her, planting one last kiss on the side of her neck before jogging to grab the phone from the counter. Even if she insisted she was fine, I knew she was sore from yesterday, and I needed those moments of taking care of her after the entire ordeal—to remind myself we’d all survived and to show her the depth of my appreciation for how she’d gone to battle for me.
For us. For our future.
“Who is it?” she asked as I returned to her side.
I frowned down at the screen and passed it to her. “It’s your brother.”
For a moment, she just stared at the device in her hand like it might jump up and bite her, then she hit the button to accept the call and put it on speaker. “Isaiah? Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Eden. Happy birthday. Everything is fine, I just…I wanted to call and see how you are. Simon was in a panic yesterday when he called. I’ve been worried sick about you.”
She lifted her eyes to mine, shock and uncertainty shimmering in the golden swirls. “Oh. Thank you. It—a lot happened, but I’m okay.”
“Would you tell me if you weren’t?” he asked, his voice gentle.
Shit, he sounded just like my own brothers would after something bad happened, that same warm thread of concern edging the words. I lowered myself back down to the couch beside Eden and tugged her onto my lap, wishing I could magically smooth things over for her sake, if not her brother’s.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I…this feels weird.”
“That’s my fault, Eden, and I’m hoping to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.” The words rang with sincerity, and Eden’s eyes glistened as she cleared her throat.
“I’d like that.”
“I dropped the ball years ago and should have made more of an effort to pick it back up again. That’s why I called you, back when Mom and Dad were leaving. I hoped I might be able to mend some of what they’d broken.”
A shaky breath slipped past her lips. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you that chance.”
“I should have fought harder for you, Eden, then and now, and I’m sorry I let you down.” He paused, then added, “Thepolice will probably be in touch with you again, but Sandra’s accomplice has been arrested.”
My body jolted as Eden gasped, “What?”
“Mary was up half the night doing some digging. She feels responsible for not recognizing what Sandra was planning. We both do. Anyway, she found Sandra’s phone and went through it before we turned it over for evidence this morning. There was a…a boyfriend, I suppose. A man she was involved with. He confessed to letting the air out of your tires, Eden, because they believed the car was Milo’s—something about a parking spot everyone knew was his?”
“Fucking hell,” I muttered, and Eden shot me a warning look.
“He also confessed to throwing the brick through that window,” Isaiah went on.
“Oh, what a relief. I was afraid she’d made Eve do it,” Eden whispered.
