“Come in,” I finally mumbled, spinning away to face the vanity.
“Surprise!” a familiar high-pitched voice called.
My head snapped forward, and I jumped to my feet.
“Sam,” I shrieked, wrapping my arms around her waist as she fussed with the heavy garment in her arms. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, two gorgeous men with even prettier accents came to my house last night and told me you were getting married. How could I say no to being here for my best friend? It also helped that I was sandwiched between that sexy Scottish and Irish brogue,” she said, winking.
My eyes crinkled. “Did they tell you what was going on?”
“Only after I pestered them endlessly. Don’t worry. I whittled them down.”
While telling me all about how pretty Torin and Aidan were, she maneuvered me into a chair after discarding the garment bag on the bed. I nibbled on my lip, loving how enamored Sam was while she pulled out hair dye, makeup, and a curling iron.
The tightness in my muscles unwound as she worked on my hair, letting the dye sit while she leaned over me, doing my makeup.
“Then they had the audacity to threaten me if I told anyone.”
Logically, I knew Kaelen would never allow his men to harm Sam, even if she spilled the beans. It would be an accident if it ever happened. But she wouldn’t.
“What did you tell them?”
“That I would claw their eyes out. For some reason, Torin’s dick twitched when I said that.”
I snorted, sputtering on a cough. Tossing the used brushes aside, she moved to drying and styling my hair. The levity in the room vanished, sucked out all at once as she clung to me and I covered her hand with mine.
“Are you okay, Willow?” I nodded, and her eyes thinned in themirror. “I mean it. We’ll run away.”
“There are armed guards everywhere. We wouldn’t make it past the gate.”
Turning off the curling iron, she moved around until she was between me and the mirror. She crouched, taking my face in her hands as her expression hardened.
“If you don’t want this, Willow, I’ll find a way to get you out of here.”
Every emotion I had stuffed away for the last few weeks came rushing to the surface before I could stop them.
“But I do,” I huffed, staring at her through glassy eyes.
“Oh, babe. Then what’s wrong?”
“I’m scared,” I whispered.
A small voice inside me chanted that fear didn’t mean danger. My muscles twitched as my breath came in quick stutters, making my chest burn. I could do this. I could be like Shadow. I could push through my fear and find happiness.
“Of Kaelen? I mean, he is The Butcher. The title is only slightly unnerving. He’s never hurt you though. Right? Seriously, I’ll murder his ass. I don’t care who he is.”
“No. Never. That’s not it.”
“Then,” she paused, her eyes widening as her lips parted in a wide O. “Willow… you love him.”
It wasn’t a question. She saw it. I had never been able to hide anything from her. Sam knew all my secrets, from the burns on my skin to every horrific thing my dad did.
My fingers splayed across my breastbone, trying to soothe the ache there.
Growing up, everyone told me I would just know when it was right. That answer always frustrated me. How was that even possible? Now, sitting here with Sam looking at me with such a tender expression, I realized maybe that was exactly how it happened.
“I’m not sure. Maybe.”
