She throws her other arm around me, whispering, “Thank you for making my brother happy.”
Sasha lets go of me only for Kane to hold her hostage as he pulls her into his other side. I look at the people around us, noting one person who’s missing. But a dark silhouette of a man stands further down the beach, leading to the public path. I smile in his direction. Lennox said he needed time, which I’ll give him in abundance to repay everything he’s done for me. He doesn’t move other than a small nod as Kane pulls us towards the beach house. He’s pushed forward on a grunt when a tattooed hand playfully slams against his back. “All grown up, kid,” Niko says. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
My sisters come to my side as Daigon carries a sleeping Micah and stops Seraphim’s scheming to do something that’s not boring. “You’re going to sleep as soon as we get inside, little demon.”
This is what family is. Unconventional as fuck, hidden yet supportive, accepting of what’s best for us to the extent Niko never questioned Kane’s three-year disappearance beyond asking if he was safe. Then asked me if I was a paid actress because he was convinced Kane made me up. A large wedding with fanfare, stress over color schemes, arguing with caterers held no interest to Kane or me. We’ve all had our fair share of extraordinary events, so a boring wedding with emphasis on the promises we’ve made to each other is the perfect clean slate to start the rest of our hopefully boring lives.
When we reach the back deck, everyone splits away from us to walk into the house Ruby decorated with fairy lights and flowers. I don’t know who she had in mind when she did it, but she was bossing everyone around. At one point Scarlet was in fear for her life when a string of bulbs blew.
Kane steps around me to hold my hand as Ruby slides the door closed behind her with a smirk. My niece gets her wish of excitement as she skips over to Sasha, who ignores everyone to go to the table full of food.
“Come somewhere with me please?” Kane asks softly, squeezing my hand.
“Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating with our guests?”
“The afterparty is for them.” He walks backwards while holding my hand. “We’ve spent all day with the annoying fuckers, now it’s time for me to be alone with my wife.”
“You thought outside in the cold was the best place to spend our wedding night?”
“It’s better than getting drunk with them,” he mutters, pulling me closer to walk in front of him with my back to his chest. “I love you, Delilah Xandros.”
I lightly trace the small sand timer held on a delicate chain around my neck as we walk along the shore. There are very few good memories from the island, but sitting on the window to watch the waves with Kane’s arms wrapped around me are the only ones I want to keep. The last few months have allowed us to grow even closer when I never thought it was a possibility considering how intertwined we already were. Between the good days, travelling to different countries, and the bad days, comforting each other when we feel the weight of our memories bearing down on us, we’ve only found new ways to fall in love with each other.
We’ve had a run of good days, so I anticipate the tide changing as Kane covers my eyes. But he kisses my cheek with so much gentleness I feel like a nervous twelve-year-old all over again.
“I can’t call you my pretty girl anymore,” he whispers as he guides me to an uneven terrain. “Not when you’re my beautiful wife.”
“Are you planning on killing me or something?”
“Never again, koukla mou.” He kisses my cheek. “Little bit more, then you can have your surprise.”
I gently push my hand through the open end of his sleeve, snaking through the material to find his forearm resting against my waist. He doesn’t tense when I touch the soft flesh or pull away from me. He simply kisses the shell of my ear as we continue walking over the rocky sand to softer ground then a hard deck. Our steps echo down the walkway—mine mismatched and Kane’s steady—until he pulls me deeper into his chest.
“I love you.” His weighted whisper brushes my cheek. “I have always and only ever loved you, Delilah.”
“I love you too,” I whisper back as my heart rate spikes. I have no reference to where we are, but I trust him to keep me safe. There’s no fear about being hurt unless it inflicts us both, yet the unknown still makes my heart race before he removes his hand from my eyes. I’m met with our reflection in the sliding glass doors of a cabin hidden behind wildflowers from the private beach. We’re older, scarred, and incapable of being ignorant. But there’s one thing that can’t be taken from us as we both smile at each other. I don’t need a reflection of Kane, so I look up as I ask, “What are we doing here?”
“We’re going to break in,” he whispers. “I’m going to count how many times you come before the owners come back.”
He can’t be serious, but he slides the door open, soundlessly marching me inside. It’s not until he drags me down to sit on his thigh opposite a large TV that I realize he’s lying. The screen flickers to life with an old black and white horror movie, illuminating the table full of our preferred snacks.
“Happy wedding day, wife,” he says as I lay my head on his shoulder, looking up at him. “You’ve had too many things taken away from you. I never want you to feel trapped with me, so thisplace,” he gestures to the cabin, “is all yours. It’s in your name. You can do whatever you want with it.”
“You bought a new house?”
“No. I’m giving you a home. You just need to choose the location.”
I cup his face with both hands as the dramatic music booms through the surround-sound speakers, prickling my skin. “I love you. I’m proud of you, but I forgot to get you a wedding gift.”
“Hmmm, let me eat you out before I fuck your ass. We’ll call it even.”
“In exchange for a house?” I laugh, falling into him.
I melt into him at the sheer love in his eyes as he delicately holds my jaw, tipping my chin up. “When we were twelve years old, I spent the first thirty-nine minutes of this movie wondering what your lips felt like. On the fortieth minute, you dared me to kiss you. I spent the remaining forty-nine minutes wishing I could feel them again.”
“It’s only a kiss. What harm could it do?” I repeat as the black and white image flickers around us.
“None at all. You changed my life that day, like you have ever since I saw a little girl with frilly socks fall down a slide before she told me an awful knock, knock joke. You’ve owned me since then, from the good to the bad. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. So rewrite history with me.”
