How much I love her. How I don’t want to spend another day without her. That today was only the tiniest glimpse of what I would do to protect her.
But they are too big. Too intense for this moment.
Sera made herself vulnerable by being naked with me. She just shared something that she has kept guarded for almost two years, and I refuse to make her feel as if there is any expectation in this moment.
“We should put some clothes on,” she says quietly. “Keke…”
I pull her pajamas from the drawer and hand them to her in silence. After slipping into my own pants, I slide into the bed behind her and pull her tight to my chest. I drop a kiss to the curve of her shoulder, and she nestles back against me. Her fingers find mine where they rest on her stomach and laces them together.
I stay awake a little longer, listening to the quiet rhythm of her breathing as it evens out into sleep, marveling at how lucky I am—that this woman, this brave, beautiful woman, chose to let me in.
I press one last kiss to the nape of her neck and vow that she will never be sorry.
27
SERA
“Hey, so there’s something I need to tell you.” The light is barely creeping through the curtains when I poke Liev in the shoulder to wake him.
“Never in the history of human existence has good news ever followed those words,” he mutters, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.
I roll onto my side and prop my head on my palm. “When you were off doing… whatever it was you were doing last night. Aaron’s brother Tyler approached me.”
His entire body goes rigid.
“Easy,” I say quickly, laying a hand on his chest. “He only talked. It was fine.” I leave out the whole arm grab thing because it will only derail the conversation. “Actually, it shed some light on things.”
“What things?” His voice already has an edge to it.
“His family thinks Aaron left the password to his bitcoin account with me. Tyler offered to cut me in, but I had no clue what he was talking about. That explains the part of the lawsuit that requires me to turn over anything Aaron gave me. I guess Taggert Construction is in trouble and they need the money to pay back a loan.”
A muscle ticks in Liev’s jaw.
“Something he said got me thinking,” I continue. “When I told him I didn’t have it, he freaked, babbling about was I sure, maybe I didn’t know I had it etc. I explained that when I was in the hospital, Brady arranged for me to move, and he threw out a ton of stuff. All I have left from that time is some clothes and stuff from my childhood. The look on Tyler’s face was like I’d killed his puppy. He deflated like a balloon, said he was a dead man, and left.”
I do a little drum roll on his chest. “But it’s not true. My phone. I’d forgotten all about it. When we were dating, I broke my phone. Aaron got me a new one. What if the password is on there?”
Liev’s brows furrow. “How would he have put it on there? Didn’t you set up your phone?”
“I did, but I wasn’t careful with my password.” I shrug. “He was my boyfriend. He knew what it was. He could have added it at any point.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell you? Or written it down and left it in his desk?”
I snuggle into his chest, breathing him in. “I don’t know. But apparently, he told his brother he left it with me because I was going to be his wife, and he trusted me more than anyone.”
Liev’s expression darkens. “Good thing you didn’t marry him,” he grumbles. “If I’d met you after, I’d have had to kill him to make you a widow.”
“Always jumping straight to homicide.”
He looks thoughtful, stroking a finger down my arm. “Did he say who they owe money to?”
“No.”
He hums, the sound vibrating against my cheek. I let myself relax into him, marveling—again—at how quickly he’s become apart of my life. A few weeks ago, I didn’t know him beyond a name, now I can’t imagine life without him.
He’s going back to his life soon.
I silence the doubt trying to chip away at my happiness.
