We join the long line of partygoers some distance away from my brothers and the Griffins, but when it’s our turn to dance through the middle, a loud cheer rises up. The dance floor immediately falls into disarray as I’m pulled into hugs from my brothers and receive back slapsfrom the Griffins. I lose my grip on Grace, who’s being treated to Moncrief hugs too, but when I see Hunter preparing to wrap his arms around her, again, I slide between them.
“Hands off, Hunter,” I say with a smile.
He grips my shoulder and laughs. “It’s about time you fucking claimed her.”
“Hey, Grace,” Reid says, ignoring the boundaries I’m trying to set by kissing her cheek. “Thank you so much for the Griffin. We love it. It’s going to be a family heirloom.”
“Oh, it was nothing…”
Reid is knocked out of the way by Mace. “Will you make one for me? But bigger?”
He winces when Reid elbows him in the ribs. “He only needs bigger because he’s lacking in other areas,” Reid says with a smirk.
“You’re the one who’ll be lacking in a minute,” Mace growls, grabbing his brother by the collar. “Mostly lacking teeth, pretty boy.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Hunter complains. “Would it be too much to at least try to make a good impression in front of new people.” He looks to Grace. “My apologies. We’re still house training them.”
Grace’s jaw drops as she watches Hunter drag his brothers away. “The Griffins are not what I expected at all.” She frowns as she stares up at me. “But then neither were you, and maybe I’m not the person I thought I was either. Have I entered an alternate universe?”
“Just hours ago, we came face to face with death and pure evil,” I say because those experiences will change us. “We stood up to protect those we loved, shoulder to shoulder with people who were doing the same. And damn, that needs to be celebrated.”
I pull her back to resume our dance, but as I’m spinning her around, the music stops.
“Ladies and gentleman,” Rory says, holding a microphone that I doubt he needs. “It’s fair to say we’ve had quite a night and I’m sorry for the disruption earlier. I know some of you are still picking out blobs of buttercream from your hair.”
There’s a murmur of agreement through the crowd and a ripple of laughter too.
“I appreciate you came here to celebrate Katarina’s birthday,” Rory continues. “And you may be wondering where the birthday girl is…” He pauses and finds me in the crowd. “Actually, I think it might be best if my brother explains. Please welcome Duke onto the stage.”
There’s a round of applause and a few cheers from the merrier contingent of the crowd, but as I move towards Rory, Grace tries to pull free again. I don’t think so.
I’m still holding her hand as I take the microphone, and I only let it go so I can rope my arm around her waist. Once I’m sure she’s settled at my side, I finally address the crowd.
“I hope you enjoyed the fireworks,” I begin, “but a few keen-eyed guests might have noticed there were some unplanned fireworks at the house too.”
The whispered murmurs from our guests confirm the chaos Vasili rained down on us didn’t go entirely unnoticed.
“I know it came as a shock when I announced my engagement,” I say, daring to glance at Grace. She smiles, but her eyes narrow a fraction. I’d surprised her most of all. “Katarina and I weren’t an obvious match and some of you probably thought the same.” I heave out a sigh for effect. “So, it should come as no surprise that we’ve decided to cancel our wedding plans. It was a difficult and painfuldecision.”
I pause to press the tip of my tongue to my split lip, leaving the guests to draw their own conclusions. The wrong ones, but it’s part of the story we have to weave.
“We still don’t know where she got all those firecrackers from,” Rory adds from the crowd.
“Did she blow up the cake?” asks a guest.
“No, that was Fitz,” Calder shouts in reply.
“Snitch!” Fitz fires back. “But what can I say? I just want my brother to be happy, and it was my way of expressing my concern.”
From the smiles all around, we’re clearly winning the crowd, but I don’t want to villainize Katarina. She deserves better from me.
“Katarina is a strong and fiery woman,” I continue with more affection than I ever thought possible. My heart clenches when I add, “She should be with someone who loves her for that spark and doesn’t try to snuff it out.”
I clear my throat. Killian could have been that for her. He was still holding on when Ash whisked him away in the helicopter, and it’s another gossamer thread of hope I’m hanging onto. That hope feels even more fragile when the sides of the marquee begin to ripple as a helicopter comes into land nearby.
I wait for the noise to die down before I continue, and as I scan the faces in front of me, I see Max. Next to Max is my sister. My mouth goes dry. Meri’s here. I don’t know how he managed it, and I’m just thankful she didn’t show up earlier while Vasili was here. I’m thankful for so damn much.
As the thump of chopper blades stills, my heart beats harder. “Katarina and I both deserve better than we could offer each other,” I say. “And the next woman I ask to marry me will deserve better from me too. Change starts here. It starts now.”
