Revea groans, holding her hand out to Sylvan. “Give me the bracelet back.”
“What? No, it’s mine.” He slips it on. She reaches for it, but he lifts his hand up above his head. “You gave it to me. You can’t take it back.”
“Yes, I can! It’smycourting gift, and we’re not courting—”
“Yes, we are,” Kaiden rumbles from behind, causing her to turn back. “We accept, Revea.”
He kisses her, picking her up by the waist and perching her onto the pool table, where he deepens it.
“What the fuck did you do, Luc?”Val murmurs over the bond.
“Told her I love her.”
All my packmates’ eyes snap to me, even Kaiden’s, while he’s still kissing Revea.
I shrug.“I do. But that’s not why she did this.”I glance down at my bracelet, running my thumb over it.“Don’t lessen the choice she’s made.”
“You know the humming air is arealgiveaway.” Revea smirks.
“Thank you for the gift,” Sylvan says, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “You need to eat. You didn’t have lunch.”Then he sweeps her off the pool table without pause or consideration for anyone else, carrying her out of the room over his shoulder.
“How long before he’s searching up courting instructions?” I murmur.
Kaiden laughs, shaking his head before facing me. “Good job,” he says. “And not just for tonight. For every decision you’ve made that brought us to her.”
Ah shit. I don’t know how to respond to that. I just did what I felt was right in the moment. Luckily, he just claps my shoulder once, then heads for the door.
I clear my throat and turn back to Val. “Did you hear that, hermano...”
But he isn’t looking at me. Still leaning against the wall, he stares down at the bracelet in his hand.
I let out a long breath. “Is this when you call me an idiota for falling in love—”
“I’m in love with her too,” Val suddenly declares, then drags a hand over his face, finishing his drink in one large gulp before he looks at me. “I love her, Luciano. And the thought of her leaving…”
I study him. Really study him. Because I know my brother better than I know myself, and right now, he looks… afraid.
“Hey,” I say, “it’s a good thing, Val.”
“Not if she goes.”
“Esteidiota,”I groan, exasperated. “She’s literally just asked to court us.”
“I don’t mean like that…” He stares at the floor. “You know what I mean. There are other ways people go.”
I scoff, leaning against the pool table across from him. “You really gonna make me say it?” His wary eyes meet mine.“La vida sin amor no es vida, mis amores.”
He shakes his head and laughs despite his mood. “Wow. Like our abuela’s in the room with us.”
“Yeah, adding too much salt to the paella while saying it.” I chuckle back. “Even when she hated the girls we brought home, she’d still say it.” I fiddle with the bracelet, slipping it on. “Even after Ma passed, she’d say it to us every night. Just like she did.”
We both go quiet with that memory, remembering the two women we loved and lost.
“They’d have loved her,” Val says, then nods to himself as he stares down at his wrist.
“Yeah.” My thumb rubs over the braided band. “They would have.”
Sylvan
