I cupped her cheek and brushed her lips with mine. “Happybirthday,Aurora.”
The kiss was soft, but everythingIfelt was poured into it.
Of course, the moment was shattered by something, well, shattering.
Aurora’s eyes widened at the crash of glass.
“Ten bucks it wasDrewtrying to do a keg stand.”
Her brows lifted. “Whendid a keg get here?”
I dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “I’mgonna go check on that.Takeall the time you need.”
I slipped out of the widow’s watch and headed for the stairs, only to run intoMilesat the top of the steps.
From whatAurorahad told me, he was anMMAchampion who reinvented himself as a bodyguard for a high-end private security firm.That’show he andWhitneyhad met and fallen in love.
He still looked the part of the fighter, but his temperament was more . . . cartoon squirrel who guzzled an energy drink.
“Jackie!”Heclapped me on the shoulder. “Youknow how to throw one hell of a party.How’sit going, man?Wanderright as rain?Isaw her slip out of the shindig to get some air.Iwas skipping up here to check on her so my girl doesn’t have to set down her piece of cake.Neverget between a woman and cake, if you know whatImean?”
I chuckled. “She’sgood.Shejust needed a breather.”
“Cool, cool, cool.I’mglad she has you.Thatlast ass potato she was with wouldn’t have checked on her.That’swhyI’mhere.”Hepopped an imaginary collar. “MilesZhou—husband to the one and onlyWhitneyWest—and honorary scary scowl forWillowWinsletandWanderWhitlock.It’sa tough job, but someone’s gotta screen their suitors to weed out the men with microphones.”Hecracked his tattooed knuckles. “It’salways fun to fuck with ‘em.SometimesIget my fellow private security peeps to get in on the action.Onetime, we had a surprise meeting with this fart biscuit in the interrogation room at headquarters because he decided to say some not-so-nice things aboutWillowonline and hurt her feelings.Hepeed himself.Wemade him clean it up before he left, but hey—that’s why there’s a floor drain in the room.”
I cleared my throat and awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck.Itwas hard to take him seriously in the neon swim trunks andCrocs, butIhad the distinct feeling that even in his chipper, cheery tone, he was being dead serious.
“And by ‘surprise meeting,’ you mean?—”
“A friendly kidnapping.”Hegrinned from ear to ear. “Luckilyfor us, he was on our side of the country for work.Westole that butt nugget during his lunch break and had him back to his job in new pants by the time he had to clock back in.Coleeven let him keep all of his fingers.He’sa nice guy like that.”
WasIabout to bekidnapped?Andwho wasCole?
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure there wasn’t a scary goon lingering in the alcove.
I raised my hands in defense, then regretted it.Ifhe knewIhad all ten fingers, he might be a little too willing to relieve me of one of them. “Iwork for the state, soI’vebeen fingerprinted and background checked.AndIhave no intention of starting a podcast.”
He let out a jolly laugh and patted my arm. “Goodman!”Milespulled out his phone, took a few steps back, and snapped a photo of me.
“What was that for?”
Miles sided up to me and gave me a friendly elbow nudge as he dropped the photo into a group chat named “Keller’sAsses.” “Justgiving my former spec-ops and intelligence community friends an idea of how much body mass they’ll need to dispose of if you hurtWander.Doyou wear a large or an extra-large bodybag?”
WhenIdidn’t answer, he gave me a quick up-and-down, looked back at the photo, then back at me as he worked it over in his mind.
“We’ll go extra large to be safe.Don’twant you to be squished in there.Thatwould suck.”
“Seems a little unnecessary, butIappreciate you taking my post-mortem comfort into consideration.”
Miles chuckled as text responses from his crew floated in. “Now, sinceI’mthe token husband for theWWs, let me explain it to you like this,” he said as he pocketed his phone. “IloveWhitney, andWhitneylovesWander, which meansIloveWander.Whichmeans that ifWanderwants to see you with one of myCrocsin your mouth while you’re slow roasted on a spit, then it’ll be my time to shine.”Helooked down at the bright yellow foam shoes on his feet. “It’llbe a noble sacrifice for the world’s best footwear, but we do what we have to do for the women we love.”
“How about this,”Isaid, attempting to de-escalate the situation. “IfIswear on my life thatIwon’t hurtWander, will you stop sizing me for a casket?”
Miles tossed his head back and laughed. “Don’tbe silly.Ifyou hurt her, you won’t need a casket.Casketsare forbodies, and you won’t have one of those.”
29
AURORA
