Page 99 of Sweet Redemption

Fuck me. “Well . . . I live next to my sisters, and they’re nosey as fuck. They may have noticed your car in the driveway. All night.”

“Oh God,” she whispers, dropping her hands and her fight. “No.”

“Yeah, baby. There was a group text,” I finally admit and wrap my arms around her as she drops her head to my chest. “They all know. And apparently, Ares knew it was us in the shower at the wedding a few years ago.”

“Seriously? So does Gracie know?”

“He never said anything.” Thank fuck. “But it’s safe to say my brothers and sisters and their spouses all know now. And since Nixon’s wife is your cousin . . .”

“Fucking small town, incestuous bullshit,” she mutters and lifts her head. “Great.”

“Tell me how you want to handle it, and I’ll take your lead.” I press my lips to her forehead. “We’ve got this, Serena.”

“Give me a few days, okay? With any luck, Kenzie will be on call at the hospital this week and won’t have time to activate the family phone tree. Let me get through my meeting with King Corp. And—wait . . . your first game is what? Three days from now?”

“Tuesday night. Against New York. We’ll leave Monday and be back late Tuesday night.”

“Who’s staying with Bodhi?”

“He’ll stay at Gracie’s this time. Britt’s mom, Melissa, is moving to Kroydon Hills to help with him soon though.”

Serena’s eyes focus on something over my shoulder, like Mel is too much for her to handle this morning. “Okay. I’ve got a ton to get through. I’ve got to go.”

“Still not running, right?” I ask, needing to know we’re on the same page.

Serena presses her lips to mine and nods, but once she’s gone, I realize she never answered.

SERENA

I will never be a winter person.

Give me the sand and the ocean and the sun and storms.

Give me warm skin and wet hair.

Give me the beach at golden hour and a good book and let me be.

—Serena’s Secret Thoughts

Aurora

Who did you and Livvy use as your realtor?

Serena

I’ll send you the number. Why?

Saylor

Because the condo we’re renting was sold. They want us out in a week.

Serena

Oh shit. Well, you can stay with me while you look. I’ve got plenty of room.

Aurora

Love you, Barbie. Hoping to find a place to buy. But it might take a hot minute, and I really have no desire to move back in with my parents while we look.