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It’s as if Noor found herself a little microcosm of people who notice whenever something isn’t right. I’m sure they get tourists here, but we don’t fit that mold either.

“It’s hard to think when you’re so beautiful,” Ciaran says, his eyes on her face as he gazes at her. His obsession can’t be hidden, and I’m starting to think it's a lost cause to even try.

“Happy twenty-fifth birthday,” I add, watching for even a hint of softening. Instead, her dark eyes are pools of nothing. She’s shuttered her emotions from us, and it’s time to go before this goes south.

“It’s nice to see how loved you are, Noor,” Alastair says, signaling for us to follow him. We need to get a cab to our hotel room anyway. We knew we weren’t going to stay the night, but we needed a place to stash our stuff.

Noor closes her eyes as Arran begins to walk away, and I wonder how many questions he’s going to have for her. Or, is he going to table them instead and focus on giving her joy?

The old me might have peppered her with questions, but now?

“I didn’t think she’d ever get on a motorcycle,” I say under my breath as we walk.

“Did you see him?” Alastair asks. “He looks like he was born on one.”

Ciaran snorts, shaking his head. “I bet she’ll look gorgeous screaming his name later. That’s the reality we’re facing. We have to share her with someone who hasn’t fucked up her life and who is essentially perfect.”

He’s right. The ball is in her court, and our record speaks poorly when it comes to her.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

ALASTAIR

My heart is being torn from my body with every step I force away from Noor. I know Ciaran has fallen in love with her by listening to her hopes, dreams, and nightmares as a teen, but seeing her stunned me.

Her hair is shinier than I’ve ever seen it, her skin glows with health, and her body is curvier than I’ve ever seen it before. Her skirt was adorable in a whimsical witch kind of way that wasn’t at all childish, and the flash of her creamy thighs when Arran was holding her made my mouth water. Even her shoulder peeking from her shirt was the equivalent of porn for me.

If I had a dream girl, she would be it. I want to burrow into her head, learn what makes her tick, and then…

I want to fucking protect it. I don’t want to mess with her the way I would before. I want to nurture her dreams, help her achieve them, and now I really fucking want to know how she makes her money. Do I need to talk to Dr. Storm about this?

Am I spiraling?

The three of us are silent in the ride share as the driver takes us to the hotel and Draven shuts the door behind us heavily once we get into the room.

“That’s quite the stunt you fucking pulled,” Liliana says quietly, standing from the chair beside the window. There’s a hammer in her hand and I take a step in front of Draven and Ciaran without thinking.

I don’t think I ever would have put them before my career before, but I simply don’t think about things the way I used to. We rent our house from the owner for pennies, and save every dollar we make between the three of us. There is always the chance hockey won’t always be there for us.

Now that we have what we thought was our dream, we’re building our nest egg for our contingency plan.

“We made a gamble and she agreed to exchange numbers,” I explain. “I swear, we are doing our damndest to change, Liliana. We aren’t the same little shits you carved up seven years ago today.”

“We have quite the anniversary, don’t we,” she snarls. “My grandson has questions. They’re shining in the same eyes that look like yours, Alastair, but he hasn’t asked a single one. Would you like to know why?”

“Why?” I rasp, my toes flexing in my shoes. If we have to move, we will. We’re only three stories up, that’s not too far to go out the other window, is it?

“He promised Noor he would wait,” she says. “Those two are bound in a way that I’ve never seen before in a mother and son. They understand each other so well. Did you know he planned the entire day for Noor’s birthday?”

“Are we pretending things like money don’t exist?” Ciaran asks.

“Ha. As long as he has us, that little boy doesn’t have to worry about money. He voice memo’d the appropriate family members, and it got handled,” Liliana shrugs. “Zayn and Mr. Emil talk about everything in their chat box. You’re asking the wrong questions.”

“What are the right ones?” Draven breathes.

“How many bones can I break with a hammer is a great one.” Liliana’s smile is fucking insane, and I shudder with fear. God, this woman never fails to scare the fuck out of me. “Another good one is what do you assholes bring to the table? Noor doesn’t need money, she has it. She doesn’t need love, her boyfriend adores her and told her he loves her this morning. I can’t think of anything she’s missing in her life. So why...are…you…here?”