AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Damn straight. I might forgive you for what you did, but I’ll never forget.” Lucas materializes out of nowhere, draping an arm over my shoulder.
Craning my neck, I try to see through the forest of people surrounding me.
“Looking for someone?” Chrissy teases. “You look distracted, Win.”
She knows exactly who I’m trying to find.
“Where is he? Is he late?” I demand, willing my heart not to beat so fast and hard just at thethoughtof him.
“Never.” The coarse, dark voice I know and love rasps behind me. He creeps up to me, kissing my shoulder blade, then bends down and kisses Louie’s cheek while he is in my arms. We are the picture of a perfect family.
Arsène and I managed to freeze a few of our embryos but decided to wait until after our wedding to try to have children. We don’t have a wedding date just yet, but he did propose, with a beautiful ring that belonged to his late mother. It is an honor to be wearing Patrice’s ring, and it will be a greater honor to make this magnificent woman’s son happy as his wife.
And if the embryos won’t do? Well, there are more ways to create a family, and I’m willing to explore all of them.
My head falls across my fiancé’s chest, and he bends down, capturing my mouth with his in a kiss.
“Aw. Gross.” I hear Riggs, Arsène’s friend, making gagging sounds. “There are literal children here.”
“You’re notthatyoung anymore,” Christian, Arya’s husband, deadpans. He approaches me, taking Louie from my hands. “You know, just in case your little hello is going to turn into something less than PG-13 friendly.”
I turn around to look at my future husband.
“Tell me something out of this world.” My lips move over the skin in the hollow of his neck.
“Planets can float through space for eternity without a parent star. They just drift through the galaxy. Astronomers believe they got ‘kicked’ out of their family system at some point. They’re like rebels with a backpack and fifty bucks to their name, but somehow, they survive.”
“Well, you won’t have to drift anymore.” I kiss his chin, his cheek, his nose. “You have a home planet now. You have me.”
ARSÈNE
“It’s not safe,” I clip out through clenched jaws. This may very well be the understatement of the century. Winnie and I are standing on the top of the roof of the Corbin mansion. The very same one I sold to Archie Caldwell as a consolation prize for not getting Calypso Hall. I’m glad to get rid of this concrete box of bad memories. Bonus points: the juju in this place is so bad it’s not even like I’m doing him a favor.
“Humor me!” Winnie steadies herself on the edge of the rooftop, stretching her arms horizontally.
“It’s a little hard when every bone in my body tells me to pounce on you and yank you back to safety,” I murmur bitterly. “Just get down from there. We can still make it to the six o’clock show if we leave now.”
“I don’t want to go to the movies.” Winnie makes an adorable face. The one that disarms me to submission. “I want to play a game of tightrope one last time before you evacuate this place. For old times’ sake.”
“The old times sucked,” I remind her.
“Well, let’s make one great memory here before we leave.”
I see what she is trying to do, and I appreciate it, I do, but if she hurts herself, I will goddamn lose it.
“Are you timing me?” Winnie whips her head around, watching to see if I’m taking the time. The woman is nuts. Fortunately, she ismynutcase.
I’m contemplating my next move when an idea pops into my head.
“I’ll time you. But I want to go first.”
She tsks. “Ladies first.”
I look around myself. “No ladies I can see from here. Let’s set the rules: if you win, if you finish before me, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
She hesitates, then relents. “Fine.”
She makes her way across the ledge and props herself against the chimney, then pops her phone out of her pocket. “Ready? I’m timing you.”
