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I closed my eyes, preparing myself for his hug. His scent hit me first, and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out at the sudden agony tearing my soul apart. It felt so good to have him hug me again. Not in a sexual kind of way, but to have him hold me for just a moment, to make me feel safe and believe that I wasn’t going to lose everything I loved. Needing the guy who had once been my best friend to tell me it was all going to be okay.
I pressed into him, wishing he could make things better with his hug. Pretend that I wasn’t slowly breaking apart inside with each passing day because Remington was only getting sicker. Not just with headaches but losing his vision at times, and only the week before, he’d had a seizure that had left me shaking long after he’d woken up in the emergency room. I needed someone to tell me it was going to be okay, that when the time came, I could let my husband go and not beg the doctors to do whatever they had to in order to keep him with me. I knew that wasn’t what Remington wanted. We’d already talked about what would happen when the time really did come and I had to let go.
But I hadn’t told anyone what was going on with my husband. Jenner knew, because he had to, but I hadn’t confided in anyone about the reality of our situation. There was no shoulder to lean on but Remington’s, and I couldn’t let him see how much losing him was killing me.
I pulled back, my smile still in place as I looked up at Luca.
His hand went straight to my stomach as if he couldn’t help himself, and I felt my love bug give a powerful kick. It was stronger than anything the baby had given me since I’d first started feeling him or her kicking around in there. Luca’s eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything about it as he slowly dropped his hand. “You look amazing, Vi. Glowing and…in love.” He swallowed hard
but didn’t drop his smile. “I’m really glad you are happy.”
“Thanks, Luca,” I murmured. “It’s good to see you. Did you have a good flight in?”
For a few minutes, we stood there talking about casual things until everyone around us started up their own conversations once again. I glanced over at Lyric as he and Mila started toward us, and I stepped around Luca to embrace his twin.
“Hey, you,” I greeted and was rewarded with a kiss on my cheek. Then I embraced Mila. It was our first official meeting since I hadn’t stayed for their wedding reception to be formally introduced, and I was glad to finally get to talk to her in person. “You look so beautiful, but how are you able to stand upright with those beasts rolling around in there?”
Laughing, she touched both hands to her gigantic stomach. “Girl, you have no idea. I honestly think it’s a small miracle I’ve even made it this far into my pregnancy and I’m still able to walk.”
“You mean he doesn’t carry you around like a baby koala?” I asked in amazement, poking Lyric in the side.
“She won’t let me,” he grumbled unhappily.
“Good for her,” I laughed. Remington came up behind me, putting his arm around my waist while Luca turned to stand beside his brother. I leaned into my husband and caught up with my friend and Mila for a little while until I heard Mom and Aunt Layla talking quietly behind us.
I turned my head just enough to glance at them and saw the two mothers hugging. I nearly slumped against Remington in relief as Uncle Jesse gave Dad a glass of eggnog. The two of them were already joking around with each other like they had in the past.
“Hey, no one invited me to this party,” Shaw complained as she came up behind us. “I didn’t even know you were coming, douchenozzle,” she said to Luca.
“Wanted to surprise my mom,” he said with a shrug as he frowned down at her. “Where’s your brother?”
I stiffened at the way his eyes shifted around the room and then fell on Cannon. Oh shit. Years may have passed since I last saw him in person, but I could still read him like a book, and what I saw in his eyes told me he was plotting murder. I hadn’t thought about what would happen if Luca was in the same room with Cannon, and I wondered if Aunt Emmie had taken it into consideration either.
I met Shaw’s gaze, and she understood what I was thinking just as she yelled at her brother, “Cannon, run!”
Cannon turned, grinning until he saw Luca and the death threat flashing like a neon light out of his eyes. All the blood drained from Cannon’s face. “Fuck,” I saw him mouth, and he practically tripped over his feet as he made a run for the door.
Luca watched him with a predatory glint in his eyes, waited until Cannon reached the door, as if to give him a head start, and then ran after him. Luca passed Uncle Axton, who was talking to Aunt Emmie’s father, Eddie, but Ax didn’t move to help his son as the tank-like defensive player chased Cannon out of the house.
Shaw snickered as she took a drink of her eggnog. “Hey, I warned him. If he can’t outrun Luca, that’s on him. I’m not getting in the middle of that. Anyone else?”
Lyric wrapped his arm around his wife. “I’m too busy.”
Remington kissed the top of my head. “I already got my punch in. Violet said she forgave him, so I’ve let it go.”
“Yeah, well, Luca has a few years of aggression stored up just for Cannon.” Lyric grimaced. “Maybe we should send someone to check on them. Make sure Luca doesn’t get arrested for homicide.”
“Nah,” Shaw said before draining her glass. “Let them work it out themselves. He dies, he dies.”
“That’s your brother,” Mila reminded her.
She shrugged. “Meh. Maybe Mom and Dad will finally give me a baby brother if he’s dead.”
“Shaw,” I chided. “You don’t mean that.”
Her sigh was dramatic, and she gave an annoyed huff as she turned to glance around the room. “Jags,” she called out. “Want to help me save my worthless brother’s life?”
He lifted his head from where he was talking with his sister. “What’s in it for me?”
