Yet, if there are days like this where I can see glimmers of it, bask in it, I can accept that.
“Lex said the townhouse is ready for us.” Sloane shifts, clinging to Collins for warmth.
Nodding, I cross my arms. “I can have everything brought back?—”
“I want to stay,” she interrupts. Collins stays silent, but those devious eyes shine with understanding. Hand to her stomach, she rubs it tenderly, and my heart swells. “At least until after they’re born. Maybe a few months after? It’ll be nice to have help. Two babies,” she winces. “I don’t know how to handle one. Two?Yikes.”
They’re coming any day. She means she wants tostay.
Swallowing, I wring my hands. “I’ll teach you. I spent many nights rocking Briar back to sleep. You too.” God, I sound awkward. “Mama wasn’t really…there.”
That’s an understatement. My mother might have birthed them, but she never cared for them. I spent more nights soothing cries than sleeping. Another reason having my own children seems absurd. I raised my siblings—I don’t need to raise anyone else.
“Yeah,” she breathes, sharing a look with our sister. “Collins and I have been talking. What it’s like to be a mom. What we remember. There aren’t a lot of great memories to sift through.” I flinch, a physical hit at the reminder. “But we’re starting to realize, maybe everything we do remember—the late-night tuck-ins, the soft hugs, wasn’t from Mama after all.”
I hold my breath, tense. Killian rubs his hand over my side, leeching away the worry.
Will they know it’s me? That I was the one holding their hands at night, checking their foreheads after fevers, arranging transport to all their events?
But the moment passes, Sloane rolling her shoulders back. “I still expect an apartment. If Collins has one, I want one. And fuck, it’ll be nice to take a sledgehammer to Pops’ precious house.”
Eyes watery, I wipe my nose, huffing out a laugh. “Of course.” Knowing Sloane, she’ll expect a crystal chandelier too. “And when you do decide to go home, it’ll be there, if you ever want to come back.”
Hayes and Lex come up to their respective partners. Tapping me with a brotherly elbow, Hayes pulls Collins back as he slings an arm over her shoulders, and Lex curls Sloane into his side. Another part of their hearts, and it makes a small smile spread across my face.
They’re happy. It might have taken most of my life, but both my sisters are finally happy.
“Ace,” Lex drawls, rubbing his cheek. His stubble is a bit darker. “What am I to do with the man in my office?”
Killian chuckles behind me. “Ah, theboyfriend.”
I elbow him, the end catching his hard abdomen. He grins against my temple. “Easy, princess. Remember what happens when you hit me,” he whispers. “I’ll fuck the attitude out of your system in front of all these lovely people, then pluck their eyes for daring to witness you like that. I don’t care if they’re your siblings.”
No, I didn’t forget. Some days, I’m pretty sure I do this on purpose. Killian always makes good on his promises.
My cheeks grow hot—thank God the cold hides it. Turning back to the capo, I nod toward the mourners. “Let me into the club while you all are at dinner. I’ll handle him.”
I have something special planned for him.
They disperse, and Killian tugs me toward my SUV. In the far back, overlooking the grave plots, my eyes catch on a blackshadow leaning against a large tomb. Without seeing the face, I recognize the shape, the silhouette.
Sighing, I glare at Killian. “Briar is still in town.”
He shrugs. “You can’t make him leave.”
“Watchme.”
“Princess,” he drawls, lifting my hand to his lips. “Later. No one knows he’s here for now. And we have other things to take care of.”
His soft lips drag across my knuckles, and my core clenches. It’s not fair how easily my body responds to him—how safe it feels in this murderer’s arms.
“And what if someone discovers he’s here?”
“I’ll handle it.” He slides a hand across my hip and presses us close, bodies intertwined. “But first? Theboyfriend.”
Rolling my eyes, I step toward the street. “I really hate that you call him that. What will I call you if he has that title?”
Killian laughs, trailing after me. “I’m not yourboyfriend, Princess. I’m your fuckingending. Not some pretty boy in a sweater, I’m the one who owns your soul. That’s the only title I’ll need.”
