Page 71 of Lost & Found

PRINCESS:

Just leaning into the narrative is all.

LEV:

Mm. Dangerous. I love it.

I shook my head and typed before my courage wavered.

PRINCESS:

If you say so. I hope I don’t embarrass the hell out of us.

That one sat there for half a second longer before I hit send. It was honest, but it left me feeling exposed. When his response didn’t immediately come, I typed out a joke, but then his reply came through.

LEV:

You won’t. Trust me. We’re going to have the time of our lives.

My stomach flipped. Time of our lives, huh? For a fake dating arrangement, he sounded entirely too confident. And the worst part? A small, reckless part of me wanted him to be right. I pocketed my phone and took one final glance around the room. If there was anything I’d forgotten, I could always pick it up once we landed.

Kinsley came barreling through the door. “Bash says you’re going to be late if you don’t leave. I secretly want to tie you down—”

Laughter ripped from my chest before she could finish. She gave me a crooked smile.

“Not like that. Damn, I’m gonna miss you so much. I know it’s important and you’re going to find yourself, but don’t get lost along the way. And please come back to me. To us. Promise.”

“Baby girl, she will.” Nik appeared behind her like he’d been summoned by her distress. He gathered her into his arms. “She loves us too much to stay away forever, and Sebastian will string Pasha up by his balls if he doesn’t bring her home.”

“That’s not very nice. It might impact his ability to have babies,” Kinsley sniffled, dissolving into full-blown sobs. “He has to have babies, lots of them. We made a promise.”

Nik’s mouth twitched. “The only babies you’ll be—”

Kinsley swatted his chest without looking up. “Not with me. We made a pact, though. One of his babies will marry one of our babies.”

Nik rubbed slow circles on her back. “I can get on board with that. Maybe we should revisit our contract, bump things up a bit in the timeline.” He smirked at me over her head.

“No. He has to get serious, and we have to approve of the woman first. It can’t just be anyone, right Isabella? Plus Winter.”

I choked. “As long as it’s not Hannah or a Hannah two-point-oh we’ll be fine.”

Kinsley’s sobs hitched into something louder. That was my cue. I crossed the room and peeled her from Nik’s hold. He released her with a patient sigh, already knowing she wasn’t done. The second she was in my arms, she crumpled.

When deep emotions hit, all her daintiness fell by the wayside. She went all in. Full body, shoulders shaking, mascara running. I tightened my arms around her, pressing my cheek against the top of her head.

“I’ll only be gone for a little while. I promise I will come home. ”I cupped her face and made her look at me. “You’re not getting rid of me ever.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and big, fat tears streaked down her cheeks. She flung her arms around my stomach, desperately clinging to me. It was times like this that reminded me why I loved her so much. At the heart of it, she was still afraid of being alone.

Pasha appeared in the doorway, clearly having come to retrieve me. Our eyes met, and he raised an eyebrow at the spectacle in front of him.

“Make sure Pasha doesn’t lose you.” She sniffled into my shirt. “Take care of him for me. It’s important, okay? And he really does need his balls—”

“Okay, hold up. Why are you discussing my anatomy?” he blurted.

Nik erupted in laughter and clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble half a step.

“I’ll explain it all later on the plane,” I said.