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“Probably green like every other Hannigan in the world. Except for Max, but that doesn’t count. Bash’s DNA is just too dominant,” Felicity commented, overhearing our conversation. She was standing with Guzman, waiting on us. There was a three-person limit per patient in the NICU, but she’d gone in with Nova and Guzman earlier to visit with her granddaughter.
They hadn’t stayed long, and I’d seen Guzman heading straight for the chapel before I’d gone in to speak to the doctor. Now he was back from doing whatever he did in there; I suspected it was lighting a candle and praying for Justice, but I wasn’t sure.
“Mom, we’re going back to the mansion for the day,” Nova informed her mother. “I’m going to eat half the batch of enchiladas that Maria was working on when I spoke to her earlier, and then I’m going to sleep for the next twelve hours.”
Guzman opened the waiting room door for us, while Felicity laughed at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “I like that plan. I hope Maria made enough.”
“I’m hungry too,” I said with a laugh. “I’ve been forcing food down for days, but my stomach is finally working again, and I would kill for a giant cheeseburger from that diner back in New York.”
“Me too!” Nova and Felicity said in unison, making the three of us laugh.
“See you soon,” Garret said, drawing my gaze just as he hung up his phone and quickly pocketed it. I eyed him suspiciously, but it wasn’t me he avoided looking at when he crossed to us. It was his mom and sister. “What’s all the commotion, ladies?”
“We’re going home,” I told him with a sigh. “The nurse talked me into it, and I think we should all get some rest tonight.”
His green eyes widened. “You sure, baby? I can stay, and you can go back for a nap.”
“No.” I shook my head and reached for his hand. “Let’s go home. Please?”
His fingers entwined with mine, and he pulled me into his space. “Okay. Guzman can drive Mom and Nova, and I’ll drive us.”
From the glint in his eyes, I could see he had something he wanted to tell me, so I nodded and followed the others out of the waiting room. Both SUVs were waiting by the time we got to the lobby. I hugged Felicity and Nova as Guzman waited for them to get into the back of the first car.
Once they were settled, Guzman turned to me. “I would like a word later, if you have time, little one.”
My muscles, which had only just started to relax now that Justice seemed to be out of the woods, tightened with tension all over again, but I found myself agreeing before taking the front passenger seat of the second SUV. Garret shut my door and exchanged a few words with the head of security before taking his place behind the wheel.
“Okay,” I said, forgetting about Guzman for the moment and eyeballing my baby’s father. “What did you do, and how likely is it that your sister is going to slit your throat for doing it?”
He snorted in amusement, and it was in that moment that I realized he actually had no clue how deadly his sister could be when provoked. Felicity didn’t seem to suspect it either, from what I could tell. Which was bizarre to me, because the Hannigan family appeared so close. How the hell did no one know that the sweet little blonde they loved so much had the skills of an assassin?
I kept those thoughts to myself, while Garret took his time pulling onto the road that would take us back to the mansion. Only then did he answer. “You know that Nova turns eighteen the day after tomorrow?”
“I’d forgotten about it until she mentioned it earlier,” I admitted, a little crestfallen at letting it slip my mind.
“Well, I just arranged her present,” he said, throwing me a smug grin before turning his gaze back on the road ahead. “Ryan is flying out to California to pick up my dad. They should be here by morning.”
“Oh dear lord,” I muttered, covering my face with both hands. “Garret, your mom and sister are going to murder you.”
“Nah,” he said with a laugh. “Trust me on this, babe. If it weren’t for how sick Justice has been, I know Mom would have already gone back to Creswell Springs to get Dad. The two of them would have been down here straightaway, because my dad would want to be close to his first grandbaby just as much as Mom. As for Nova…”
My neck hurt from how tense I was as I waited for him to continue.
“Nova doesn’t belong here, blue eyes. Her place is in New York, with Ryan.” I quickly turned my head away to hide the sudden tears that filled my eyes. Garret grasped my wrist and tugged, urging me to look at him again. “Baby, I know she’s like a security blanket for you. From what I’ve been told, she saved you from Manuel. But just because she’s in New York doesn’t mean she’s going to love you any less.”
“I should be used to this by now,” I whispered. “Everyone leaves me eventually.”
“Hey, I’m not ever going to leave you again,” he promised, his voice so full of conviction, I couldn’t help but believe him. Trusting him became a little easier each day. “And Nova isn’t leaving forever. She will visit us as often as she can. You and Justice mean the world to her.”
“But are you sure this is what Nova wants?” I asked, legitimately concerned for his well-being if it turned out that she didn’t want to see Ryan.
He laughed deeply. “There is no Ryan without Nova. They are meant to be, Lis. Just like you and me.”
“Are we?” I murmured quietly.
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he growled. “The first thing we’re doing as soon as Justice is released from the hospital is getting married. We’ll have to wait a little while for the honeymoon because neither one of us will want to leave her right away after she’s home. Maybe for our five-year anniversary, we’ll take a long trip together while Nova watches our baby girl.”
My heart rate started increasing with every word out of his mouth. “That…That’s a lot of plans you’ve made for our future, gangster. During any of these ideas for a wedding and honeymoon, did the thought of actually asking me to marry you happen to pop up anywhere?”
