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My half-hearted laughter faded as I grabbed the contract from Neri.
“Do you have a pen?” I asked Jack.
“I do indeed.” Whipping a ballpoint out of his short pockets—ever the scientist to record important data and numbers—he tossed it to me. “Make my daughter sign that, start a list of what you need to take with you, then tomorrow, we’re all going to Mark Blythe’s house two streets over for lunch.”
“What? Why?” Neri asked, accepting the pen and nodding as I tapped the blank box for her to sign.
Only her.
I would once again hide behind her, desperate never to be seen.
“Because he’s selling a Jeep Cherokee, and I want you to test-drive it.”
“You’re buying me a car?” Neri’s eyebrows shot to her hair. “I-I can’t let you do that.”
“We want to,” Anna said. “We want to know you have reliable transport to visit us whenever you want. The apartment has its own carport, so you don’t have to worry about parking.”
Neri finished signing and gave me a smile just for me—a smile full of love and every day of our unfolding future—before standing and launching herself at her parents.
Pressing kisses to both their cheeks, she grinned. “Have I told you how awesome you guys are?”
“Not lately. You’ve been far too obsessed with your shiny new fiancé to even spare me a second glance. I’ve been demoted.” Jack pouted again, his eyes drooping like a sad, demented beagle. “I’m heartbroken and ever so jealous.”
“No, you’re not. You’re ecstatic that I picked him. This way, you don’t have to murder a new boy I might hook up with far away from home.”
“You know what?” Jack grinned, glancing at me with seriousness. “I am. I’m so glad you picked him.” Patting Neri’s behind, he announced, “Now go to the fridge, get your man another beer, your father another beer, your mother a gin tonic, and whatever you’re drinking these days—seeing as you’re only a few weeks from being legal to drink—and then we’re all going to celebrate.”
“Celebrate me leaving home?” Neri laughed. “Who are you, and what did you do with my father who never wanted me to leave the nest?”
He grinned. “I was lucky enough to put you into the hands of a guy I trust with all my heart. It helps knowing he’ll be with you, even when I won’t be.”
Neri rolled her eyes and skipped to the kitchen, all while Jack met my stare, and everything he didn’t say swirled around us.
Keep her safe.
She’s yours now.
I gathered up his silence and gave him my own.
I’ll guard her with my life.
You have my word.
Chapter Eleven
*
Aslan
*
(Heart in Croatian: Srce)
“THIS IS ALL OURS?” I ASKED, PIVOTING in my black flip-flops, drinking in the lounge with its white tile floor, patchy and stained walls, rickety glass sliders leading to a weed-filled communal garden, and an open-plan kitchen with some cupboards missing while doors hung haphazardly off their hinges on others. The grimy cream countertop had burn marks and the forest-green cabinets did nothing for the rest of the space, soaking up the late afternoon sunshine like greedy haunted trees.
“I can’t believe it,” Neri breathed, kicking off her own silver flip-flops to drift over the grout-stained tiles and down the short dark corridor to the small bathroom, complete with a showerhead that was so calcified that I doubted water could rain, and the ugliest pink vanity and matching bathtub full of spiderweb cracks and soap scum.
I followed her as she headed toward the bedrooms, peering into each, noticing the slightly mouldy plaid curtains, equally grout-grotty tiles, and the suspicious holes in the wall from either a rowdy party or an angry tenant.
