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My chest shook with amusement at the effortless way he could turn any situation into a joke. “Pretty sure.” I pushed against his stomach only to curl my hand against his shirt, keeping him close. “This isn’t the first time I’ve lived through a nightmare,” I reminded him, my voice solemn. “And this...God, as truly terrifying and awful as every moment of this week was, it was closure for what I’ve been living with. Is that twisted?”
“Not at all,” he said, quick to assure me.
I nodded absentmindedly before saying, “I’m not okay, but I am. There’s this weight on my chest for Kieran and his kids because I know it’s my—”
“Don’t.”
“It is my fault, Diggs.”
“If Kieran thought the same, he wouldn’t have checked on you throughout the night,” Diggs said, voice soft and low. “He wouldn’t have cared about saving you.”
“It doesn’t change that Keane Street was only there because of me,” I said gently but no less firmly, then hurried to continue because we clearly wouldn’t agree. “But underneath that heaviness and guilt is a peace I haven’t had in over a year. Because, even though Lachlan wasn’t the only one there the night my world changed, it was clear he was in charge, and he has been haunting me all this time.”
“And now he can’t,” Diggs said in understanding.
“And now he can’t,” I echoed.
My eyelids fluttered shut when Diggs pressed his lips to my forehead before lowering his head to mine. Holding me there in that moment like we had all the time in the world to stay right there.
“We’ll work on those things you shouldn’t be feeling,” he said when he released me. “For now, I still have something I want to show you.”
“The fort?” I asked, remembering Autumn’s words. But the question came out on an incredulous laugh as I thought about Diggs spending days building a fort.
Everything that came to mind was small, incredibly unstable, and definitely not built for two adults, let alone all of us.
“Tree...” Mischief teased the edge of his mouth as he released me to, once again, pick up the comforter he’d dropped during the Chaos showdown. “You say fort like it’s a ridiculous contraption.”
“I mean,” I began when he reached for the door, but the rest of what I’d been about to say caught in my throat, and my mouth fell open when I got my first look at the room.
A room that, just days ago, had contained couches, luxurious chairs, and a bar all centered around a massive screen. Nothing more.
This?
This was a fairytale.
“You did this?” The words left me on a breath as I stepped inside, joy lighting me up as I tried taking in every little detail.
“It’s what we do. Bring everyone together for a night or weekend inside a fort.”
At that, a stunned laugh tumbled past my lips. “This is not a fort.”
Diggs gestured above us, where curtains and twinkle lights were hung, covering the entire ceiling. All throughout the room, more curtains and lights fell like waterfalls, breaking up where mattresses and blankets were spread throughout the large space.
“Fort,” Diggs maintained proudly. Gesturing from the food-covered tables next to the bar to where all the chairs had been arranged in front of the screen, he said, “Once the kids go to bed tonight, we’ll turn on movies.”
“Do you sleep in here?”
An affirmative grunt rumbled from him. “As long as you’re okay with it.”
“Are you kidding?” Another laugh left me just as breathless as the other. “Diggs, this is incredible.”
He curled his arm around my neck and pulled me close. “Let’s feed you.”
I pressed a hand to his stomach as I looked up at him, a coy smile shaping my lips. “Stolen sandwiches?”
He winked, the action so subtle I nearly missed it. “Only the best.”
* * *
