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Letting out a large sigh, she collapses onto the sofa. “Oh. my. god. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch someone in the face more.”
“What did they say?”
“What? Oh! No, the Larsons are fine. A little dull, but that’s on brand for my parents’ taste in friends.” She rolls her eyes. “No, I mean Ludo. I’ve had to introduce him to every single one of my parents’ friends that he deemed worthy of a connection. Did you know he researched every person on the guest list?Andmade a couple requests. Fucking asshole.”
“It’ll all be worth it,” I remind her. “For your parents.”
With a sigh, she nods. “They haven’t been as worried lately, and I think it’s because they feel safer. I hope I’m not about to add on to their stress.”
I sit next to her so we can speak as quietly as possible. “When are you going to contact them?”
“Hopefully tomorrow night. I have a long flight tonight to get to California, and then Sparrow will help me settle in at my new place. She normally doesn’t take her clients that far, but considering who I’m running from, she wants to make sure everything goes perfectly.”
“You nervous?”
“Nah. I trust Sparrow. She has everything worked out. I can only contact my parents in specific ways so nothing can be traced, but once I’m out, I should be perfectly safe. And quite happy.”
Taking her hand and squeezing, I say, “And you’ll have nothing to worry about here. The guys are already working on aligning themselves with your parents, so once . . .” I glance around. “Once everything is taken care of, they’ll make sure nothing happens to them. No matter what.”
“Thank you,” she says softly. “Really. I wouldn’t’ve been able to do this unless I found a way to protect them.”
“Thankyou.”I nod to the makeup bag, which is sitting in my lap. “With this, I think we’ll be able to end things quickly.”
With a tilt of her head, she asks, “And then?”
“And then . . . and then we live happily ever after, I suppose.”
Aubrey laughs. “You know, I used to think that was bullshit. Life is sostressful.But watching the four of you, everything started to make more sense. You guys have found a sort of happily ever after in the midst of so much pain. I’ve never seen a love so deep.”
“I used to think something similar. My mom and her husband never truly seemed happy, you know? And I never felt it in any past relationships. But now, with these three . . . everything just clicks.”
“They love you so much it confused me at first,” she says. “Now it’s my goal to find someone—or multiple people, I suppose—who look at me the way you four look at each other.”
I grin. “Just be careful. You might end up getting more than you bargained for.”
She snorts. “No kidding. Look at you—a normal girl who somehow ended up with three revenge-bent hitmen.”
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself here,” I say with a laugh. “But I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Ugh!” Aubrey flings her arms around me. “I’m going to miss you so much. I promise I’ll write. Maybe we can even talk on the phone once in a while. But promise you’ll write me back?”
“I promise.”
There’s a knock on the door, and after Aubrey calls out, it swings open. Ludo steps through with his hands in his pockets and a scowl on his features.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Wren was fixing my makeup,” Aubrey replies lightly. “And then we got distracted. Girl talk and all that. Do you need something?”
“Yes,” he says exasperatedly. “I need to be seen with my wife. We should dance together.”
“We already danced.”
“Well, we should do it again.” He steps closer so no one overhears his vexed tone. “You and I both need this to work, but it won’t if we don’t act accordingly. Get up. We’re dancing.”
“No, we’re not.” Aubrey stands and smooths her skirt. “We can talk to people, drink champagne, laugh, and act like we’re head over heels. But I’m not dancing with you again. You’re horrible at it.”
Ludo jerks his head back like he’s been slapped. It looks like he’s about to fire back a retort, but there’s another knock on the door. One of the Stallard’s friends peeks in—a woman Ludo has been trying to kiss up to the most, I think. If I remember correctly, she’s an influential judge.
