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“About the chocolate? See, I told you he was adding something to it, but he won’t confess.” Valik chugged his iced coffee, swiveling the ice around.
“No, you big moose,” I giggled and rolled my eyes. “That I need to move on now and accept that it’s all over. I’ve been so focused on vengeance, but I see now that it’s such a debilitating feeling. It traps you, steals all your attention and peace. It’s not worth it. And now that Ryzen is gone—and yes, I believe he is—it’s time I focus on living the best life I can.”
“Amen, sister.” Valik held up his hand, powdered sugar coating the tips of his fingers.
I grasped his hand in mine and squeezed. “Pastry partners forever.”
“Chocolate gang for life.” He cackled and my heart beat with a little bit more happiness in it. “No, wait. The Vanilla Vipers.”
My stomach hurt from laughing so hard, and probably because of all the pastries as well. We packed up and swung past Sophie’s house to drop off the food Kaviathin had given us. No way I wanted Cian to see that—then I would have to confess where I had been. And I knew we had promised each other no more secrets, but my meeting with Kaviathin? Nothing good could come from me telling Cian about it.
I knew I had made the right decision when I got home and found Cian dismantling his evidence board in his office. The trash bin next to him was overflowing with crumpled papers and ripped photos.
“Hi, my love.” He tossed the photo of Ryzen over his shoulder and swept me up in his arms with a growl. “I missed you today.”
My back pressed against the office wall, and I giggled as my legs wrapped around him. “You’re in a good mood.” I kissed the tip of his nose, then his cheeks. “I missed you too.” God, he smelled good. I’d had every intention of coming in here to ask him what he wanted for dinner, but now? My mind was on something else completely.
“How was your appointment?” He leaned back and studied my face, a grin spreading across his face. “You look refreshed.”
I smiled and pressed my forehead against his. “It was… eventful. I’m ready for us to move on from this.”
“Me too, little star. How about a bonfire?” He pointed at the trash bin, and I grinned.
We spent the next hour ripping up the stuff from his board and tossing it in the firepit out on the terrace. Cian handed me a pack of matches and wrapped his arms around me so my back was against his chest.
“Do the honors,” he murmured into my ear.
A feeling of acceptance ran through me as I struck the match and tossed it on top of a mugshot of Ryzen. The flames spread and grew, a puff of smoke circling above us.
Fuck you, Ryzen Goodacre.
I hope you’re rotting in hell, because I’m about to start living my best life.
Chapter Eighteen
Nova
“Hey, Sophie, how were your exams yesterday?” I sat on the edge of her desk and grabbed a handful of Skittles from her candy bowl.
“Ugh, I’m so glad they’re over and I can just enjoy Christmas break now.” She grabbed a handful herself and separated out the blue ones and put them into a little baggie. I arched my eyebrow at her, and she giggled. “My sister loves the blue ones. I always save them.”
“That’s funny. Juliet loves the yellow gummy bears, so I pick them out for her too.” I threw some Skittles into my mouth. “Did you decide if you were coming to the wedding next week?”
“Oh, definitely. My parents are going to Florida and my sister has some secret getaway planned that she won’t tell me about.” Sophie drummed her fingers against her desk, a faraway look in her eyes.
I could tell something was bothering her, but I didn’t want to press. Ever since our lunch date at Spazzianos, she had been opening up a lot, being super talkative and really letting her personality shine through. She was so fun, and we loved this outspoken version of her. So, if she needed to vent about anything, she knew we ladies were here for her.
“Are you excited?” She leaned over her desk and propped her chin up with her hands. “It’s going to be so dreamy.”
I bit on my bottom lip, unable to control my grin. Dreamy? Absolutely. Because I was finally going to be Mrs. Cian fucking Blackwood, and we were going to start our life together.
The right way.
The last few weeks had gone by in a blur. Thanksgiving had come and gone soon after we had found out Ryzen was dead. Murdered. With still no answers as to who had done it. I wished I knew so I could send them a bouquet of roses.
I still hadn’t heard from Dobbs. I’d called him at least five times with no response. Either he was hunkered down somewhere getting shitfaced, or he was ignoring me. Either way, I didn’t care. As soon as Delove gave us the DNA results, I was ready to close this hellish chapter of my life.
Juliet came through the office with a tray of coffees. “God, those fucking reporters need to get a life. It’s been over three weeks. You’d think they would find a more interesting story by now. Like those aliens they found in Mexico.” She shivered and handed me an iced coffee.
