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I stare in awe as she nods. “It is. Mine is just down the hall. I’ll show you if you like and my door is always open to you.”
She smiles sweetly. “It will be fun getting to know you, Laura. I really hope you’ll stay.”
“I have no choice.” I shrug. “They told me one week.”
Her face falls and I say with a smile. “I have a feeling though that one week won’t be enough. I’m not sure I can say the same for Troy, though.”
“Your boyfriend?” Her eyes light up and I smile softly. “Yes. The man I love, despite how difficult he made that for me.”
“Then you will make it through because the strongest bonds are crafted through adversity. I should know.”
She smiles dreamily. “My own boyfriend, Alexei, found it tough at first. Luckily for me, he is stronger than most men and he needed to be.”
“Is he here now?” I’m intrigued to meet the man who has captured her heart, and she sighs. “No. His family needs him. There is trouble at home.”
“Trouble?”
She sits on the edge of the bed and shakes her head.
“His father was murdered, and they are searching for the person responsible. I am to meet him after I leave here and then we are heading to England.”
“Do you travel much?”
“All the time. He has businesses all over the world. They all do, and he is responsible, along with his siblings, for controlling their empire.”
“I see.”
I wander over to the window and stare down at the serene orchard and remark, “You are right about this place. It’s an escape. I can see why your family love it so much.”
Two women stroll into the orchard, laughing together, and they appear so happy it makes me smile.
Serena comes over and stands beside me. “That’s Purity and Allegra. The poor women who are stuck with my brothers.”
“They don’t appear to be unhappy about that.”
“I didn’t say they were sane.”
Serena giggles. “Purity, the one on the right, is married to Killian and you won’t find a kinder, sweeter person than her. She is the light to his dark, and I’ve never seen him so intensely protective over anyone in my life. The other woman is Shade’s unfortunate victim. They will be married soon, and I’ve offered her my assistance to escape.”
“You don’t really mean that.” I can tell from the lightness in her voice, and she laughs softly. “No. She’s tamed the wild spirit who always lived inside my brother. They are good together and she has a wicked sense of humor that’s infectious. If anything, she’s just as wild as he is and he tortures her mercilessly by embarrassing her whenever he can. They’re good together, though.”
As they start picking the fruit, their happy chatter wafts through the air toward us and Serena links her arm in mine and says sweetly, “We’re a family, Laura. A crazy, fucked-up family who don’t know how they made it to this point. Now you are here, it has completed a circle that got broken along the way. Our future is undecided, which is why we make the most of the present. Don’t hold on to your past. It’s now that counts. You may be late to the party, but you made it in the end and you will soon discover that family is the most important thing in all our lives and that includes you.”
It’s as if the sun is setting in the shadows of my past and they disappear over the horizon. I am where I belong—finally. I accept that now and have an inner peace that makes everything I’ve been through worthwhile.
So, with a lighter heart, I turn to Serena and smile.
“I guess I should go and rescue Troy. He must be going out of his mind.”
“He’ll survive.” Her eyes flash and she laughs. “I hope he’s a strong one, though. He’ll need to be in this family.”
“He’s strong.” I reassure her and suddenly the only place I need is to be is in his arms where I will always belong.
CHAPTER 55
TROY
After the most testing week of my life, there are no words to describe how happy I am to leave Serenita and the Vieris behind as we board their boat and head back to civilization.
