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"I'll make sure your ass feels every ounce of our reality tonight, but first..."
He smirked. "We get to surprise our girl."
eighty-seven
Millie
"It's so good to see you again," Fran whispered, patting my knee. I returned to book club just to see if I'd miss it much. In a way, I did, and the women kept telling me how they missed my insights. Being behind with my reading, I told them I'd catch up this week now that I'd be back for a while longer. My father asked for me to stay, and Draven promised he could hide long enough for me to fill the void leaving my home gave me.
"It's nice to be back," I sighed, sinking more into the leather couch.
"I'm jealous you got a tan. We haven't had great sunlight with the storms hitting." Helena drank some wine. For her, that was as close to a compliment I'd ever receive.
"Spain is beautiful. We live on a little island called Mallorca, and the locals are so kind. Though, I did miss home while away." Keeping some of the details to myself, I didn't have the patience to explain I didn't suffer Stockholm syndrome. "Maybe you guys can visit. Draven owns a vineyard about an hour from where we live."
"Vineyard?" Helena's ears perked up.
"They have some delicious wines." Grabbing for my larger than normal purse, I picked now to share some with her. Handing over three bottles, I knew Helena's love language had been like Kasey's. She drank to forget something, but I didn't know what her problems were. She looked like she lived a dream life with her fancy home and small family.
"Oh, thank you." Helena blushed like she knew she's said many hurtful things.
"No problem. It's the least I can do to say sorry for my absence."
"You were whisked away to an island," Courtney snorted. "No apology necessary. We all secretly want to know how the sex is."
Being bombarded after that with an insane amount of questions, I reared back in surprise. Luckily, the doorbell rang right then. Helena got up and sashayed to answer it as everyone quieted. Hearing a deep voice come from the entry, I felt like I knew who her visitor was, but I couldn't place a name to no face.
"Good evening, Mrs. White. I was hoping your husband might be home."
"He's back in his office, Mr. Marchetti. I believe you know the way if you'd like to go back." Helena stepped out of the way for him to move around her. "And I was so sorry to hear about the car accident you were in. I can't imagine being T-boned hard enough to wrap your car around a streetlight."
"Thank you, for your concern, but it would take more than a car accident to get rid of me." That's when I saw the long curls dangling down his back, and his neck brace in place. My eyes widened the moment he turned to see into the extravagant living room. Helena prided herself on her work as a stay-at-home mom, but I wondered if she knew the true identity of the man she had visiting her husband. When Augustus saw me, his own eyes widened in surprise. "Millie?"
"Oh, hey, Augustus! Long time no see," I tried to chuckle, but it came out dry.
"You know each other?" Helena eyed me like I had too many secrets these days. In complete honesty, I really did. One of my men was illegally in the country because he was now a wanted fugitive.
"Work related," I filled in the blank she had without giving the true nature of his work away. While the car wreck had been accurate, he didn't mention why we had been. This whole week took some weird turns as Tony called in crews to come and fix my father's house. They'd been gone a lot to handle business as I recovered from the minor things my body went through during the crash.
Like me, Kasey got a little banged up too, but she hadn't been speaking to anyone more than necessary. The guys told me they had plans to help her, but I wouldn't find out what that meant until later. Being saved by the doorbell again, Helena hadn't sat back down after seeing I knew one of her husband's clients.
"Good evening, ma'am. I'm here to pick up Millie." Ah, my strong giant got pick up detail. Smiling to myself, Augustus turned to see his friend with a grin. Costas was a little surprised too. "Augustus?"
"I guess tonight is a reunion of sorts." Augustus stuck out his hand to greet his old friend. When the ladies saw Costas, they went on high alert because he looked like a manic brute. Hating the stereotyping they did, I stood and went to kiss his cheek lovingly. He'd forever be mine to love, mine to cherish for every scar he earned on his path to redemption.
"Wait, I thought you were with Draven?" Helena pointed between us.
"Ah, this little lady stole the hearts of three," Augustus added, winking at me. Draven mentioned to me they'd be telling the table, so the confirmation had been proven. We were publicly doing this weird but perfect dynamic.
Shrugging, I let Costas guide me out. "Maybe you should ask the right questions..." Alluding to more, I knew their mouths would be hanging open. Tucking me into the buttery leather of the passenger seat, Costas placed a simple kiss to the top of my head with an easy smile. Our week of recovery had proven we cut the head off the serpent. The guys were worried about more growing back, but we had enough time to heal that we'd be ready for anything.
Taking his hand over the smooth and cool middle console, his eyes widened before he replaced his shock with adoration. He wouldn't be used to public displays of affection, but I had every intention of never stopping. Quiet, I rested my head against his arm and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere his presence offered me. The drive home felt relaxing and comforting, but I noticed he didn't go toward my father's address.
"Where are we going?" I sat up a little better.
"To your surprise." Costas wickedly grinned like he'd been in on whatever they schemed. Glaring at him, I knew he wouldn't say a word until I had it in my hold. Oh, he enjoyed my annoyance, beaming a little wider as he took me to the secret location.
Only being ten minutes from my dad's area, we pulled up to a gated home. Costas punched in some numbers to swing it wide open. These were the pricier homes within the area, so I'd never seen them up close. My budget barely had room for a proper couch. "Where are we?"
