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Take care of what, exactly?
No one wants to kill this man. No one wants to hurt him. Kidnap him? Maybe. But if that attempt was made, he knows what to do. He’s well-trained in self-defense and highly skilled with a number of weapons. I know because I’ve trained himmyself. He also has a vast network of people to call for any kind of help, of which I am only one person.
Scarlett and Mariah have also been trained in the protocol for what to do if Cian is ever threatened or doesn’t show up somewhere he’s supposed to. I know that because I did that training as well.
And really, it’s always been more about making sure he’s happy and supported and empowered than about his physical safety.
And he’s clearly all of that. In large part because of Scarlett. And Mariah. And our extended group of family and friends.
That’s not just on me, either.
“Then what’s it about?” he asks. “Because I’m good. Really good. I’m so fucking happy.” He meets my gaze. “Are you?”
I nod. “Yeah. Of course.”
“But could you behappier?”
This man is like a brother to me. I believe he wants me to be happy. So I nod again, “Yeah, I could be happier.”
“In New Orleans, with Ruby,” he says.
“Yeah.”
“Then you should go, don’t you think?”
“I…don’t know.” I swallow. “This…job.” It’s always felt strange calling Cian a job. All of this has always been so much more. “This, with you, has been my entire life for so long. The thought of not doing this feels strange.”
He grins. “The thought of living in a small town in Ohio and substitute teaching at the high school and being a stepdad to a teenager and beingmarried, and…” He glances toward the living room and lowers his voice, “…being responsible and mature and stuff feels strange to me.”
I laugh despite everything.
His grin grows and he’s clearly pleased that he could make me laugh. “But I’m doing it, and it turns out, just because it feelsweird doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just new. And you and I have always been up for an adventure.”
I look at him for a long moment. He already seems more mature.
“You know what I need?” he asks. “And it is your job to get me what I need, right?” he adds.
I narrow my eyes, but nod. “Yes.”
“I need my best friend in the entire world to be happy.” His tone is serious now. “I want you to have what Scarlett and I have. If you have even achanceof that with Ruby, you have to go to New Orleans.”
My heart is now pounding, and I feel pressure in my chest that I swear must be hope trying to grow. “Alfred made me promise to keep you safe and happy.”
“He made me promise the same thing about you.”
My heart kicks. I shake my head. “What?”
“Yeah. He talked to me when his dementia was getting bad. He told me that he knew you were my bodyguard, but from the beginning, he knew we’d be best friends, and he said that I’ve been exactly what you needed. He made me promise that I’d always make sure you were safe and happy.”
That tightness in my chest isn’t just hope now. It’s the stabbing pain of loss that I often get when I think of Alfred Olsen, the man who changed my life. The man whosavedmy life. It’s also a love that is so intense and so big that I have a hard time taking a breath. Love for Alfred, love for Cian, love for Ruby. Love for the life that’s brought all of these people to me.
“Bloody hell,” is all I manage as I rub a hand over my face.
“And it’s not like I’ll never see you. This is Scarlett and Ruby. We’re probably going to be coming down there to visit like twice a month. Plus, all the holidays and birthdays and stuff.”
“You think so?” I’d love to think I’ll see him regularly.
Of course, we can make that happen with some effort. But unlike Jonah, who is married to Linnea, an Olsen and a woman who is very much a part of the royal family, I won’t necessarily have the same level of automatic inclusion that he does.