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“You dreamed of kissing me?”
“Yes. Is that surprising?”
“No, since I dreamed of it, too.”
“Really? You dreamed of kissing you? That’s a little egotistical, isn’t it?”
He pulled her in for a quick, hard kiss. “You’re a smartass. I like it.”
She looked at the OZ house again. “I guess we’d better go in.”
“We don’t have to stay long. We’ll go in and visit. I want to get to my house before it gets too dark.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
Liam smiled to himself. He couldn’t wait either.
* * *
The minute Liam and Aubrey stepped up on the porch, Serena opened the door and then yelled out, “She’s here, guys!”
Surprised, Aubrey halted. Liam gently nudged her forward. Before she could take a step, Serena grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. “I’m so glad it’s you!”
She whispered a soft thank-you in Serena’s ear and got another hug in return. “It was my pleasure.” She stepped back and said, “Come on in. Everyone’s been dying to see you.”
She walked into the house and was greeted like a long-lost sister, with shouts of welcome and a big hug from Jazz and Xavier.
Grinning, Jazz said, “Don’t look so surprised. We feel like we’ve known you for years.”
Apparently sensing that she was feeling a little overwhelmed, Liam threw an arm around her shoulders, and said to the group, “We can’t stay long. Just wanted to say—”
“But we have champagne!”
A beautiful older woman rolled a trolley out of the kitchen filled with glasses, ice buckets, and two large bottles of champagne. Though Aubrey had not met Rose Wilson, she instantly recognized her as the woman Liam had told her was the one person OZ could not function without.
Rose stopped in the middle of the room and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, Liam, she’s just as pretty as you described her.” Walking around the cart, she came toward Aubrey with outstretched arms. “Welcome home, my dear.”
More than a little emotional at the enthusiastic and warm welcome, Aubrey accepted the hug from Rose. The moment she stepped back from the hug, Liam tugged her back against his chest and whispered in her ear, “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
She glanced around at all the smiling faces, and moisture blurred her vision. These people had risked their lives to find her. They had been there for Liam in his darkest moments. Supporting him, loving him. They were his family. There was no way she could brush this off as if it meant nothing.
Instead of answering him, she swung her gaze around to take in everyone and said, “Thank you so much for what you did, for what you do.”
A champagne glass appeared in her hand. The room went quiet and Aubrey looked up to see Asher Drake standing in the middle of the room. “You’ll have to forgive our enthusiasm, Aubrey. We don’t get many days like this.” He raised his champagne glass. “Here’s to Aubrey, a woman of courage and grace. And to Liam, the man who refused to give up on her.”
* * *
Liam followed Ash. Before he could take a second sip of champagne, Ash had caught his eye and nodded toward his office. He’d left Aubrey in the capable hands of Rose. Thankfully, she’d gotten over her initial uncertainty and seemed to be enjoying herself. He would spend a few moments getting Ash caught up, and then he was taking Aubrey home.
Ash closed the door and headed to his desk. “Have a seat.”
“Something going on?”
“Yeah…maybe. I may have a location on Drury for you soon. You still interested?”
The thought of leaving Aubrey so soon after finding her created a hollow feeling in his chest. But he owed this to Myron.
“Where’s your intel coming from?”