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Killian chuckles, shaking his head. “I know you’ll be good to her, Lance. I can’t think of a more loyal person who I know will take care of her, and with you as a husband, Quinn will never be in danger. I think I can be satisfied with that.”
Natasha slaps his chest lightly. “You make it sound like he’s a fine consolation prize or something,” she scolds.
But I know what he means. I said almost exactly the same thing to Quinn. And if she’d wanted that life, I’d like to think I would be strong enough to let her be happy living it without me. But Quinn chose me. And I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life proving her choice was the right one. Because I want to be worthy of Quinn. “I get it,” I say. “Thanks, Killian.” I really am touched by his sentiment. I know it’s a high compliment that he trusts me with his sister’s safety and happiness. In a lot of ways, it’s the highest respect he could give me.
“Alright, come here, you love birds,” Killian says, striding forward with Natasha to pull us both into a hug. “Congratulations. On the engagement and on becoming parents,” he says, slapping my back and giving Quinn a squeeze.
I chuckle. “Yeah. A lot to happen in a day. And it’ll only get better from here.”
Natasha’s next, stepping forward to give us hugs and congratulate us. But I can feel a fragileness in her body that wasn’t there before she went to kill Lucian.
“You okay?” I ask, meeting her eyes.
She nods, her lips curving into a sad smile. “Just worried about my sister.”
“Have you heard from her?”
Natasha nods. “She’s…doing better than I expected. Though I don’t know if she’ll ever be happy, and I know that I’m largely responsible for that.”
Concern colors Killian’s eyes as he looks at his wife, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. It’s no wonder his protectiveness is on overdrive. Natasha looks like she might cry.
“Tatiana’s smart,” I point out gently. “She won’t let Lucian manipulate her. Not for a lifetime.”
Natasha smiles, and this time, the warmth reaches her eyes. “You’re right. Thanks, Lance.”
With the tension about me and Quinn dissipating and Natasha seeming to find a modicum of peace over her situation, things seem to settle back into a more familiar realm of comfort. Only, it’s intensely more gratifying that I can show Quinn affection in front of people.
And I’m acutely aware of the fact that, now people know, I’m inclined to be touching her almost constantly. We head back to the kitchen to finish breakfast, where Quinn admits to a very distressing first week of morning sickness that ended in a doctor’s visit because she couldn’t eat.
But she seems ravenous now that the anti-nausea meds are working. And I love watching her down a full stack of fruit covered pancakes—while she’s sitting on my lap. A thrill races through me the first time I slide my fingers under her shirt and gently press my palm to her stomach.
A beautiful shade of pink colors her cheeks, and she glances shyly back at me over her shoulder, sharing the private moment in silence as our eyes meet. We created a life together. And somehow, it feels incredibly satisfying to know we must have done it on our first night together. That while we ended up in this blissful state of joining our futures, in a way, we were doing that from the very first moment we spent together.
It almost feels like fate.
And while I don’t necessarily believe in something so cosmic, it makes me intensely grateful that all the signs of the universekeep screaming that Quinn’s the one for me. The woman I can’t live without.
As Killian and Natasha seem to settle back into the state of newlywed happiness, it feels good to share that same kind of intimacy with my own person. I find it somewhat amusing that today, during Killian’s considerable defense of why he thought I was using his sister, he also mentioned Quinn having a crush on me for a long time—a fact Quinn mentioned herself early on in our relationship.
How I possibly could have missed that fact, I don’t know. But I love that while I was blinded by tunnel vision and a sense of loyalty to Killian and the King family, Quinn never had doubts. She knew what she wanted, and she got me.
It feels nice that she was as driven about me as she is about becoming a nurse.
And now that I’ve finally seen the light, I get to show her just how loyal I am.
It’s not much compared to all Quinn’s incredible talents, but I’ll give it my best to be enough for her. Snaking my arms around her waist, I press a kiss to the curve of her neck.
“What do you say I take you back to my place tonight?” I suggest.
A soft shiver ripples down her spine, and Quinn’s lips part on a gasp as her cheeks flush. “I’d like that,” she says.
Me too. And more than that, I like that I can take her there without feeling like I’m betraying Killian. We’re not sneaking behind his back.
We head out after dinner, and on the drive home, I savor the feeling of Quinn’s hand wrapped in mine. After not seeing her for a week, I feel intensely attuned to her presence. The silky softness of her skin, the way she and I seem to move seamlessly within each other’s orbits. It’s something we developed overmy time as her bodyguard that I hadn’t even realized was happening.
Until suddenly, she wasn’t there constantly.
I’ll miss following her through her everyday routine.