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I roll my eyes, thumbs moving fast.
Harper
Because I want flowers, vows, and a custom dress I get to cry in. And Billie will actually divorce me as a friend if we elope and don’t tell her. She still hasn’t forgiven Easton.
Brody
Yes, she has.
Harper
Doesn’t mean she’ll ever let him live it down.
Brody
That’s true. Hurry, future wifey. I miss you so damn much.
I tuck my phone to my chest for a second, letting the smile linger. This is what it feels like to be wanted without urgency and to be loved without conditions.
My phone buzzes one more time, and I glance down at it.
Brody
I love you.
And just like that, butterflies swarm inside me.
* * *
The party planning spiraledinto a three-hour debate over china patterns, signature cocktails, and Billie’s refusal to wear anything floral for any pre-wedding events. She mentioned Easton is on high alert—Lexi’s due any day, and he’s packed their hospital bag with color-coded backups like it’s a military operation.
By the time I hug her goodbye and escape Bellamore, I’m tired, but not in a bad way. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
It’s late when I finally make it home. The lights are low when I step inside.
Brody’s sprawled across the couch in a T-shirt, one arm slung over the back cushion, his expression relaxed and open in a way that still makes my chest tighten.The Golden Girlsis on the TV, and he looks at me like he’s been waiting for this moment all day.
“Hey,” I say, kicking off my heels and moving toward him.
“Hey,” he says with a smoldering smirk. “I ordered Thai. It’s in the kitchen.”
God, I love him.
I walk straight into his arms, sinking into his lap, letting my forehead rest against his neck. He holds me without question, without words, his hands running through my hair. I lie on him like that for a long time, just breathing, recharging, and reconnecting.
Brody pulls back slightly and taps his phone, eyes scanning the screen. “There’s something you should see.”
He turns the phone so I can read it, and for a moment, my brain doesn’t register the words. I have to read it several times.
MICAH RHODES: SENTENCED TO LIFE IN FEDERAL PRISON WITH NO PAROLE. MULTIPLE COUNTS OF KIDNAPPING, MURDER, EXTORTION, AND WIRE FRAUD.
I stareat it for a long moment, and it doesn’t hit me like I thought it would. There’s no rush of vindication, no cathartic sob, just a slow breath. It’s anticlimactic, complete indifference.
“It’s really over,” I whisper.
Brody meets my eyes. “It was over the second you walked away from him.”
“You mean the moment you carried me out of his place?”