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"I don't want you to be upset." Tova lets me press a kiss to her cheek and then another.

"Are you kissing my sunburn?" She giggles. I suppose I am. I'm just not ready to pull away yet.

"I enjoy my mouth on you." Reluctantly, I lean back.

"I might enjoy it too." Tova gives me a smirk.

"Good," I tell her because soon I'll taste every inch of her.

Chapter Nine

TOVA

This is one of those times I hate that my best friend lives states away. I could use her help right now. Marks would both love and hate to help with wedding planning. It would be fun to have her here. Not that I don’t love that I have my mom to help with anything I need. I do, but she’s so hesitant about this wedding. It doesn’t help that I can’t get a read on her with Warren’s mom, Rochelle.

The other night at the party, they’d gotten along. They always have, but things are different now. Orders had been given, and I know my mom is not a fan of that. I’m sure it has put a strain on whatever kind of friendship they do have.

“Have a look at these.” Rochelle hands me an iPad. “You can scroll through the pictures the florist sent over.”

“Thanks.” I take the tablet from her.

We’re up at the main house in the library. It’s one of my favorite rooms in the house. It has an old-school vibe with dark, rich woods covering everything from the floors to the walls, which are lined with thick wooden shelves from floor to ceiling.

There are chairs scattered about the room and a stone fireplace that is taller than I am. The tables even have those lights where you pull the chain to turn them on. The room hasnow been turned into ground zero for wedding prep. It's all a lot to take in.

"You favor yellow, right?" Rochelle asks.

"I do." I don't wear the color often, so how did she know that? "Pink as well."

"Yes, that's what War told me." Rochelle is now picking up a fancy plate that has a gold etching on it. I bet it's real.

"War told you?" How the heck did he know that?

"Yes. Isn't that what you told him?" A slow smile forms on her mouth. "During your late-night stroll?" Heat rushes to my face thinking about the other night. Warren had kissed me. The kiss was unlike him. It was soft, and he took his time.

"You're blushing," Mom points out.

"Oh, so did more than talking of wedding plans happen?" I don't think there had been much wedding talk at all. "Interesting." Rochelle's brows pull together as if in deep thought about that.

"What is interesting?" I ask, wanting to know. It could give me a peek into Warren, who is far more complicated than I realized. The man can come off so cold, but beneath that is a whole other side to him. I’m trying not to get my hopes up again, but I have a sneaking suspicion that maybe I was right about him all along. There is another side to him that he doesn’t show people.

Maybe the softer, more open side of him is Warren, and the cold, unfeeling, stoic side to him is War. A name he doesn't want me calling him while everyone else does.

"I've never seen my son interested in a woman before."

"He doesn't have much of a choice." I hand her the iPad back. "These are my favorite of the flowers." I try to steer the conversation back to the wedding, not wanting to expose a side of Warren that he may not want others to see.

"Oh, these are beautiful." My mom nods in agreement with Rochelle. "War might be getting ready for a wife, but that doesn't mean he'd besoinvested in getting things ready for you. Hell, he told all of us to stay out of your garden."

“My garden?” I shake my head. “It’s not mine.” Is that why he told her she couldn’t get flowers from the garden the other day?

“You might not call it yours, but your fiancé does.” Rochelle shrugs. “You see these?” She shows my mom the iPad. They start discussing place settings. There is a lot that goes into one of these weddings, but then again, this is all for show.

I pull out my phone to text Marks. I have to open a special app Marks had me download forever ago to send messages. I thought it was strange at first, but the more I got to know her, the more I understood it. She thinks everyone is watching everything. The Signal app makes it impossible for anyone to be able to ever read your messages.

I tell her about Rochelle's comments. Marks is not into weddings or men unless it's killing them in-game or within the pages of one of our books; she is still down for the tea. I had to fill her in a lot. It beyond shocked her when I told her I was getting married and to whom.

She knows some about my living situation. I don't provide all the details or use full names. Never once have I said the Marino last name. I don't think she'd know it, but I'd rather keep my distance from her and it.