Page 48 of Anything for You (Veterans of Silver Ridge #7)

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Dove

W e focused on the book selection of the month for the first hour. Honestly, it was impressive how engrossed in character arcs and settings and meet-cutes everyone was. We usually did a little more chatting before we dove in, but today, I was down to business.

Now that we’d lapsed into the second hour, I was ready.

I’d updated them here and there on things with Dorian, but part of me had been waiting for tonight.

Our once-a-month book club was a nonnegotiable outing for me, and I’d been counting the minutes until I could see my friends and squeal over my hot, sweet, amazing boyfriend.

I swigged the remaining drops of my prosecco and set the flute down more aggressively than I’d planned.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, eying the small handful of beautiful desserts Dorian had made for our evening that hadn’t been eaten yet .

Once I realized everyone had gone quiet and still, I looked up to find every one of their faces smiling back at me expectantly.

“What?”

“Are you kidding? We thought you’d come in here screaming about your man but you haven’t made a peep. How much longer can we talk about the theme of this freaking book?” Jess said, tossing her paperback behind her with flair.

I laughed, relief and excitement bubbling up instantly. “Okay, I was going to, but you guys were so into the book! Can we please talk about Dorian?!”

Jo clapped, and Catherine grinned. Nikki and Winnie smiled broadly while Liz filled up my glass with more prosecco and Elise gave praise hands to the heavens saying, “Finally!”

And so, I did. I walked them through every sweet thing he’d done and many of the things he’d said. I told them how he’d confessed his feelings so freely, and I’d told him I loved him too, and how I knew it was fast, but it felt so good, and so right.

“I’m so happy for you. I don’t think there always has to be some huge obstacle, you know? You’re not perfect, but it sounds like you’re so well matched. I loved seeing you together at the signing.” Jo looked truly pleased, and I loved her for it.

“It was exciting to make our society debut,” I said, affecting a ridiculous British accent.

“Oh, and did you, in fact, pledge him your maidenhead? He has been feeding you quite a bit, hasn’t he?” Elise batted her eyelashes like she’d asked a normal question.

Everyone paused.

My face burst into flame.

Everyone squealed or screamed or laughed or buried their face in their hands from second-hand embarrassment or maybe disbelief. No, I would not be sharing details, but now they knew.

“I don’t want to speak too soon but I can’t imagine not being with him, you know?

I’ve always had this inability to see into the future.

Not like, my fortune or something, but like…

even dreaming up what’s ahead. I know that stems from my childhood and all of that.

” I waved away the past. It mattered, but that wasn’t the point I wanted to make.

“It’s more like I just didn’t have big dreams. I had this feeling like, maybe if I could figure myself out, and figure out what kind of person I might like to be with, then suddenly, everything would unfold. ”

A thrilling, resounding combination of calm and elation filled me as I looked at my friends’ smiling faces.

In each of their own ways, they understood this.

Nikki’s life had been all but over when she moved to Silverton.

Winnie’s was actively in danger and everything she thought she knew had come to a halt.

Jo had been hiding who she truly was, Jess had convinced herself she hated the man she’d in some way always loved, and Liz had been so stone-cold focused on her goals, she hadn’t even realized when she lost them.

Catherine was still head down, driving toward fulfilling her dreams, but until recently, she hadn’t been able to even let herself pursue them, and Elise…

Elise had never dreamed of having what she did now.

None of us could’ve predicted where we ended up. None of us could’ve written a story like this one. Not even our Josie Wade.

“And now?” Elise asked.

I shook my head, the full force of what felt like miraculous clarity hitting me as I whisked a tear from my eye. “ Now I see it. I don’t know exactly, but I can see it there. And it’s here with all of you, and it’s with Dorian.”

After much congratulations and pleas for more details and guesses about how long until we got married—which sent my face back to flaming hot Cheeto territory despite secretly being thrilled they weren’t thinking I was crazy for being in love with a man I’d only gotten to know a few months ago—we got back to books.

Granted, none of them had much of a leg to stand on. A few had history, like Winnie and Tristan, Jess and Beast, or even Elizabeth and Kenny, but most of us had met our person and it’d been a fast slide to where we were now.

What a strange, wild turn from a few months ago when I’d felt that gnawing ache of loneliness. It hadn’t just been the absence of a love life, but I wasn’t ashamed to admit I absolutely delighted in having someone to share my love and physical affection with.

I loved that Dorian had given me a ride here tonight and we’d held hands the whole way.

I loved that I’d wake up tomorrow and knock on his door and he’d probably have something mind-blowingly delicious for breakfast. Then we’d spend a day enjoying each other in any way we wanted.

Maybe he’d need to wander out on the farm and I’d be lazy and read inside on the couch.

Maybe I’d spend the night because I hated to be away from him, and he from me.

Who knew how long we could last like this, as neighbors instead of even more than we were, but I didn’t shy away at the thought of the timeline being short.

Everyone shared life updates as we nibbled on the delicious mini pies, tarts, and cakes Dorian had supplied us.

Something about sitting here with my dearest friends and eating the delicacies my boyfriend had made had me bursting with happiness.

I felt so delightfully full, so hopeful, and like the way ahead was wide open.

It was that feeling I’d mentioned—the one where I saw a future in front of me I wanted to run hard after instead of clinging to the next steps, clawing at the path in hopes of surviving and someday figuring out how to get a few steps ahead.

As Jess shared about Will’s latest developments and how ridiculously in love Jude and even Bones were with the baby, all of us beamed with happiness.

I thought I saw Winnie press a hand to her belly, but I didn’t want to call her out if she wasn’t ready to say anything or worse, in case I was imagining things.

Nikki’s math nerd company, as we lovingly called it, had produced a new app and it would launch next year and she insinuated she was feeling like she might be ready for Bruce to propose soon—he would do it the second she let him know.

She hadn’t held out arbitrarily—their pasts and what she needed almost demanded time, and his way of loving her well was to give it to her.

Winnie was relieved to be on speaking terms with everyone in her family and mentioned she was taking a small role with Saint Security to help with the expansion of both Adam’s mountaineering arm and Tristan’s combatives and self-defense leg.

Her experience as a farm manager meant she was super organized and thoughtful and this was such a cool, fun surprise.

She’d been waiting to find what she wanted, and I loved she’d get to work with Tristan and more of the Saint staff.

Glazed was flourishing already this year, and had been since September, which was earlier than Elise thought it would be.

Now that she was engaged to a millionaire, she probably didn’t need to worry about the drag of shoulder season, but my stubborn, independent friend wouldn’t settle for leaning on Luc just because she could.

Liz mentioned being so happy to be here coming into the holidays because she hadn’t been in the US for Thanksgiving in a decade, and Jo was swiping at tears just hearing her say that.

Catherine had seen a huge uptick in demand for her cleaning business locally, and her online presence had experienced viral growth, so much so she seemed a bit overwhelmed, but excited.

By the time we were done, we committed to getting together between book club meetings whenever possible, and ramping up our group chat.

We messaged at least once every other day, sometimes more, but it ebbed and flowed with the realities of life.

Anytime we were together made me want more time together, and I loved knowing we all felt this way.

After hugs and some cleanup, everyone went their separate ways. Catherine, who looked exhausted, but very kindly offered to take me home, slumped into her car, and I took the passenger side.

“Are you sure you can take me? I can call a rideshare, or even Dorian could get here in a few.” I didn’t want her falling asleep at the wheel on the way home—I didn’t live all that far away, but this time of night the road that led back into town would be pitch black except for the moonlight.

“I’m good. I was up super early working on content, but I want to hear more about you and Dorian.

I feel like I haven’t seen you or anyone and…

” She scrubbed at her eyes, the dark wisps of hair that’d escaped from her ponytail prettily framing her pale face, then gently slapped her cheek. “I’ll sleep very soundly tonight.”

She pulled out of the spot a few doors down from All Booked Up and we waved to Jo as she locked the front door to the shop, Adam waiting at her side. He raised a hand, offering a friendly smile before turning back to his fiancée.

“They’re so cute,” I said, sighing a little dreamily.

“They really are. All of you are giving me hope.” She eased away from the stop sign and turned the corner.

“At the risk of sounding like a total jerk, are you doing okay with that? I ask because I was really struggling for a while. And it wasn’t only because I wanted someone and it felt like everyone but you and me had someone, but… yeah.” I stopped babbling for fear of making it worse.

“I get it. And honestly? I’m fine. I mean, yes, I’d love to find someone, but right now, I finally have the freedom to pursue this business and it’s taking so much of my time, I don’t know when I’d see someone. I’m barely making it to book?—”

Her gasp and slam on the brakes had me grabbing the “oh shit!” bar with my right hand and pressing my feet into the floor like I could stop the car, too.

“What—”

Catherine rolled down the window. “Are you okay?”

My gaze swung to a man standing, slightly hunched over in front of the car. Had she hit him? That didn’t make sense.

“I’m so sorry, let me?—”

An arm reached into her window, pulled open the door, then tapped the unlock button. The door behind me opened, and something hard pressed into my head.

“Don’t move, don’t scream, don’t speak.”

The gruff voice held a commanding edge, and in my gut, I knew what was touching me. I wanted to pull away, but fear of disobeying and being hurt made me freeze.

“I have one gun on your little friend and now one on you. You’ll close the door and drive according to my instructions, or I will shoot you both before you even know what’s happened.

” He slammed the driver’s side door and slipped into the seat behind it, peripheral movement indicating he’d likely just put a gun to Catherine’s head, too.

She whimpered, and I wanted to reach for her hand, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.

The figure who’d been hunched in front of the car straightened and walked off.

“You’re going to drive now, or I shoot the nurse.”

Catherine eased off the brake and drove.

My heart sank through the floorboards.

This was planned.

This wasn’t a random carjacking.

They knew I was a nurse, which meant they’d likely known where I’d be tonight. Maybe they’d even known Dorian wasn’t with me.

They hadn’t grabbed me outside the store because some of the Saint men had been there, but just a few blocks away and…

It was official. We’d just joined the worst club ever.