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CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

arden

I snuggle up next to Carter on the couch, smiling into my wine glass.

There is a stunning Christmas tree in the corner of the condo that just appeared one day.

It’s littered with golden lights and gold and black baubles.

The star hits the top of the high ceiling and provides the prettiest pattern of lights on the roof.

His mother and her boyfriend are on the other side of the couch. His father is lounging on the ground next to Ariana, and his partner is sitting on the love seat.. We’re watching a film they apparently watch every year, all exhausted after a hefty Christmas Eve dinner.

The warmth in this home is enviable. I feel sorry for anyone who didn’t have the privilege of being here tonight.

Carter’s mom, Claudia, is a gorgeous, wonderful woman.

She reminds me of a socialite that you’d see on reality television.

Beautiful silver hair, striking blue eyes, and an aura like no other.

One look at her and I almost ran for the hills, but somehow, she is the sweetest woman in the world on top of it all .

Their father, Marco, gives off the vibe of a rich businessman because he is.

He’s a bit harder to crack, but kind nonetheless.

I could immediately tell he was the strict parent.

He doesn’t seem like one to give handouts, even to his children, even with all his wealth.

His partner is quiet, all dark features, whereas Claudia is light.

They’re complete opposites in terms of both looks and personality.

Still, they all get on like a house on fire.

My eyes drift to the floor.

Then there is Ari. The hurricane of the Forkerro family.

She’s the center of her brother’s universe. That much was clear from the very moment she stepped inside the condo. Carter wanted me to meet his parents, yes, and he wanted me to like them, but his biggest concern was that I get along with his sister.

He didn’t have to worry about that.

She whirled into the house, storming in front of her parents’ paths, looked me up and down, and broke into a huge smile. She glanced at Carter with a reassuring nod, smacked his cheek a bit too hard, and then placed her hands on my shoulders.

“You’re incredibly hot,” she said, and then she looked up at her brother. “ Please tell me Boston Black is inside right now, wrapped up with a nice little bow, just for me?”

“Get the fuck inside,” Carter grumbled.

I broke into a shocked laugh, only for her to pull me into a hug and drag me into her brother’s house like she owns it.

She didn’t even let me meet her parents before she started asking one million questions, and when I awkwardly tried to continue the conversation while also attempting to introduce myself, their mother waved me off.

“We’ll get to you. Ariana runs out of air eventually.”

I wind my arm around Carter’s bicep, turning my head up to his. He watches the movie like he’s never seen it, twinkly eyes locked on the screen. When he feels the hearts in my eyes, he glances down at me.

“I’m the luckiest person in the world, aren’t I?” I whisper.

He angles his head, a soft smile touching his lips. “Not luckier than me, Red.”

I lean up and kiss him. I melt into him, finding so much purpose in a living room full of people I have only just met.

I have never felt like I had a reason before.

Like I belonged somewhere. Not until I met him.

With my sisters, it was always them and then me.

With Whitney and Autumn, we’re all close, but they had gone to nursing school together, long before I arrived.

They have a history that doesn’t include mine.

But with Carter, it’s us. I think I like it being us.

Everything changed when I was eleven. It changed again when I was twenty-eight.

All it took was one look into a pair of sparkly eyes and one fist being smashed into a face.

My world has suddenly, and undeniably, moulded itself around him.

I want to make him happy. I want to be with him simply, just like this.

I want his people to become my people. I want to share all of my last bites with him, and watch him get dismantled by the wine curse again and again.

I want to enjoy life. With him. For myself.

I have lost a lot in my life, but god, have I gained so much more.

“For fuck’s sake, shut that off!”

I blink, glancing down at Ariana on the floor, who Carter is gesturing at. I’ve been too enthralled by him to have really cared that her phone has been buzzing over and over since the movie started.

It’s really not that big of a deal.

Claudia lets out a little sigh, shaking her head.

Ari glares over her shoulder, her thick blonde hair falling down her back. “I’m sorry, did I miss the NDA I was supposed to sign when I entered the house? Do you want to take my phone, Mr. Celebrity?”

“It’s annoying!” Carter barks.

“It’s a phone,” she snaps back, pale blue eyes narrowing. “Are you on drugs?”

“Oh my god,” Carter grumbles, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. I hold my laughter, snuggling in closer to him, treasuring the fingers that brush along my arm.

Ari’s eyes slide to mine. “Is he? We have everyone here who we would need for an intervention.”

I smile, hiding my mouth in the fabric of Carter’s shirt.

Her phone buzzes again. And again. And again.

Carter slowly lowers his hand, glaring at her. She’s already staring right back, hand covering her screen.

“Are you dealing drugs?” he asks, gesturing to her phone. “Have a couple of orders coming through right now?”

She rolls her eyes, falling onto her back.

She holds her phone in front of her face and opens up a text chain.

From here, I can see the paragraphs being sent her way.

I just can’t read them. “I’ll put a halt on my social life so that my brother can hear the movie he’s seen four hundred times with his geriatric ears. ”

“Who could possibly be texting you that much? It’s Christmas.”

“It’s Christmas Eve, ” she corrects. “And Jared.”

Carter goes rigid against me. I risk a glance up at him, feeling the change in the air. His eyes are glued to the back of his sister’s head. That familiar look washes across his face, and I don’t like it. It doesn’t fit here. It can’t show up tonight.

“ Jared ?”

Marco lets out a long sigh, getting to his feet. “Here we go. Refill anyone? Quick trip to the kitchen?”

Every single person besides Carter and Ariana stands up. I catch Claudia’s eyes as she passes. She nods toward the kitchen, signalling that I should separate myself from whatever this is and let the Forkerro siblings duke it out.

I slide out from Carter’s arm, but he’s too busy glaring at Ariana to care.

“I’m going to grab another glass.”

Neither of them acknowledges I’ve spoken.

“ Jared? ” Carter barks out again, and Ariana throws her phone down and whirls on him. “Tell me you’ve met another Jared, and we’re not talking about the criminal.”

Ariana tilts her head back and laughs. “Rich, coming from Convict Forkerro over there.”

Yeah, Claudia was right. This is not my fight.

I rush into the kitchen, and my fear must be written all over my face because both sets of Carter’s parents laugh at the sight of me. Claudia already has a new glass of red poured, and she pushes it toward me.

Marco wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me inward. “Don’t worry. They’re fine. It’s the fight that never stops.”

“Who is Jared?” I ask, looking around the kitchen with wide eyes.

“Ariana’s ex-boyfriend,” Claudia answers. I gathered that much. She shakes her head. “She has an interesting taste in companions, but there’s no stopping her. My daughter will do what she wants.”

“Jared was a particularly bad one,” Gemma mutters.

“How bad?”

Claudia lets out a long sigh. “Bad enough that their car got stopped on the highway, and her boyfriend got both him and her arrested because he was hiding a trunkload of illegal substances in the floorboards.”

I blink. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was,” she says, shooting me an exhausted look. She raises her glasses and looks around the room. “To Eleanor Lemon. The fifth parent to our children.”

Yet another incident involving a Forkerro where Lemmy swooped in to save the day.

I raise my glass, too. “To Lemmy.”