Page 122 of Fighting With Light

Other women have said that to me in the past, those were flings. Those meant nothing to me. But I never said it back. I’m well aware that I was a playboy,wasbeing the keyword. Those words felt too important for me to just throw out into the open. But now I’ll scream it from the rooftops,I love Aelia Costa.

I smile, driving down the highway that sits right next to the old Pacific Coast highway. The irony of this all is not lost on me. A while ago, Kai told me that a woman would come and knock me off my feet, she would catch me by surprise, and I would be dragging her into the mess of our family drama. Maybe the joke is on him because of all people, Aelia can handle the Coldwell family chaos. She has been a part of all of this since day one. She knows what it’s like. I don’t have to explain the reasons behind why my brothers and I were tactically trained. Her brothers were, too.

Maybe we really can make this work.

As I pull up into the driveway of the house I rented for us, I grab my pistol. I thoroughly doubt anyone is looking or following us, but I’d rather be safe than sorry and also sleep better because of it. I have three days until the competition, and the title has my name on it.

Aelia holds her hand out to me before I get out of the truck and I look down at it. “What?” Iask her.

She moves her fingers in a come to me motion. “Gun,” she says.

“Oh, uh, check the glove compartment. I usually have one in there.” She makes a face and opens it and there’s a small one in there. You never know.

She checks for one in the chamber, glances at the full magazine, and gets out of the car.

“You can stay here, just in case. I can do this.”

Aelia glares at me and suddenly I’m not sure we should be having this conversation when there’s a gun in her hand.

“Just because we said I love you doesn’t mean that you get to do these things alone. I’m not a damsel in distress, Liam.”

“I know, princess, but …”

“No buts, Liam, if there was someone here then we’ve already given ourselves away. Come on,” she says and leads towards the house. We approach the front step and I see a box and look around it to make sure it’s not a bomb or something. I tap it once and nothing happens. Glancing at the label, I see that it’s what I ordered for Aelia.

I give her the code to the front door and she types it in and pushes the door open. She was determined to go in first, despite my protests, so I covered her from behind.

The house is smaller than the others I’ve rented, not that size matters in this case. It’s closer to the mountains, and the beach is right outside the back door. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen and a living room. That’s it. Its location has a good vantage point, and you can see anything coming from all angles.

It takes us five minutes to clear the house. Aelia sets her gun on the counter and plops on the couch in the living room.

“I’ll go get our stuff,” I mutter and go back out the front door.

My mind has been spinning since we got what we needed in Colombia. Combined with the fact that love is on the table, I have no clue how to do this...relationship thing.

Regardless, I want her forever.

Since we’re on the same page about how we feel about each other, the bigger question is, can our love stand the pressure from both ends of our family? I know mine isn’t keen on Aelia, and she understands that. She doesn’t blame them for it, either. But she is not her father, she is far from it.

So when this is all over and our fathers are buried under the prison, where will that leave us? Will she want to get married? I never thought Iwouldget married. It was never something on my radar. My family, climbing, and surfing were. Women were a side thing for me, something fun until it wasn’t fun anymore. I see now how empty it was.

Aelia has helped me see a lot of things in a new light. I grab our bags, the box, and drop them in the small master bedroom at the end of the hall.

Opening the box, I set the nicer black La Perla box on the corner of the bed, since I ripped her other pajamas. I ordered replacements a while ago, but I couldn’t exactly have them delivered in Colombia.

Walking into the kitchen, I find Aelia sitting at the island. “I found some cereal and milk,” she says, lifting the spoon into her mouth.

She pushes the bowl of dried cereal and carton of milk towards me. “I definitely need a lot more protein, but I’m too tired to care.”

“There’s a ton of chicken and steak in the fridge, though,” she says.

I nod and spoon the cereal into my mouth. “Awesome, right on time.”

“Is this how you always do things? Rent a place wherever you are and then get food delivered?”

“Depends on where I am, but I’ve been here a bunch before and figured out this works best that way. I can get what I need before a comp, and I don’t have to find it at a restaurant or something.”

She hums and chews slowly.