Page 188 of Guarding Grace

“You don’t get a freaking vote.” My wonderful woman let him have it with both barrels. She shoved the ring on her finger at him. “I’m marrying him, and if you don’t apologize this minute, you’re not invited to the wedding.”

Pete took a long, labored breath.

“And I’ll never talk to you again,” she threatened. Her tone was icy.

Pete straightened and walked around her to me, extending his hand. “Sorry.”

“Like you mean it,” Grace snarled.

I shook with him. “I’ll take care of her.”

Pete grimaced. “You fucking better.”

As she cuddled up next to me, I realized we’d both survived—her the Russo and Marku attacks, and me her brother’s rage.

“Hey, guys?”

We turned to find Serena standing on a chair.

“It’s time for pool and darts at Tito’s.”

“Eight ball in the corner pocket,”Lucas announced.

He had challenged me to another round of pool at Tito’s after the mechanical bull riding competition that Duke and Serena had won. We’d been here a while, and after several beers, I wasn’t lining up my shots as cleanly as I should.

“I’m going to meet with this Sinclair guy tomorrow,” he told me. “Are you sure he’s real?”

“Positive.” I couldn’t get a read on whether Lucas was happy to learn he had a cousin that none of the family had known about.

Yates Sinclair was the man Lucas’s mother, Carol, had asked me to check out—he one she’d been contacted about as a familial DNA match. I’d met with Sinclair and confirmed enough details to satisfy me that he was the son of Carol’s lost sister, Wilma.

“You better be right,” he said as he sunk the ball.

Of course, Lucas made the remaining shots and beat me. Smiling, he collected my twenty bucks. “A rematch?”

“No thanks.” I was a decent player when I hadn’t been drinking, but I knew when to quit.

“You sure?”

I knew better than to fall for that. “Maybe you should try darts against my fiancée.”

Lucas laughed. “Hard pass. I know my limitations.”

When Grace peeled herself away from Serena, her eyes connected with mine. The jolt her smile sent through me was as strong as it ever had been. I joined her in a dozen determined steps. “I missed you.”

“You’re the one who accepted Lucas’s challenge.”

“True.” I swept her up for a steamy kiss.

“I missed you too,” she said breathlessly when I set her down. She then cocked her head in the direction of Zane and whispered in my ear. “Have you noticed?”

I nodded and answered equally softly. “You mean Peyton?”

“Yeah.”

Just to be safe, I wanted to keep someone at Grace’s work last week while I was on assignment. Zane had jumped at the opportunity, and it had become obvious that Peyton was the reason.

“Do you want me to tell him to back off?” I asked.