Page 148 of The Bronze Garza

Monica is on a sun lounger down on the sand, simultaneously reading a book and watching Torin play with the baby.

Tillie is in the shallow shore taking provocative selfies with her best friend she begged me to let tag along.

Trent and Lexi are missing. They’realwaysmissing. And by “missing” I mean banging. Luckily, everyone has their own villa, so there’s more than enough privacy. No one has to overhear anyone bumping uglies.

I glance over at Jules. Bobbed blonde hair, cute nose, voluptuous body. Over the last year, we’ve become great friends. She’s passionate, caring, loyal and I love her to bits. She’s my new Holly.

When I found out the reason behind Holly’s behavior, I’d been disappointed rather than angry. I’d forgiven her because I loved her. Tried to work on our friendship, get back to where we were. But the rift was too great; I just didn’t trust her anymore. We would never be “Holly and Ly, BFFs foreva” again.

As we drifted apart, Jules and I grew closer.

We understand each other in ways others won’t and probably never will.

Reuben is away on a job, so I dragged her along so she could get some relaxation in. This estate comes with a staff of twelve, which includes a babysitter, so she’s loving it.

“When he allows himself to relax,” I say in response to Jules’ comment, “he can be quite surprising.”

Jules sweeps her sunglasses to atop her head. “I truly admire how well you handle this lifestyle. It’s so hard for me. Especially now that we have Rue. But I try not to complain too much because I don’t want him to feel like he has to choose; he really loves what he does.”

“Maybe because I went in knowing exactly what to expect,” I say with a shrug. “Against all advice—even his—Ichosethis life. I’m so deeply in love with him that I’m just grateful I get to have him at all. To be honest, I think it’s harder for him than it is for me.”

Do I miss Torin when he’s gone?Terribly. But I’ve also been quite busy. With Jo’s guidance and advice, I’ve taken some intense writing courses. Which lead me to fall in love with screenwriting, which somehow lead me right back to where I was before my life was rudely interrupted. Emulating Mitch Henderson.

No, I didn’t re-enroll in college, but I asked Dad to mentor me. Something he’s been overly eager and excited to do. So my days were spent under Mitch Henderson’s tutelage, and my nights on adapting one of Jo’s old manuscripts to screenplay. Because, man, the woman was sitting ongold. An entire twenty-two book hardboiled crime fiction series collecting dust in Torin’s storage. Detached, disillusioned, and unconvinced that her stories were any good, she told me to do whatever I wanted with them.

After adapting the first manuscript to script, Dad allowed me to pitch it as a series to the greenlight committee at his production company,InWatch. Even though he has the final say, he’s given me no special treatment. He told me I needed the full experience—both as boss and employee—if I’m to take over the business one day. So I had to pitch, and I had to win the entire committee.

After my pitch, I’d gained only half of the committee’s support. So I went back to the drawing board and made some adjustments. Changed the lead from just another ass-kicking white male, to a badass female lead. Added some steam, a love triangle, and more gore, much to Jo’s dismay. But, it got the entire committee on board.Green-motherfreaking-light.

Filming forKristi Bravestarts in three months.

Yup, to honor Kristi, I chose to name the female lead—and show—after her, using the name I knew her as when she died, with “brave” as her surname because that’s what she was.

Jo cried when I told her the news. Even now, with a big, fat check cashed in her bank account, she’s still convinced it’s all a joke.

So yep, I’ve been busy. Maybe if I was just sitting around waiting for Torin to come home from a job, it would’ve driven me mad. But right now, it works for me. Plus, his family never leaves me alone, always coming around to check in on me.

I have a zest for life again and I’m enjoying it.

Jules’ phone rings. She glances at the screen and leaps up. “It’s Ben,” she says with a giddy smile. “He’ll want to see Rue. Be right back.”

She hurries off the sundeck, skips down the wooden steps, and jogs toward Torin on the beach. Contact isn’t always guaranteed when the men are on jobs, so those random phone calls are precious.

Torin hands over Rue to Jules, a strange expression on his face as he watches her go. He then glances up to where I’m at. When I wiggle my fingers at him in a lazy wave, he starts in my direction.

Several seconds later, he’s squeezing himself onto my sun lounger, despite my protest that his huge, muscled ass can’t fit. He nuzzles my neck and I shiver and giggle at the same time.

“You’re soneedy,” I tease. “Like a little puppy.”

“Yourneedypuppy.” He nips at my skin. “Thanks for all this, Ly. I needed it more than I realized.”

“It’s my endeavor to know what you need and meet it,” I say, tracing the definitions of his biceps. “I love you.”

Lifting his face from my neck, he rests his head on the lounger so we’re eye to eye. Moss-green to deep-brown. “There’s something else I need…but not sure how to ask.”

This makes me guffaw. “You? Torin Garza? You don’taskfor anything. You demand or manipulate.”

“This is different.”