Page 146 of The Story of You

I race into the bathroom and shut the door before he can swat my ass.

* * *

Oliver

The perimeter check found nothing. Darius looked over the cameras to discover the box had been left by a man who was not Aleksander. “Maybe one of his minions,” Darius pointed out with a churlish expression darkening his sharp features.

We made it to Simon, Shane … and Asher’s? As Darius promised, there’s a lot of pink. A cotton candy machine definitely exploded in here at some point.

I am not wearing the long sexy black dress I intended on. When I came out of the closet wearing it, Dad—who was still reading in Julius’s large leather chair with all the animals either on or around him—kiboshed it.

“Not on your life, Oliver Briar. Take that off. This is a family function.”

“I don’t look beautiful?”

“You look stunning.”

“I already have a boyfriend. There are no other predators there. It’s the perfect place for it.”

“You’re going to give me a heart attack, child. He’s the predator. Just because I know you’re fucking, doesn’t mean I want to see it on his face through dinner. Off.Now.”

He stood to rifle through my closet and came up with another dress he deemed more appropriate.

It’s a long, multi-layered ruffled skirt that bells from the waist and a white button-up shirt with capped sleeves that tucks into it. I complained that it was blue and not pink—even though the dress had been black—but once I had it on for five minutes, I swished and swayed and danced in it. I loved how it flowed around me—Silas probably knew I would.

Julius still loved it. He spun me around, admiring me. “I’m going to dance with you all night,” he promised.

We brought the cake Dad made yesterday. The dogs and cats came with us too. My kittens are not as well-behaved as the puppies. They jumped all over the backseat of the car. Lakshan got fed up and captured Romeo, making him sit on his lap. The kitten rolled on his back, attacking Lak’s hand all the way to the other house.

Despite what happened this morning, the air is light. The only residue is Silas and Darius’s eagle eyes on me. I’ve been told to remain within sight of at least one. As if I’m letting Dad out of my sight. He’s shaken to his core but doing what he’s always done, putting himself aside to make sure I’m taken care of.

I’ll never talk him out of doing that—would be a waste of my time—but I’m an adult now and I can take care of him too.

There may even be things I can do for Darius. He’s unusually quiet. I know the major has him, but I feel like it’s my turn. They carried all of this for me. They can unload some of the burden.

“You have whipped cream on your lips, amore,” Julius says, leaning in to kiss it off me.

I give him an adoring smile. Giulietta’s buried within the ruffles of my skirt. The kittens appear to have their own language. One stays behind to look after me. The other—usually Romeo—explores, more like they’re standing guard, but they’re kittens so they need some practice.

They still get distracted by new things.

Kia has her eyes on both. She knows their limits, they don’t.

I’m content. I have everyone who’s the most important to me in this room. I’m snuggled against the man of my dreams. I have kittens and puppies. Strawberry shortcake.

If Aleksander Randall is back from the dead, if he does have malintent, he’ll have to deal with me.

You either have nothing to lose or everything to lose. I have everything to lose. I’m willing to fight dirty to keep it.

ChapterForty-One

Wyatt ~ May 24th 2009 Oliver’s Birthday Party

It’s like I’m in back in the trenches. Darius is by my side on Simon and Shane’s long sofa. I won’t let him go far. His left leg jitters, bouncing up and down rapidly. He fidgets. His hands don’t know where to be and it kills me to see someone as solid as Darius quaking. I take my own trembling hand and trap one of his nervous ones.

“He’s going to kill me as in literally kill me, Major. I tried to stab him. He’s not the forgiving kind. Hell, he thinks abandoning me in a foster home was kind—that’s the brand of psycho we’re dealing with here.”

“He ain’t killin’ yah. Not while I’m around or have you forgotten who I am?”