Page 79 of Threads That Bind Us

The entire drive to wherever the hell we’re going, I can’t speak. I’m worried about what will come out if I do.Where are we going? Take me home. Is this real? Do I want this? God, I hope I’m wrong. Please, please, please let me be right.

When we pull up to the county courthouse, IknowI’m right. There’s a buzzing under my skin and I feel lightheaded. Kenzie and Ana are gripping one of my hands each, and I can feel my palms slick against theirs.

“Zane, don’t move,” Kenzie orders, and he holds his hands in the air before activating the divider between the front seats and us.

Kenzie turns to me, fucking gorgeous in her champagne silk dress and bright red lipstick, so serious as she stares in my eyes.

“If you don’t want to be here, just say the word, and we’ll force Zane at gunpoint to drive us off into the sunset.” She doesn’t seem like she’s exaggerating. She’d do it for me.

“Charlie said to tell you he saidfuck the vote, whatever that means,” Ana says, leaning her head against my shoulder.

Fuck the vote. We’re at this courthouse, and he doesn’t care about the vote. My hands are shaking, my pulse so quick it's making my breathing shallow.

He told me he wouldn't let them say no. And I have no idea how much a certificate means to The Syndicate, but he’s making one thing clear. He won’t be separated from me easily.

“This is nuts,” I whisper, and Kenzie pops a brief kiss on my forehead.

“Yeah, but crazy things happen when you love someone.”

Ana taps on the divider, and it’s only a few moments before Zane’s opening our doors. Ana and Kenzie slide out, and I take a deep breath. It doesn't slow my heart.

Peripherally, I take in everything around me when I step out of the car. The pretty Greek columns framing the stairs to the courthouse. Sammy and Catalina, also dressed in shades of white and gold, smiling at me from the stairs. The bustle of people just going about their day, doing their jobs. But I can’t help but stare at Charlie.

It’s not what he’s wearing—though I could ogle at him for the rest of my life, with those tattoos peaking over his all-black suit. It’s the way he’s looking at me. He’s letting me see everything. All his guilt, and his joy, and not one single drop of hesitation.

Ana and Kenzie join Sam and Catalina, and I guess I’ve made it clear I’m rooted to the spot I’m standing, because Charlie comes to me.

“I may have gone a little extreme on theshow youpart.” He says the words against my skin as he presses his lips to my cheek. It’s the first time he’s touched me like that since Italy, and it burns in my veins.

“Just a little,” I whisper, not trusting my voice.

He smiles at me, and he doesn't put his wall back up. I see it when the nerves filter through his expression.

“I told Kenzie to give you an out, but I’m going to say it again,” he starts, clearing his throat and lacing my fingers through his. “If you don’t want to do this, I will neverhold it against you. We can go home and talk this out like rational adults.”

He seems to steady himself, holding on to me like a life raft in a storm. My heart is in my throat, and I’m trying really hard not to ruin the makeup Ana so patiently did for me.

“I love you, Guinevere.” The words soothe something in me, settling like a chord falling into harmony, like a piano being tuned. My pulse slows into an even rhythm, but I can still feel my heartbeat in my fingertips. “And even though I meant it when I said I’d never let the council refuse us, and I know you’ll thrive in my family, I wanted to give you proof. That I’d choose you over my The Syndicate. That you are my fate, mia filettatura, my thread. Ever since I saw you in that alley, I knew I was tied to you. And I’d like to remain that way, in every form possible.”

There’s so much joy in his eyes. So much vulnerability. He’s looking at me like I reallyamhis fate, like he can’t imagine his life without me. I pull my hands from his and place them around the back of his neck, feeling the soft, steady rhythm of his heartbeat, and I know it’s the same for me. That I want us to be wrapped around each other, hands and hearts and futures, for as long as humanly possible. He swallows hard against my palms.

“Carlo Costa, did you bring me here to marry you?” I ask, pressing up on my toes and ghosting a kiss over his lips. He closes his eyes, chasing me as I pull away.

“I did,” he says, settling for a kiss on my forehead. “But I have to warn you, I’m fairly certain my sister and father will put me in an early grave if we don’t do a big wedding in Trani as well.”

And as lovely as that sounds—the big wedding surrounded by the people we love in a beautiful place—this is even better.Because this is for us. Not The Syndicate. Not the contract. Not to fulfill an agreement.

But for two people with their souls tied together.

“You can talk me into that later,” I mutter, finally pulling him down to press my lips to his.

I’ve missed the feeling of his hands against my hips, the soft hum he makes when I open my mouth for him, the warmth and comfort and stability of Charlie holding me, knowing he’s never once thought about letting me go.

“I could kiss you in front of this county municipal building forever, but we do have an appointment to make,” he says, still placing small kisses on my lips like he can’t quite seem to separate himself.

“Okay,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his middle and burying my head against chest. “Let’s go get married.”

He unwinds my arms from around him and pulls me by the hand toward the stairs and columns. He’s thrilled. Tomarry me.