Page 10 of Peaceful Chaos

He has that effect on me, drowning out everything and everyone around until all I see is him. In an instant all the dreams I never had time for come bubbling to the surface; the dress, a three-tiered cake, the first dance. Silly to dream of a wedding when I'm already married, but I find I don't want to skip a single experience as long as he's the one they're going to be with.

"I'd live through every moment again if I knew you were waiting at the end of it," he swears.

The man clears his throat. "Yes, I think you two are exactly who he had in mind for this ring."

Sin follows him over to the cash register. I'm so focused on him I don't notice Sasha come back over to where I'm standing.

"It is a beautiful ring," she says. "I'm sorry about before. I don't know what came over me." She looks contrite, and I really do understand. I’ve lost my head over him a time or a million myself.

I laugh. "He does have that effect." Both of us turn our gaze back to Sin, and I finally agree, a ring is definitely important.

* * *

After we leavethe jewelry store we walk aimlessly around the outdoor shopping center for over an hour. With the sun shining and a cool breeze giving us a break from the Santa Ana winds, I almost forget there's a target on our backs. Sin is hyper-vigilant next to me. His eyes constantly scan the surrounding area cataloguing every potential threat. It’s all the reminder I need that there is a reason there's FBI agents assigned to watch our every move.

"Are you hungry?" Sin asks, distracting me from joining him in watching our surroundings.

My stomach growls in response. "I guess that's your answer."

He tugs on my hand, and leads me in the direction of a small cafe we passed a block back. A small yellow building sits amidst all the modern architecture, sparkling glass store fronts, and bright signage. It's at odds with the rest of the shopping center, and I suspect it was here when the rest of the plaza was built around it.

The smells wafting from the building are heavenly. The scents of basil, tomatoes, and garlic mingle with rich, dark coffee. It shouldn’t work together, but it does.

There's a small crowd sitting on the patio in front of the café. The weather is perfect for enjoying a meal outdoors, but inside is much quieter. Sin leads us to a booth in the back where he can see all the entrances to the building.

The waitress rushes over to get our drink orders. Sin orders for both of us, not taking his eyes off me. She's an older woman, so instead of being annoyed at him, she sighs and a soft look washes over her face. I smile at her as she leaves to get our drinks.

"Do you see what you want?" he asks me.

"Mmm," I hum, and grab his shirt to pull him to me. "I do," I murmur against his lips before I press my mouth against his.

Always dominant, his hands fist in my hair and he takes over the kiss. I sigh in his mouth, melting into him as I always do. I'm lost in him, in us, until a throat clears, making us break apart.

"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude," the waitress says, setting down our drinks. "Young love is a beautiful thing, but I wanted to make sure I got your orders in before we change shifts."

Sin flips open the menu and points at something at random, not even looking at what he ordered us.

Her smile grows, aware neither of us have actually looked at the menu. "Lucky for you, that's our most popular dish. I'll get those orders in right now and I'll leave you two love birds be until they're ready."

"Thank you," I say, pulling my eyes away from my husband.

She walks away, and we're alone again. Her interruption reminds me of the question I had earlier. "Why did you get me a ring now? You said before that you didn't want to get me one with Blackthorne money."

He grins. "You heard me talking to Carina earlier, but you didn't hear the first part of the conversation. Apparently, my grandfather is Gabriel Perez. He started a private mercenary group whose clients include the U.S. government.

“Carina has been managing a trust fund he set up for me when I was born. She's been investing the allowance it paid to me since I was sixteen. I get the rest when I'm twenty-five, but I currently have an account I can access with over five million dollars."

My mouth falls open. That’s a lot of money. "What does this mean, other than you're rich?"

"We are rich," he points out, reminding me it's not only our lives we share, but also our assets. "Well, richer at least. Don't you see what this means, though? We can get out from underneath Damien. My mom did a great job hiding the accounts. I've been texting Lucien so we can buy a place your father doesn't have access to."

I tap the back of his hand. "It's more than that though. I haven't seen you this hopeful since we met. Not even when we made it out of town that first night."

Sin looks around, making sure the waitress isn't ready to return. He holds up a finger to keep me from speaking as she approaches the table with our plates. Thankfully Sin managed to point to the club sandwich on the menu. She sets the plates down, and I start mindlessly eating my fries while I wait for him to continue speaking.

Once the waitress is far enough away, Sin leans forward and lowers his voice. "What this means is that things are different now. We have resources he doesn't control, and not just money. I'm not sure it's going to work yet, but if my mom can get her brother to help us we'll have protection not bound by the same rules as your uncle."

I smile at him, and he squirms a bit. "You called her mom."

He looks down, and the vulnerability I see in his face when he looks back up makes him look younger. It's the first time I've seen him look like a twenty-one-year-old man.

"I don't know what is happening. I—"

I put my hand on his and squeeze reassuringly. "You found your family."

"You're my family," he replies vehemently.

I nod. "And you're mine. So is Lucien. Hopefully, I'll get to know Natalie, and maybe Grant. You don't have to limit yourself to just me. It doesn't mean you love me any less if you let in Carina too. Besides, I'm pretty sure Lucien would be mad if he thinks you don't consider him family."

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