Page 234 of The Grand Duel

He has a knowing look on his face, a smile there too, but it holds more than Elliot’s did. He steps in to hug me, and I match his light hold. “You’re good for him. We couldn’t ask for better.”

I pull back when he does, my throat burning, watching as he steps around me and pulls his friend in for a hug.

“This feels like an engagement,” Lucy blurts, placing her hand on her chest with watering eyes.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Luce,” Charlie warns, his cheeks tinged pink. “You’ll scare her off in a minute.”

Impossible.

I’ll tell him that later. I’ll tell him that it’s impossible to scare me off because I’m well and truly infatuated with him. With his friends and this life they’ve built for themselves.

“You okay, Lissie?” Nina asks, coming to stand beside me.

I nod, a little overwhelmed but in the best way. “I never knew it could be like this.”

“A relationship?” She smiles.

“No.” I frown. “A family.”

Her eyes flash with something. A memory or thought or something else, but then she looks over at Elliot, Mason, and Charlie, who are teasing Ellis about something.

“They’ll be the best family you’ll ever find.” She puts her arm over my shoulder, pulling me into her side. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

I smile, feeling like for the first time in a long time, maybe ever, I feel utterly surrounded.

Utterly loved.

Charlie

Sometimes I hate my friends for being so full on, but today, watching Lissie get wrapped up in their arms, in their love, I can’t help but appreciate the hell out of them—bad bits and all.

Scarlet was informed the second we got back from the lake that Lissie and I are in a relationship.

I watched her face light up and then searched it for any sign the reaction was disingenuous. A ruse to hide how she’s really doing.

I found only light in her eyes.

She was in the middle of a session with her therapist when we arrived, Ave choosing to stay with her instead of coming out with us on the lake. Normally, or on many occasions, she’s not shown her face again after a session, but since around three months ago, she’s started to come away from them a little more upbeat, a little stronger than when she walked in.

The fact she can be happy for me today, when I know she’s been through hell and back these last few years, only makes me proud of how far she’s come.

“Let me take her,” I tell her, reaching over the sofa and picking up a fussing Ave. I lean in and let my nose run over her hairline, smelling her shampoo. “Hey, you.”

She stops her sniffling and drops her head to my shoulder.

“She needs a nap,” Scarlet tells me.

“Can I take her up?”

She smiles and nods.

I pick up her favourite bunny rabbit from the sofa and turn, seeking out Lissie.

She must sense my gaze and looks over at me.

I cock my head towards the door.

She stands, and I meet her on the threshold, letting her go first.

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