Page 98 of Shea's Hero

Oliver’s concerned voice jerks me out of my meandering thoughts, and I turn towards him to reply quickly, “Of course. Why?”

His attention returns to the road for a few seconds before coming back to me. “Because you looked sad. And I thought you were looking forward to tonight. So I’m just wondering if something’s wrong.”

“Nope.” I give him a bright smile and pat his leg. “I’m absolutely fine. Really.”

Tiny creases form across his forehead. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” As he signals to make a left turn, I add, “I was just thinking about how much we’ve gone through to get here. And how happy I am.”

“Shea.” Emotion roughens his voice. Then he covers my hand, threading his fingers between mine. “I’m so happy, too.”

Glancing through the windshield, I spot Penny’s new apartment coming up on the right. “It’s that one. The little white house with the pink door.”

“Okay.” Oliver clicks on the directional again, slowing to a stop in front of the Cape Cod-style duplex. Once he puts the car in park, he lifts my hand and presses a soft kiss to the back of it. “I love you, Shea.”

Twisting around in my seat, I lean over to kiss his cheek. “I love you, too.”

His deep blue eyes meet mine, all his love right there, on full display. “Have I mentioned how much I’m looking forward to calling you my wife? Not that my fiancée doesn’t sound nice, butmy wife… I can’t wait.”

Aww. I love how eager Oliver is to get married. And honestly, I feel the same way. “If it were just us,” I tell him with a smile, “I’d say we go to the town clerk tomorrow. But with so many people coming from out of town…”

Like Niall and Jade. And all of Niall’s teammates in Texas. Plus some of Oliver’s old colleagues from the CIA, like Ash, who, as promised, isdefinitelycoming to our wedding.

Oliver nods. “I know. But it doesn’t mean I like waiting.”

“It’ll be here before we know it. And in the meantime, think about all the fun stuff we have planned. Our trip to Texas next month, and our weekend trip to Fort Ticonderoga in September, plus all the fall stuff in Sleepy Hollow. It’s my first Halloween here, and everyone tells me the town goes all out. So I’m pretty excited about that.”

“They do,” he agrees. “Headless Horseman everything, a big bonfire, trick or treating downtown, haunted hayrides, cemetery tours… it’s basically a month-long celebration.”

“See. That sounds great.” With a little bounce in my seat, I add, “So it’ll be January before we know it. And then we’ll be Mr. and Mrs. Kingston.” Cupping his cheek with my hand, I kiss him again, slanting my lips across his and lingering for a few moments.

Then my phone buzzes, and I pull away to grab it out of my purse. Glancing at the screen, I laugh and say, “Ari wants to know where we are. She said she’s dying to find out if this is the most dramatic episode yet, like the teasers promise.”

Oliver raises his eyebrows. “What makes the episode extra dramatic?”

“I’m not sure.” As I reach for the car door handle, I add, “I haven’t seen very many episodes yet. But I think it might have something to do with the men not being there for theright reasons.”

“Wait.” Oliver touches my arm. “Let me open the door for you.”

Once he’s out of the car, he scans the road and surrounding yards before opening the passenger door for me. Then he takes my hand and gently tugs me into his side, wrapping his arm around me as we walk towards Penny’s front door.

Although it’s been nearly two months since everything went down with Romanova’s men, Oliver’s protectiveness hasn’t lessened a bit. He still insists on triple checking our security system before we go to bed, surveilling every place we go in advance to check for potential threats, and driving me pretty much everywhere, whether it’s to work or just to the grocery store.

Maybe in the past, I would have considered his behavior over the top, but now I’m glad he does it. A few weeks ago, I got it in my head that I should be going places by myself again, so I insisted on driving into White Plains for a last-minute client meeting. But halfway there, I had a panic attack and had to pull over so I didn’t get into an accident.

I talked to my counselor about it, and she reassured me it was perfectly normal.“There’s no timeline for things like this,”she said.“Take things slow. Start out taking little trips by yourself right in town. For things that could be triggering, give yourself some grace. You went through a lot. There’s no shame in accepting help from the people who love you.”

She’s right. And it’s something I still have to remind myself of sometimes. That being strong doesn’t mean doing it all on my own. And it’s not a bad thing to admit I need help.

That’s not why Oliver’s here tonight, though.

The last few weeks, I’ve been joining Ari, Thea, and Penny for their weeklyBachelorette-watching sessions, and usually Oliver just drops me off and picks me up after. But this week, the guys are joining us, not just to watch the show, but also to celebrate Penny officially moving into her new apartment.

That’s another thing I love about my life now. All the friends I’ve gained. Ari and Thea and Penny. Rose and Scarlett. Maya and Nora and the rest of the women who live at Blade and Arrow. And of course, all the guys, too.

“Okay,” Oliver says after ringing Penny’s doorbell. “So we’re watching this show about men trying to win the bachelorette. What’s the goal at the end of it? To get married?”

“Sort of. They all say they want to get engaged. But according to Ari and Thea, most of the time they break up after the show is over.”

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