Page 103 of Sworn to Protect

He believed in me before I believed in myself. He helped me navigate the guilt I carried over, not mourning Ethan as I thought Ishould. And most of all, he never judged me for any of it.

“Sure, you could’ve,” Jill argues. “Would’ve just been harder.”

I smirk, finally looking at her. “You’re right. Iama badass bitch.”

She grins. “Glad you finally came around to seeing that.”

“Lead by example, right?”

“True that. Speaking of example, is Liam excited about playing for the Strikers?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s pumped. It’ll take time for him to build back up, but he’s determined.”

“I wonder where he gets that from.” She smirks.

I laugh, shaking my head.

She studies me for a second, then leans in conspiratorially. “So, any big plans during your vacation?”

I roll my eyes. “If you’re fishing for wedding talk,I hate to disappoint you. No proposals, no rings—just a relaxing getaway to Kauai.”

“Hm.” Jill sips her wine, glancing toward Nate. “You sure about that? Because the way he’s been eyeing you all night, I don’t think you’ll be waiting too long.”

I don’t respond right away, but my pulse picks up.Could he?

“We haven’t talked much about marriage,” I admit. “School complicated things. He didn’t want to push.”

“But now school’s over.”

“Yeah,” I murmur, stealing another glance at Nate. He catches my gaze, and his slow, knowing smile sends warmth straight to my toes.

Jill hums. “Oh, yeah. He’sdefinitelygonna propose.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Just then, Mom approaches, effectively shutting down our conversation. “Mackenzie, dear, Stan’s getting tired. We’re going to head home.”

I smile, setting my glass down. “Thanks so much for coming.”

“We’re so proud of you.”

The sincerity in her voice squeezes my chest. I could kid myself all day, pretending I don’t need her approval—but having it feelssodamn good. I kiss her cheek, then Stan’s, and watch them leave with a full heart.

The party winds down soon after. As the last guest disappears down the driveway, I turn to my boys. “Alright, guys. Time for bed.”

“No.” Nick’s face blanches. His wide-eyed horror has me freezing mid-step. “We can’t go to bed yet!”

I frown. “Okay…” I drag out the word. “Did you need to do something first?”

“Yeah, we haven’t?—”

“Nick!” Liam cuts him off, eyes flaring in warning. He shakes his head, motioning for his little brother to shut up.

I narrow my eyes.Something’s up.

“What exactly is going on?”

Silence.

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