Page 57 of Tangled in Vows

I help her back under the fluffy covers, and she yawns widely as I lie beside her on top of the covers. Stormy peeks at me from the other side of Olivia, probably still confused as to why it’s not playtime. I give her a few pets, and she lies back down.

I stare at the ceiling until I hear Olivia’s soft breathing. Only then do I turn my head and take my fill of her.

Even in this situation, her beauty stuns me. Her full lips are slightly parted with her bottom lip protruding more than her top one. Her long lashes curl at the end, casting a shadow on her cheeks with her hair in a halo around her. She’s utter perfection.

Tomorrow, she’ll probably have questions, and unless I can come up with a good reason, I’ll probably have to give her some answers. Fear of losing her reaches into my still wide-open chest to curl a tight fist around my heart. It’s that fear that has me leaning over to press my lips to the soft skin of her forehead.

What if this might be the last time I’ll ever be this close to her? Now that I have her in my life again, I can’t let her go a second time.

“No, please, don’t.”

My eyes fly open to Olivia’s cries. She’s squirming beside me, moving her hands like she’s trying to ward someone off.

“No. I said get off me.” Another whimper before she clutches the blanket so tight her knuckles turn white.

Stormy lets out a whine of her own, as though this isn’t the first time she’s witnessed this.

I place my hand over Olivia’s and squeeze gently. “Hurricane, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

Her eyes snap open, and she blinks several times. The soft light from the bathroom illuminates her face and reflects in the shimmer of her irises. A tear spills over, running sideways over the bridge of her nose.

There’s a faraway look in her eyes that tells me she’s not entirely with me. She is still stuck somewhere else, which is confirmed when she squeezes her eyes tightly together and a quiet sob escapes her lips.

“He . . . he . . . Felix didn’t listen and wouldn’t let me go.” Her lower lip quivers. “None of them would.”

“Hurricane.” I barely recognize my raw voice as I pull her into my arms, banding them around her in a protective cage. I wish holding her would be enough to ward off all of her nightmares. “I’m here. You’re safe.”

She doesn’t say anything, just presses deeper into my embrace with shaking limbs. She’s so quiet. Too quiet. It makes me wish she’d yell at me about something. Anything would be better than seeing her so tormented by whatever happened with Felix.

That motherfucker.

If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him all over again for what he did to Olivia.

I smooth my hand over her soft strands and down her back, rubbing what I hope are soothing circles over her shirt. Unableto help myself, I press my lips to her hair and murmur, “Shh, I’ve got you,” until her sobs and tremors slowly subside.

My wild heartbeat slows down with her breaths, relieved the worst seems to be over.

I’m sure things will be very different in the morning, but at this moment, I allow myself to enjoy the way she’s clutching to my shirt like I’m her lifeline and the way she presses her nose against my chest, as if our proximity settles her as much as it settles me.

As I close my eyes, I can’t help but wish I could hold her for a long time, to always know she’s safe, and to pretend she’ll be by my side forever.

But some unnerved part of me steals those comforting thoughts, telling me this storm is far from over. That I’ll lose her again, and this time, her loss will be irrevocable.

Chapter 19

Olivia

Do you ever think about me? What did I do?

Consciousness slowly seeps into my being, and the corners of my mouth tug up. I’m warm and comfortable, and I can’t remember the last time I woke up and felt this . . . content.

That feeling lasts about two seconds before everything comes back to me, and the events from last night threaten to crush me.

Felix is dead. It’s still hard to believe, but Holden said it’s true, and there’s no reason for him to lie about it. Although he never told me how he knew.

Part of me yellsWho cares? Felix is dead. He’ll never come after you. That’s all that matters.But then the guilt sets in. Yes, he was a piece of shit. But did I want him dead? Would I ever wish death on anyone?

Did you forget what he did to you?

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