Page 183 of Gathered Sparkle

“Yeah, yeah. Tell me later. I’m guessing you’ve got at least one of them with you.”

I like the girl.

“The show is going down in two days.” Novalee gets back on topic. “Will you come?”

“Of course,” Belle replies without missing a beat. “Markus and I will be there…” She pauses. “Damn, that’s soon. So… no last night as a stripper for you?”

“Nope. Doesn’t look like it.” Novalee’s face falls slightly. “We’ve got to finalize some stuff, and after the show, we’ll have to leave. I know… it’s kind of sad, but at least we celebratedyourlast night.”

“Where are you even going? You texted something about Italy, but…”

Novalee turns and walks a few steps away, lowering her voice. “Tuscany. Or at least I think…” Her words drift out of earshot as she moves farther away.

I watch her, thoughtful.

She wants one last night as a stripper?

Maybe a way to close this chapter of her life?

Even with everything we have to do, if my girl wants a final night on stage before stepping into this new life with my brothers and me, we’ll make it happen. No matter what.

I get back to fixing the vacuum hose—the engine bay now cool enough for me to reach into without burning my hand. I press it back onto the fitting and twist it until it’s snug, grease smearing across my fingers.

Nicholas turns and leans against the car, crossing his arms as he watches me. “You took my side.”

“Like I should have done thirteen years ago,” I reply, not looking up. The words sit heavy in the air like they’ve been waiting to be spoken for years.

“No, you shouldn’t have had to pick a side. I’m sorry we made you.”

I lean my palms on the car, glancing at him. “Let’s be real. Levi will be over it by tomorrow.”

Nicholas’s mouth quirks, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t think so. He can hold a grudge.”

I laugh, wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand. “Yeah, well, not with me. Don’t worry. He can’t live without me.”

“And you can’t live without him either.”

“Fact,” I admit, stepping back. “But I had to live withoutyou. And that fucking sucked.”

He presses his lips together, his expression cracking just enough for me to see the pain behind it. “Yeah,” he murmurs. “It fucking did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

I glance down at the engine, then back at him. “Can we… I don’t know… be friends again?”

Nicholas’s eyes soften, and his smile this time is real. “Only if we’re best friends.”

I grin. “That never changed.”

Before either of us can say anything more, Novalee comes back, slipping her phone into her pocket. She looks between us and raises an eyebrow. “And? Are we able to fix this, or should I call a tow service? Is there, like, a millionaire car service?”

“Billionaire,precious.” I chuckle. “But no. I fixed it.” She gives me a slow smile, her gaze flicking to my oil-covered hands.

“Who would have thought that thebillionairebaby can get his hands dirty,” she teases, and I’d love to pull her in and kiss that smirk right off her face.

But she’s right, my hands are fucking dirty.

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