Page 83 of Cruelest Contract
“Yes.”
She lays her cheek on my chest and I hold her in my arms. We’re barely swaying as the music plays.
“I’m sorry I’ve been gone so much,” I tell her.
She lifts her head, already smiling. “Make it up to me later.”
Fuck yes.That goes without saying. I hope she got plenty of rest last night. I plan to be extremely demanding once the sun goes down.
She settles into my chest again. I rest my chin on top of her head.
“You’re not a brick in my empire,” I whisper into her hair.
But at the same time, yelling explodes at the table when Getty steals a slab of pork from Fort’s plate.
“What did you say?” Cecilia looks up at me.
The song is on its last notes. Instead of repeating my words, I seal the moment in both our memories with a kiss.
16
CECILIA
“Don’t forget about Louisa,” I beg Mel.
She gives my cheek a maternal pat. “Your cat will be fed and taken care of.”
Alice nearly topples me with a ferocious hug. “My beautiful princess bride best friend.” She hiccups.
“I’ll take care of this too,” Mel assures me and accepts custody of a weepy, mildly drunk Alice.
The cake has been cut and the sun has set. When Julian suggested the time had come to make our escape I was more than ready. He’s having a word with Fort in the yard while I say goodbye to our guests at the bottom of the front porch steps. As I watch, Fort nods in agreement with whatever Julian said and he starts walking toward the stables.
Then I find myself face to face with my brothers. We regard each other with awkward wariness. Angelo’s nose is definitely broken. Matthias is exchanging glares with Getty and Tye.
There are a lot of things I want to say. I want to remind them how our father used to bring home cheesy, fun souvenirs for us every time he traveled on family business. I want to ask if theyknow what brand of perfume our mother always wore because I’ve searched for years and have never been able to find it.
I barely know these men now but there was a time when we were vital pieces of a real family with all our quirks and grudges and private jokes.
Do they think about this? Do they remember?
“Thank you both for being here,” I say to them. It’s an odd sendoff because Angelo was ordered to show up and Matthias roared in without an invitation, intending to snatch me away.
“Yeah, enjoy the toaster,” Angelo grumbles and gingerly touches his face.
Matthias flings one final glare at the Tempestas and leans in. “You call me if you need anything, Cici.”
“I don’t have your number,” I remind him.
He has the grace to look embarrassed over the remark.
“I can leave my contact info with that friend of yours,” he suggests.
“You do that,” I say with a glance at Alice. At the moment she’s being mothered by Mel. She’s sleeping in my room tonight and she flies back to Arizona tomorrow. If not for Mel, I’d feel funny about leaving her alone here.
Julian moves to my side and extends a hand of peace to my brother. “Matthias.”
Their handshake looks strained, even painful, but neither man flinches.
