Page 36 of If You Could Only Imagine
She threw her head back and laughed. “I’m just Shane, Denise,” she said, chuckling. “I’m just a girl who happens to have a kick-ass husband and a band of brothers.” Then she floored the shit out of me when she added, “And now a kick-ass sister-in-law!”
My smile dropped. “Uh…”
Shane’s grin rivaled the happiness of woodland sprites and fairies. “I bet you two dollars that you and Aiden are married by the end of the month,” she boldly predicted.
“Two dollars? That’s some heavy hitting, woman,” I teased.
She lifted a dainty shoulder in a quick shrug. “What can I say? I’m hardcore like that.”
I laughed, and for the first time since shaking Aiden Buchanan’s hand, I felt lighter and freer than everything that was going on around me. “I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity, Shane,” I told her, honestly.
Shane’s voice got serious. “There’s no need to thank me, Denise,” she began. “Your reputation and work ethic had me seeking you out even before this thing with Aiden.”
I nodded and decided to just take her word for it.
Things were looking up, and I was not going to let my insecurities cause issues where there weren’t any.
And I was going to be able to be with Aiden.
Chapter 20
Aiden~
I was walking out of the shower into my bedroom when I heard voices echoing somewhere in my kitchen.
The Twins.
I let out a sigh, walked over to my drawers, pulled on some basketball shorts and a t-shirt and went out to meet them.
I shouldn’t be surprised to know they were here. There was no way Mason or Shane wouldn’t have told them about the fight. I’m pretty sure they were here for plotting purposes. I walked out of the hallway and found them both sitting in the exact same spots they had sat the morning they met Denise.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure,” I said, wryly.
They both turned around, in sync as always, and they looked ready for battle, especially Michael.
“Word on the street is that you and Dibtab got caught up in office gossip, she had to meet with HR and then Mason, and then you beat the shit out of dear, old Dad, only to end up making up with Dibtab, and now she works for Shane,” Gabriel recapped.
I huffed and passed them to drop my ass on the couch in the living room. “Word on the street?”
Gabriel grinned. “Well, the word on Shane Street,” he joked.
“Yeah,” Michael joined in. “Pretty Girl called me to ask if BI had any boats at its disposal because we needed to murder Dad and then dump his body out in the middle of the Pacific.”
“Jesus,” I mumbled, hanging my head and running my hands through my hair. “It wasn’t that bad.”
I didn’t look up, but I could hear the twins making their way into the living room. “I beg to differ,” Michael retorted.
I looked up at my brothers. “Seriously, Mike-”
Gabriel nodded his head at my face. “Is that from the fight or does Dibtab not know her own strength?”
I leaned back against the couch’s backrest. “It’s not from Denise, Gabe,” I answered.
Gabriel remained seated on the coffee table as Michael leaned forward in his seat. “You know I’m going to end up killing him one day, right?”
Michael was usually very pleasant and his voice light and teasing. But, right now, he was all business and a very scared part of me actually believed him. If we didn’t eradicate Harold Buchanan from our lives, Michael was sure to kill him one day. “It’s fine, Mi-”
My youngest brother held up his hand to stop me. “That motherfucker dared to comment on her goddamn race, Aiden,” he reminded me. “Not only did he talk about her as if all our employees were some sort of sub-creatures, that man…” Michael stopped and let out a deep breath.
