Page 57 of An Unexpected Everything
I can’t lose you.
I fucking love you.
But I didn’t say the words. How could I say the words. Because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I didn’t know where this thing between us would go.
And it scared me to death. But not as much as it scared me that something could happen to her because some asshole was obsessed with her.
“I’ll deal with it after the wedding. We’ll call the cops now, and we’ll deal with it. I don’t know what he’s playing at, but I’m not going to let him ruin this wedding. I’m not going to let him ruin my life,” she spat.
And there was the fire and anger I loved about her. Not the fearfulness that had been in her tone before.
And that was the only reason I nodded. “Fine. We tell Aston, and we tell Blakely.” She opened her mouth to object and I shook my head. “Someone else in your group needs to know.”
“There’s going to be a woman there named Daisy tonight, she’s connected to the family and owns a security company. We could tell her.”
“Damn straight we will,” I said, liking this idea slightly better. “I don’t want the world to touch you, Bella,” I said, my voice low, cupping her face.
“I don’t want anything to happen either. We’ll be safe. He’s not here. He’s in Wyoming.”
“I’d rather just keep you safe in Cage Lake forever,” I whispered, not meaning for the words to slip out.
She froze before she took a step back. “We should call them now. Get everything ready. We don’t have a lot of time.”
And with that she walked to her bag that she had dropped when we had first walked in, and I couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t remarked on Cage Lake.
And the fact that perhaps she didn’t want to stay forever.
And that meant nothing was set in stone, except the fact that somebody wanted to hurt her.
And I would do anything to stop that.
Even if it meant hurting us both in the end.
Chapter Fourteen
ISABELLA
For once,my chest didn’t ache when I woke up. I still rubbed my fist over my heart absently and realized that I hadn’t needed to. Even with the letter that surely had to have come from William, I hadn’t had a panic attack.
I had gone out with the girls for our bachelorette party, with both Daisy, our friend who happened to own a security company, and Blakely looking out for me. But we hadn’t let on that there was a worry. Because Sophia deserved the best wedding we could possibly give her. After all, she was the first Cage of our generation to get married. Which sounded surreal to me.
My baby sister was getting married. And from the way that she spoke about Cale, and every time he looked at her, I knew that their love match was something to aspire to. He fit in with my brothers so easily. In fact, I’d been worried that he had been a little too passive since the Cages tended to have big personalities. But instead he listened politely, and quietly added jokes when nobody suspected it. He was just a nice guy who made my sister happy. What more did I need?
“Why are you thinking off in the distance?” Emily asked, and I reached out and patted my sister’s hand. It was the night beforethe wedding, and we were having a calm and soothing evening with just the girls before we headed to our hotel rooms. Most of the wedding party was staying at the hotel that way we could enjoy a little more time together, while people like Weston’s family were still staying at their relative’s homes. I could have stayed at my apartment with Weston, but as the maid of honor, Sophia had wanted me here.
And now we had champagne, decaf tea, and little cakes and desserts just to unwind for the evening. No male strippers as Dorian had threatened.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I finally answered Emily. “Honestly I’m just thinking about the fact that we’re going to have a married sister soon.”
“I’m getting married!” Sophia said as she held up both hands and did a pirouette in the center of the groupings of chairs where we all sat.
I clapped, my chest tightening in a whole different way watching my sister dance.
She had always been so graceful, elegant. With her long neck and longer legs, she was the exact embodiment of a ballerina. She had put her body through hell in order to make that happen, and when she had hit her pinnacle, she had retired. But I knew she routinely danced in her studio to keep in shape—and because she loved dancing.
“Any special dance you have with Cale for the wedding?” I asked.
Sophia waved me off, smiling.
