Page 132 of Grand Love

Leaning against her, I whisper into her ear, “We all missed things we wish we didn’t, Nina. We can’t change the past” —I flatten my palm on her hip as my finger traces one of the thin scars at the bottom of her stomach— “but we can make right now whatever we want it to be for him.”

“I want Ellis to have more—more than we both had.”

“I know,” I tell her, dropping my head to rest on her shoulder. “I want that too.”

“Mase, there’s a memorial ball for your parents on Saturday night, it’s at the estate and everyone has been too afraid to ask you,” she blurts out.

I tense, trying to process her words but she doesn’t give me more than a second before she is firing off again.

“I’ll be there, Ellis too. Vinny is going to be watching him in the house.” She turns in my arms. “It would mean the world to your sister if you came.” She rolls her lips. “It would mean the world to me if you came.” She searches my face for any hint of a reaction, completely and utterly unaware that I would set the world on fire for her. “Ellis too,” she adds, trying to hook me.

I step away from her, waiting for her to take the blanket from my grip and then letting it go.

“Okay.” I nod.

“Okay?” She rears back.

“I’ll go to the memorial thing.”

She has that look on her face. Like the time I told her I was allergic to dogs.

“You will?”

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