Page 16 of Treasured By 3

“My father gave her a gun for an engagement present,” Hunter informs us while sipping from some vodka. “Brandy, Gunner?”

“Please,” he groans.

Chase comes downstairs. He takes a slow breath. “I’m not happy with you, Valerie. You violated our trust.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“But I understand that you’re stressed and you’re used to telling Sophia everything, since I know you told her about plenty in our relationship. It’s a good thing you held back for as long as you did,” Chase says.

“Do you still love me?” I ask in Russian.

His face falls, and he crosses the space between us to kiss me. “I never stopped, baby doll. I can be mad and love you at the same time. I’ve figured that out.”

I nod once and squeeze his hand.

Sophia looks between us and takes a slow breath. “I’m still going to worry about you.”

“I know,” I say with a smile. “Because you’re an amazing best friend.”

“I’m thebestbest friend,” she says, sighing. “And that means knowing I’m not going to pry you from them and admitting ... that I’ve never seen anyone make you so happy. Even when you were hooking up with that drummer who ended up being famous.”

“Who?” Hunter demands. “He can becomeunfamous fast.”

“I’ll tell you when you give me a list of your conquests, Krolik,” I dare.

He swallows more vodka? Sophia pats her legs. “Okay. Let’s see the floral arrangements.”

Lief, Sophie and I go over the options. I can see how much Lief likes the purple orchids and the white ones that are splattered with purple alongside the baby’s breath and the gold-painted carnations.

“I think this one will work the best,” Sophia points at the blue and white orchids with the lavender and yellow roses. “It’s romantic, but not over the top. People will still be able to see each other, and you won’t have petals everywhere.”

“I like the lilies,” Chase fills in as he rejoins us. “I think yellow and purple work well together.

I nod in agreement. “But I do like the gold carnations, considering the venue.”

Lief kisses my temple. “I’m glad you noticed they tie in.”

“Your father gave you some décor mastery,” I tease.

“You have a venue!” Sophia bounces. “Show me!”

I show her the pictures from the website and the ones I took. She coos over it. We talk all about how we’re going to do dresses–I want even her in bright colors–and all the things she wished she would have known while planning.

“When’s the date?” Roman asks.

“Two and a half months,” Hunter answers. “A shame it couldn’t be half that.”

“You might still be mad at me,” I say.

He shakes his head with a wicked smile. I narrow my eyes. “What did you find?”

“I happened to find a Christmas present in my office last night. It’s something you should wear,” he hints.

Ah, the sexy librarian costume. I flush anyway and nod. “I know you.”

“Very well,” he agrees.

“Okay, well then we have to go wedding dress shopping next week. Come up to the city, there are so many other options, plus your men won’t see it,” Sophia insists.

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