“S ONE ROSALIE
unshine, did you hear what I said?” Enzo’s deep voice cut through my daydream of going upstairs to take a bubble bath before sinking deep into my mattress so I could sleep. It had been a long week filled with returning to classes, a heavier workload, and a kiss I couldn’t stop replaying in my head.
I hadn’t spoken to Anson since it happened. He hadn’t been in classes and had simply texted me to say he had a family thing to take care of and would come back soon. I’d answered with a simple OKand left it at that.
“I’m sorry. What?” I shook my head, feeling flustered.
“The wedding. We need to set a date.” Enzo stared me down, his dark eyes filled with concern. “Time is ticking, babe. I thought maybe we could have a spring wedding.”
“Spring?” I crinkled my brows. “That’s only, like, two months away. We can’t do spring.”
“OK,” he said slowly. “Summer? June would be pretty on the lake at sunset. Or we could do a destination wedding. Maybe Hawaii? Seems popular.”
“No,” I muttered, rubbing my eyes.
Enzo sighed and sat back in his seat across from me. “What’s wrong? You’re barely listening to me. I’m getting the distinct
impression you’re not wanting to do this.”
“What?” I blinked at him. “No. It’s not that. I want to get married. I just. . . I think fall. It’s my favorite time of year. I worry though because it’s the start of a new college semester, which means I won’t be able to take time away for a honeymoon really. . . ”
“Sunshine.” Enzo’s warm hand rested over mine. “We can just do an overnight somewhere if you’re worried. A nice hotel. I want to marry you as soon as possible. I want to start that part of our lives. I’m tired of waiting. You can take a week off too. You know you can. You’re a damn genius. You’ll already have worked ahead anyway.”
“You’re right.” I licked my lips, shoving Anson out of my mind. The guilt at his kiss was eating at me. Fox kept telling me to let it go. That it was nothing. That I was hurting my own feelings with it. I knew I needed to do as Fox said, but I was so worried about how things would be when Anson returned it was making it hard to concentrate. I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since it happened. All I knew was that it pushed me down a path I’d been hesitating on. I was going to focus on my guys. On making things better. On saving us all. Anson was my friend, plain and simple. Nothing more. I’d made my mind up long ago. I would marry and go off my birth control. Everything that had transpired that night with Anson made me want my guys that much more. I just needed to set a date for the wedding so I could tell Cole my plans.
“You’re right. OK. Um, yeah,” I said, letting out a breath. “You pick.”
“What?”
“I just, I don’t know, Enzo. Let’s do it tomorrow in Vegas.”
He cocked his head at me. “Sunshine, I know you’re nervous, but I want this to be something we both want. I don’t want to run off and elope in Vegas. I want my family there. Your family. Our friends.”
I nodded, trying to let my frustrations go. “You’re right. Maybe I am nervous. Let’s just look at the calendar and pick a day.” I got up from my seat and went around the kitchen table. He slid back and I settled on his lap, the calendar in front of me.
I flipped through the months until I landed on August.
“Let’s do August fifteenth,” I said softly, staring down at the date. A Saturday.
“August fifteenth,” he murmured, running his warm hand down my back. “It’s perfect. I’d like to marry in a Catholic Church. Would you be OK with that?”
“Yes,” I said softly.
He wrapped both arms around my waist, and I settled back against his chest.
“Big or small wedding?” he murmured. “Medium.”
He hummed his approval. “Salmon and steak?”
“Macaroni and cheese with chicken tenders.”
A soft laugh left him. “OK. I’ll make sure my bride has her perfect meal. For everyone else though?”
“Give them a choice of either salmon or steak.”
“Done. I have a church I’d like you to come look at if you’re willing. My parents married there. I’d really like it to be where we marry.”
“OK,” I agreed. “I’d like to have the reception here in our backyard if we could though.”
“God, I love you,” he said softly, running his lips along my jaw. I smiled as he kissed his way to my lips, his fingers lightly guiding me to him.
I parted my lips and kissed him back, a soft moan spilling from my mouth.
He eagerly deepened our kiss until he broke it off.
“Engagement party.”
“When?” I whispered against his lips.
“Mm, my parents’ anniversary is coming up. I don’t want to overshadow that, so I’ll talk to them about it. I’d like it to be in the spring though."
“Sounds good. Now we just have to get something to wear.” I kissed him again.
“I want you in all white, Sunshine. Even the roses you carry and wear in your hair should be white.”
“What makes you think I want to have roses?”
“Because white roses are your favorite.”
I smiled against his lips and dove back into him. He wasted no time in lifting me to sit on the table before pushing me to lie back on it.
I did so without protest, desperate for him to take me out of my head for a little bit.
Carefully, he dragged my panties down my legs and pushed my skirt up. I watched as he pulled his favorite knife from his boot, twirled it, and cocked his head at me, his dark eyes glittering.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my heart beating hard as I took in the knife he held. Enzo adored knives and was terrifying with them in his hands. I’d never seen anyone handle a weapon the way he did.
He ran the blade lightly along my thigh. “Figured we’d have a little fun. Trust me?”
“Yes,” I whispered, nodding my head.
He smiled at me and twirled the knife again quickly before he teased my clit with the handle. I whimpered as he slid it slowly downward until he was teasing my pussy with it.
“I’m going to fuck you with it,” he husked out. “And you’re going to come for me.”
“Enzo—” His name faltered on my lips as he breached me with the handle, making me gasp.
“Fuck, that’s a pretty sight,” he murmured, pushing the handle in further before pulling it out only to do it again. “Your pussy is so wet for me, baby.”
I quivered as he slowly fucked me with the handle of the knife, my heart in my throat. It has been a long time since he’d done this to me. In fact, it brought back a whole host of memories. With my eyelids squeezed tightly closed, I steadied my breathing.
But then he sucked against my clit, making me arch off the table and whimper out his name.
He didn’t stop his work. He sucked and licked my clit while fucking me with the knife handle until I was a quivering mess on the table, my release gushing from me like an erupting fire hydrant.
“Oh, my perfect little ray of Sunshine,” he murmured as I lay sated on the kitchen table, his chin glistening with my release. He licked his lips and pulled the handle out of my pussy before gliding his tongue along the blade to collect the moisture. When he was satisfied, he tucked it back into his boot.
I made to sit up, but he put his hand in the center of my chest and pushed me back down.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked as he undid his belt and pants. He pulled his thick cock free and ran it along my slit, making me tremble more.
“You’re not done until I say you are.” He pushed forward, entering me.
I groaned as I took all of him.
“Fuck, baby,” he rasped, snapping his hips forward and grinding against me before pulling out to do it again. “Every time is like the first time.”
I twisted my fingers through his hair as he bent over me and kissed me, his tongue thrashing wildly against mine.
The sound of the front door opening and voices I didn’t recognize hit my ears.
Enzo was quick to pull out of me, drag his pants up, and toss me over his shoulder with ease. Quickly, he took us to the laundry room and closed the door before dropping his pants again and pushing into me after sitting me on the counter.
“Who-who’s out there?” I asked as he thrust into me.
“Luca, Brent, and Cole,” he said breathlessly, kissing me. “I forgot they were meeting me today to go over some security measures.”
I raked my fingers through his hair as he continued to work me over until I was coming hard, my lips fused to his. He followed soon after, groaning softly and resting his forehead against mine.
“Oh, Sunshine,” he whispered. “You’re everything, you know that?”
Guilt slammed into me as my kiss with Anson came surging back into my mind. Fox said to keep it a secret, but I really hated doing that. It violated our no secrets rule. On the other hand, I knew if I
said anything to Enzo or Cole about it, they’d lose it and Ani would end up in a lot of trouble. I probably would too.
“I love you,” I murmured back, feeling my heart swell with the words.
He smiled at me before pecking my lips with his and pulling free of my body. He pulled his pants up, tucking his dick away. “I love you too, Sunshine. Dress. Get that paper written you have due. But most importantly, schedule dress shopping. I’ll have my men go with you—”
“Shouldn’t this be something I do with Jamie and my mom?” I fixed my panties and dress, wincing at how sore I was. He’d not been nearly as gentle as he had been with me lately.
“If you want, but Jamie is at school too. Might be hard to make it happen. Video chat with her and look?”
“Mm.” I contemplated his suggestion, not hating it. “I can do that, but do I really need to bring Luca and whoever else?” I hated sharing this event with near strangers.
“He won’t come in with you. He’ll just be nearby. I want you safe, Rosalie. You know that.” He kissed my forehead.
“I need to tell my parents,” I admitted. I was under the impression Enzo hadn’t bothered to ask my dad for permission because my dad probably would have tried to talk him out of it since he wasn’t exactly on the wagon of me being with four guys at once. He tolerated it and wanted me to be happy. That didn’t mean he had to be.
“We can do that together when you’re ready.”
“But you want me to get my mom to dress shop with me,” I pointed out.
“Which means, my pretty bride-to-be, that you need to get that going. Tell me a day and time and I’ll be there.” He winked and backed away from me.
I sighed. “I really don’t mind a Vegas wedding.”
“I do. I don’t want some cheap, fast affair. I want it before God and our families. So let me know when you want to talk to your parents.” He walked to the door and raked his fingers through his hair. I’d messed it up with my fingers twisting in it. I watched as he
stood straighter, the mafia prince coming out. It was mesmerizing to see him go from sweet to cold and hard. It made my heart do funny things in my chest.
He looked at me over his shoulder, his hand on the doorknob. “Thank you, Sunshine. For setting the date.” And with that, he pulled open the door and stepped out, leaving me behind. Thedate.
August.
In less than a year, I’d be Mrs. Rosalie De Luca. I nibbled my bottom lip, thinking about my schedule. I hadn’t come out and told him or the guys yet that I’d officially taken on the teaching courses and that I’d dropped some of my singing classes.
No one knew it.
But they would soon enough. I knew what I’d signed up for when I became the horsemen’s girl. Trying to change it or deny it wasn’t working, so I’d fall in line, even if that meant just giving up my dreams for it. I’d just have to learn to live in someone else’s.
TWO ANSON
Ifrowned as classes started.
Rosalie wasn’t here. As far as I knew, I’d gotten a message from Ethan earlier that morning saying Cole was taking her to classes and she’d left her phone at home.
She’d sent me her schedule just over a week ago. I’d arranged mine to match hers, but it wasn’t like her to not show up.
I went to Professor Hopkins at the front of the room, knowing I needed some damn answers.
“Anson,” she greeted me brightly.
“Hey, is Rosalie Bishop signed up for this class?”
“Uh.” She looked over her attendance screen. “It looks like she dropped a few days ago. That’s odd.”
I backed away, my anger surfacing. If she dropped for that fucking teaching degree, I’d lose my mind.
“Are you staying for class?” Professor Hopkins called out to me as I turned to go.
“No. I’m going to see what’s going on with Rosalie.”
“Good. It would be a shame if she’s not here.”
Indeed, it would be.
I grabbed my bag and left the room and went straight to the main office.
“Hey, Brenda,” I said to one of the women behind the desk. “Can I get Rosalie Bishop’s new schedule? She lost it and left her phone at home, and I told her I’d run down here and grab her a new copy.”
“Oh. S-sure, Anson.” Her cheeks reddened as she quickly put in Rosalie’s information and printed her schedule out for me.
“Thanks,” I muttered, snatching it from her and leaving the office.
I stared down at her courses, the fury building.
Nearly everything had been changed and she was pulling down double credits in a bid to finish early.
I ground my teeth and stormed over to the English department where she was having a useless literature course. I didn’t even knock on the door. I simply stormed inside and interrupted the class.
“Yes, Mr. Beyers?” Professor Barrett called out, blinking in confusion at me through his thick glasses.
“Rosalie Bishop?” I called out. Students murmured and looked around the lecture hall. I spotted her near the back, her cheeks red.
“Mr. Beyers, is there something I can help you with?” Professor Barrett continued, the irritation apparent in his voice.
“I’m just here to get Rosalie,” I said, shuffling around students and going to where she sat. I didn’t say shit to her. I simply grabbed her stuff off her desk and picked up her bag.
“Now,” I snarled softly at her.
“Anson—”
“Fucking now, Rosalie. I’m not joking.”
She fumbled to get out of her seat, her face flaming red. I took her by her arm and led her out of the lecture hall, knowing we were about to have a knock-down, drag-out fight.
I wasn’t wrong.
The moment we were into the empty hallway, she jerked out of my hold, green eyes flashing.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, her chest heaving.
“Saving you from the biggest mistake of your life. Protecting you like I promised,” I snapped back. “Believe me, I have my work cut
out for me. If self-sabotage is a kink, then baby, you’ve got it in spades.”
“You had no right to come in there like that,” she snapped back, stepping into my space, all flashing teeth and pretty eyes. Her red waves spilled around her like a raging fire. Her bottom lip trembled. Fuck what I wouldn’t give to kiss her again. I’d been replaying it in my mind on repeat since that night. How soft and tentative she was. When she parted her lips and allowed my tongue to dance against hers, the sweetness of it all. I’d fucking wreck her world if she were mine. In a good way. In a way where she’d need me to carry her everywhere once I was finished with her because she’d remember who the fuck had been between her legs, loving her the way she deserved.
But right now, she was staring at me like she was going to remove my cock and shove it sideways up my ass.
“I have every fucking right, LeeLee. We’re—” Wewerewhat?In a fucking situation that had no real answer to it other than limbo? I swallowed and stared at her.
“That night was a mistake,” she whispered. Her words gutted me.
“You said you didn’t regret it,” I murmured, closing the distance between us, my heart in my throat. I crinkled my brows as I stared into her eyes, praying I’d heard her wrong.
“Ani.” Her voice was small. “I-we can’t. I’m with the guys. I’m marrying Enzo—”
“Don’t marry him,” I answered back softly. “You could just as easily marry me.”
She blinked at me. “Don’t say things like that to me. Please. It—”
“It what, Rosalie? Makes you stop and question what you’re doing? What you’re feeling? I won’t stop. I’ve never not followed through on something in my life. I won’t start with you. You can take that however you want to take it. I get it. Believe me, I do. You’re in a shitty position, but I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere. I fucking want you in whatever way I can have you, or have my actions not screamed it loudly enough for you?”
She trembled and squeezed her eyelids closed as I reached out and cradled her cheek.
“I won’t push you to be with me. I understand you love the guys, and the last thing I want to do is add more pain to your heart. I’ll back off. I’ll be your friend if that’s what you want. When you’re ready to come to me, you will, and I will wait for that day.” I breathed out and thumbed away the tear that trailed down her porcelain cheek. “I will, however, push you in other ways. Open your eyes and look at me.”
She peered at me with glassy green eyes, tears clinging to her long, dark lashes.
“You’re going to walk into that office and change your classes. You’re not a fucking teaching major, LeeLee. You’re not. I won’t allow it.”
“You can’t tell me what to do—”
I leaned in abruptly, making her tense. Gently, I ran my lips along her jaw, causing a tiny gasp to leave her as I neared her ear.
“I just did. Now do what you’re told,” I whispered, my hand moving to her tiny waist to hold her. “Don’t make me tell you a second time. I know your heart, LeeLee. I know you love music. I won’t let you throw it away.”
I pulled away from her to see what her reaction would be.
With parted lips, she nodded at me. “OK.”
“Good girl. Now go, and don’t ever think you can run away like that again. Got it?”
She nodded wordlessly.
I backed fully away from her and nodded for her to follow. She fell in step with me without protest and let me lead her to the office where she promptly changed her entire schedule to my choosing before following me out.
“I have to show this to Enzo,” she murmured. “And the guys. They have my other schedule and will want this new one.”
I nodded without a word.
“Can you take me home? I-I—”
“You don’t need to explain it to me. Come on.” I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her down the hall.
We didn’t speak until we were in my car and on the road.
“Where have you been, Ani?” she finally asked. “I haven’t heard from you since. . .”
“I was doing something for my family.”
“Is everything OK? Is Trent OK?”
“Everything is fine now.” I gave her a quick smile.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
“Because things can change in the blink of an eye and you’re smart enough to know that.”
She nodded. “They can, can’t they?”
I nodded and turned onto the main road.
“I heard, um, Professor Landry won’t be coming back. They said she resigned abruptly over break.”
I tightened my hands on the wheel.
“Are-did you two break up?” Her voice was so soft I could barely hear it.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Is she why you were gone for a week? Was she the issue?”
I briefly closed my eyes before looking back at the road. “Yes.”
“Do you want to talk about it? Breakups are hard. I-I can listen if you need to talk. I’m probably terrible at giving advice on what to do, but maybe I can just be here for you.”
I breathed out and was quiet for a moment.
“I wasn’t in love with her. I started seeing her after my mom died. I didn’t know what I was doing. She approached me at Twisty Cone while I was rummaging through the trash in the back lot in the hopes of finding some bottle returns or old food so I could buy Trent something to eat.” I swallowed hard. “I was young. A teen. She was in her early twenties. She fed me. She gave me money to take care of Trent. Got me hooked up with jobs in the Underground.”
Rosalie remained quiet as I spoke.
“I fell in love with her, I guess. She was all I had aside from my brother. It started innocently enough. Food. Smiles. Then she touched me. Kissed me. I was a teen guy with raging hormones and a lot of anger. I went for it and fell into an ugly world. I started working for Everett. I became the Archangel, the monster everyone
in the Underground feared. It was my life for a number of years. I did bad shit, LeeLee.” I turned down her street. “Really fucking bad shit. I took people for Everett. Never children, though. I wasn’t even aware of the kid thing until way too late. But I did beat people. I killed them,” my voice cracked. “I regret it every day of my fucking life. I can keep telling myself I didn’t know what to do, but maybe I did and was just trying to survive. I needed to make sure Trent had a better life. That he could grow up and get the fuck out of here. I promised him I’d find the person who killed Tia and our mom, so I stayed, diving deeper into the abyss, hoping to find a way out. Hoping for anything.”
I put the car in park and stared straight ahead.
“At the same time, I don’t regret a single thing because it led me right to this moment with you next to me. My best friend in the entireworld.”
“What about Ryder?” she whispered. I turned to her. “It’s you, Rosalie. You’re my best friend. I care about Ryder, but I fucking love you even if you can’t love me back right now.”
Another tear slipped down her cheek as she stared at me.
Fucking damnit, I hated making her cry.
I reached out and wiped her tears away.
“Don’t cry, LeeLee,” I said softly, my heart aching. “Please.”
“You can’t love me, Ani. We can’t be together—”
I thumbed her bottom lip, silencing her.
“We aretogether. You just don’t know it yet.”
She turned away from me, a fresh flood of tears on her cheeks, before she pushed open the car door and got out. I followed her, not saying a word as she went into the house.
“Hey, Rosebud, what are you doing home—” Cole stopped and glared at me before taking in the tears on her face.
“Babe? What’s wrong?” His entire demeanor shifted as he went to her and held her. She clung to him as he continued to glare at me.
I wondered if she’d told them what I’d done. That I’d kissed her. I assumed she hadn’t since I hadn’t heard shit about it and hadn’t
been killed or turned away.
“What the fuck did you do?” he snarled at me. The desire to pummel me was apparent on his face, but he was also struggling with releasing her from his hold.
“N-nothing,” she said, sniffling. “It’s me. I, uh, I need to talk to you.”
He eyed me for a moment before focusing on her.
“What’s wrong?” He ran his fingers through her hair, doting on her. His personality shifted when she was at his side and in his arms. For a moment, I only saw someone head over heels for her, and not the complete prick I knew.
She turned in his arms to look at me. “Thank you for bringing me home. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ani.”
I looked from her to Cole then back again before I nodded.
“OK, LeeLee. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I backed away without another word.
It was just as well.
I had other places I needed to be anyway.
THREE COLE
Rosalie was scaring me.
She hadn’t told me what she needed to talk about. Instead, she’d hugged me and said to make sure everyone was home that night to talk and that she wanted to be alone.
I’d watched her go to her room and hadn’t followed, allowing her the space she was asking for.
While I waited for everyone to get home, I plotted out ways to fucking gut Ass Hat and places I could put his body.
I knew that asshole had something to do with her tears. If she came to us tonight and told us he’d fucked up, he really would end up dead. I was over his shit with my girl.
When the door opened at seven with Fox trailing in from doing some football stuff, Enzo at his side, I was on my feet.
“Come on. Rosebud wants to talk to us,” I grunted. “Me and E have been waiting forever for you fucks. You were supposed to be here an hour ago.”
“Sorry. We met up and got a burger,” Fox said, showing me a bag that smelled like heaven. “We brought some home for you guys.”
As much as I wanted to gobble down the contents of that bag, I resisted.
“Seriously. She came in crying with Anson today. She’s been in her room since, saying she wanted to be alone. I can’t fucking handle the anticipation. My dick hasn’t gotten hard once today because of it. That’s freaking me out.” I nodded for everyone to follow me.
“Why are you so sure it’s bad?” Enzo asked. “She seemed fine this morning.”
“E’s fucking anxiety rubbed off on me. Plus, I saw the tears. Something is very wrong,” I said, stepping into the office with the guys and pulling out my phone. Quickly, I sent her a text telling her we were all waiting for her.
“I was good today,” E muttered.
“You’re also high as fuck,” Fox said, eyeing him.
E shrugged. We’d both gotten high about an hour ago. We really had no choice. It was smoke some sugar or lose our fucking minds. So, E technically wasn’t good, but he was better than he had been lately.
We weren’t alone for long before Rosalie arrived.
“Hey,” she said, her voice small, as she moved to sit on the chair alone.
That was the first red flag that made my heart jump into my throat.
“Rosie, what’s going on?” Fox asked, settling on the arm of the couch to study her. “You’ve been crying.”
She offered him a shaky smile. “I need to tell you guys something.”
“Rosalie,” Fox said, his voice changing to a warning. “No—”
“I changed my major to a teaching major. I went through with it.”
I snapped my focus to whatever Fox wanted her to not tell us, to what she said.
“Ex-fucking-cuseme?” I asked, sitting forward. “Why did you do that? Singing is your life, Rosebud.”
She sighed. “I did it because I know I won’t be able to be a singer while I’m here.”
Red flag number two was waving.
“But it’s OK. Anson found out and pulled me out of class and made me change it back, so I did.” She pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of her robe pocket and handed it to Fox.
“This is my new schedule. My singing one. I’m still taking a few extra classes, but they’re all music. I, um, won’t focus on teaching this semester. I’ll just see how things go and decide then.”
Fox unfolded the paper and stared down at it without a word before he handed it to me. I glanced over it and saw her vocal classes, piano, music writing, and a few others before I gave it to E to look over. When it made it to Enzo, he was the first to speak. There were ten million things I wanted to say to her, but I wanted to say them to her when we were alone. I figured they’d have more impact then.
“Rosalie, why didn’t you come and tell us you were changing your schedule? That you were serious about it?” Enzo asked, putting her schedule aside and studying her.
“The reality is that I didn’t want you guys to feel like it’s your fault.”
Enzo nodded, and I frowned.
Fuck it.
“It is our fault though,” I said. “We know you don’t want this life. You keep telling us. We keep acting like shit is going to get better, yet we haven’t done anything to prove it. So, fuck it. Let’s air it all out.” I couldn’t take this shit. The fear of losing everything was taking its toll on me. Losing Rosalie wasn’t an option. It never was, even at Black Falls. Ian could have been a fucking saint, and I’d have still stolen her back from him. She belonged to me. No fucking takebacks.
She blinked at me, clearly surprised by my words.
“You knew the life we led,” I continued. “You said you wanted us. We said we wanted you. That’s a mutual agreement to fucking ride together through it all. I don’t feel like we’re all riding in the same car. It’s more like we’re in different cars stuck in fucking traffic and there’s a goddamn elephant in the road. So, what do we do?”
She breathed out. “I love you all so much.”
“We know,” E said softly. “We love you too.”
“Sunshine, just say it,” Enzo murmured. “Anything on your mind, say it.”
“I want to sing,” she blurted out. “I really, truly do. I want to be on stage in front of thousands of people. I want you guys to be there with me. I don’t want to live a life like I’m living now with being forced into hiding all the time. I want freedom. I want to make friends and go out and shop like a normal person. See a movie. Eat ice cream and go out and dance.” She visibly swallowed. “And it scares me that I may never have that.”
We were all quiet at her words.
“Be free,” Fox finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Because I want that for you too.”
“What the fuck does be free mean?” I got to my feet, my pulse thundering in my ears. “She’s not fucking leaving us—”
“I have no intentions of ever leaving,” she said firmly.
I stared at her, my fucking guts in a mess of knots. She stared back, her green eyes filled with so many emotions it broke my damn heart. It calmed me enough to get me to sit down.
Fuck.
I wanted the world for my girl. Our girl.
“I’ll speak to Anson,” Enzo said, clearing his throat. “If he’s agreeable to spending the time in making sure you’re getting out more, then I’ll ensure you’re both watched from afar. I can’t just let you go out on your own, but I can let you go out if you’re OK with being trailed. My men don’t have to be in your personal space, but they’ll be nearby in case you need anything. Are you OK with that?”
“Really?” She looked like she couldn’t believe her ears.
Enzo nodded. “Yes. I want your freedom too. If this would make you happy, then let’s see how it goes. E?”
“I agree. Maybe we can go with you sometimes,” E said, looking to her. “I haven’t been out to a movie in ages. I miss going.”
She grinned at him, practically dancing in her seat.
“Cole?” Enzo looked at me.
I sighed. “I hate Ass Hat.”
She frowned at me, her lips parting.
Before she could get the words out that I knew she wanted to say to me, I spoke.
“I agree too.”
Fighting and saying I didn’t want it wouldn’t do a fucking thing, so I knew I had to accept this loss when it came to this shit. I wanted her freedom too. Giving it to her meant she might see how worth it everything was and stick around. My fear of her up and leaving grew by the day.
This bought me some time to prove to her how much she was loved and cherished.
“Cole?” She got to her feet and came to me, kneeling at my feet. “Thank you.”
I sat forward and tugged her forward into my arms.
“I’d do anything for you, Rosebud. I want you to know that. If this would make you happy, I’ll try. I still hate that prick and want him to get a heaping load of ass herpes though. Just so you’re aware.”
She laughed softly, her fingers twisted in my t-shirt.
“It means the world to me that you’re trying.” She kissed me.
I fell into the kiss immediately, deepening it to pornographic levels.
Ah,therewasmydick.It sprang to life in my pants. If it had little dick arms, it would have waved hello, motherfuckers. I’m here to party.
She broke the kiss off, making me practically sputter in protest. She went to E and hugged him before whispering something to him I couldn’t hear.
He kissed her and murmured something back that made her smile. Moments later, she was kissing Fox before going to Enzo.
He reached for her and brought her onto his lap after kissing her.
“Since we’re all here and things are going OK, Enzo and I set a date,” she said, clearing her throat.
I looked from her to Enzo, who smiled and gave her a squeeze.
“August fifteenth,” Enzo said. “So, save the date.”
I took that moment to look at Fox , who wore a shaky smile. He caught my eye and looked away. I sighed. He was still a mess over
it. Honestly, I was too, but was making the best of it the only way I could. By ignoring it and pretending like I was getting her too. If I just kept telling myself she was mine just as much, it helped.
“Congrats,” I said, getting up to clap Enzo on the back and kiss her. “I’m glad. Now I can figure out what I’ll wear.”
“A suit,” Enzo said as I moved to sit back down.
“My birthday suit,” I said, grinning at him.
I’d fucking do it too if it meant these sad fucks would smile for me. I was tired of seeing all the damn frowns.
E groaned, and Fox cracked a smile.
Therewego.
“If he gets to pick what he wears, so do I,” Fox said. “I’m wearing the banana costume from ninth grade.”
Enzo grinned. “Fuck it. I’ll wear mine too.”
“Banana suit?” Rosalie looked miffed.
“We were a bunch of bananas for Halloween freshman year,” I explained with a grin. “Get it? Bunchof bananas?”
“I don’t know how I missed it,” she said, laughing.
“Believe me, you didn’t miss much,” E said, joining in. “We looked fucking dumb.”
“I wore a pink headband,” I said, laughing. “Had a big ass bow on it. How did you miss it, Rosebud?”
She smiled and shrugged. “Guess I got lucky.”
I booed her as Enzo gave her a tickle. She laughed and squirmed on his lap as Fox got up to help Enzo. E grinned at me, making my heart swell.
Thiswas what I was fucking talking about. This was the shit I missed and wanted back. I was game to make it happen.
That meant giving in just a little with Ass Hat. Maybe I’d get close enough to stab him. A guy could dream.