“I was afraid.”
“Let your fear go….” His eyes were heavy. “You’re mine now.”
“Yes.” I returned my attention to his very perfect body. “You are.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tank
“Some vacation.” I grinned while Junior and Serena exchanged vows out in front of the ocean. It was perfect.
Scary, but perfect.
And only scary because somehow Serena had convinced every single boss/uncle sitting up front to wear matching white linen shirts.
Meaning, all I saw were angry tattoos swirling around their crossed arms, and the guns strapped to their chests below the clothing.
They were their own army.
And the pictures? Well, they would definitely show the weapons. Poor caterers kept tripping in the sand as they set up the reception out closer to the water.
It would be hilarious to watch if I didn’t understand that fear very well. My first time meeting them, I’d nearly shit myself.
Now, it was a bit easier.
Because one of their princesses was entrusted to me.
“Yeah.” Kartini clung to my arm as we watched them make their promises. “It started at a wedding, and the drama ends at the wedding.’
“The drama.” I beamed down at her in her gorgeous, tan peasant dress and blue heels that matched her eyes. “But not us.”
“Never us.” She licked her lips and then frowned behind me. “Plus, I have a birthday to celebrate later this week.”
“Birthday sex,” Maksim slurred to himself as he slumped in his chair. King kept kicking him. I’d seen that look on Maksim’s face before.
He was pissed.
Which meant, he must have fought with Izzy again.
“You okay?” I elbowed him. “Maksim?”
“No.” His eyes were hollow, lost. “No, I’m not.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Ha…” He kicked some sand with his shoe. “No, Tank. I don’t want to talk. I want to drink. And I want to fuck. And then I want to do some math.”
“Ummm, okay.”
“Likes his math, turns him on,” King said from the other side of him. “Just…relax a bit, bro, then we’ll get you some coffee.”
King shot me a worried glance.
I turned back to Tiny. “What’s going on with him?”
Her expression shuddered. “Not my story to tell.”
“Ah, one of those.”
“Yeah.” She gulped. “But I don’t see a happy ending with his. I don’t see an ending at all if he keeps at it.”
“We’re family.” I reached for her hand. “We’ll be there for him, the way he was there for you.”
She smiled up at me. “How did I get so lucky to find such a mature old man with such a large dick to be my boyfriend?”
Annie choked and started coughing behind us while Ash leaned forward and patted me on the back. “Well done, sir.”
“Thank you.” I winked at him while Annie covered her red face with her hands, and Kartini just shrugged as if to say, “Well, it is.”
I loved that woman.
The ceremony was short.
The vows were beautiful.
And the next thing I knew, I was eating lobster next to Sergio and wondering if he prayed for me to choke on my next bite as he seemed to purposefully crack the shell open with too much vigor.
“So…” I started.
“No small talk.” He pointed a claw at me. “You’re moving your shit into the pool house.” He waved the claw around. “I’m not stupid. I know she’ll sneak in, but I figure the more distance I put between you two, the better.”
“Wait. I can still live with you?” I was stunned.
He frowned. “Why would I kick you out?”
“Well, that’s really nice of—”
“It’s so much easier to spy on you under my roof.”
I gulped. “Awesome.”
“Come on!” Kartini grabbed my hand. “It’s time to dance!”
She pulled me to my feet before I could say anything else to Sergio, and then I forgot all about his grumpy look when Tiny danced around me.
When I joined my friends on the dance floor.
Beneath the stars.
My Family.
Finally, I’d come home.
Epilogue
Kartini
Six months later
Tank: Gonna be home in a few, had one more errand to run.
Me: Sounds good!
I threw my phone onto my bed and watched my best friend pace a hole in the floor. “I should just call him, right?”
I groaned into my hands. “Look, Izzy, you just need to fix all of this. It’s causing stress between everyone.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “But Dad—”
“He let Serena and Junior be together,” I pointed out.
She nearly snarled. “You don’t even know. They nearly died. This is different, trust me. If you had seen his face...”
“He’s understanding.”
“Ha. My dad? Mine? Chase Abandonato?”
I winced. “He loves you.”
“Too much. It’s possible to love someone so much that you smother them to death. He’s killing me!”
Someone knocked on my bedroom door.
“It’s open,” I called.
Mom poked her head in. “Iz, your dad’s downstairs, he’s ready to take you home for dinner.”
She clenched her teeth. “Fine.”
“We’re in a good mood.” She grinned.
Izzy looked ready to scream as she stomped by her and out the door.
“Oh, and Tiny? Tank wanted me to give you this.” She tossed a burner phone to me.