Page 165 of Shades of Loyalty
“So, what? Life goes on. I’ll open back up soon.”
I turn around before he opens the door. “How are you so happy now?”
His smile grows wider. “Come on. My brother is getting married. How could I not be happy?”
“But Ju—”
“Don’t say his name.” Andrew sighs, his smile falling rapidly. “I’ll get over it, I swear. I promise I’m just happy for you guys.”
I nod. “You’ll be okay?”
“Yes, I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”
“You’re my little brother, An. I’m always fucking worried.”
“You’ve mentioned that before, Dan.”
“And I’ll always mention it again.”
A subtle smile is on his face. I hope he’s truly okay. I really hope he means it.
“Let me know if the pastries tasted good. I might make some more. Oh, and the wedding cake—”
“Yes, An. You’ll be the one baking the wedding cake.”
He nods. “I better be.”
Both of us say our goodbyes before I leave, my soul feeling lighter than before.
It’s only been, what? Ten minutes? And yet, so much has changed.
The roar of my Harley doesn’t sound so loud today.
For once, my thoughts aren’t racing. I’m heading home. To them. To peace I didn’t know I could have.
And yet, I know that later today, we’re gonna have the best day we’ve had in a long time.
Chapter Fifty-seven
Jennifer
The sun shines onto my skin, the wind being the only thing that makes the sun somehow bearable. It’s hot, but the sounds of the waves crushing and the soft giggles coming from my daughter make it all worth it.
Daniel is lying right beside me. His hand is softly stroking my skin while he watches Mary work on her sandcastle.
I can’t even begin to describe the feeling in my chest every time she asks him for his opinion, and he just tells her words like “it looks absolutely wonderful”, or “you’re doing a really great job there!”.
It fills my chest with happiness—so much of it, I feel like I could cry.
We haven’t told her yet. About the wedding. We have a date set up already, and although in my opinion Daniel is completely overexaggerating with his plans… Honestly, I’m not stopping him.
Because seriously, a horse-drawn carriage with two white horses?
I could lie and say it’s too much. Or I could enjoy this life and tell Daniel that I’m absolutely gonna go down on him that night if he’s really going to get that to happen.
He’s totally spoiling me. He’s spoiling Mary as well. However, no amount of “I can’t accept this” and “Are you sure?” could ever change his mind.
I’ve stopped trying after just a few months of getting to know him. And I love it. I’m enjoying it.
