Chapter Eleven
That evening was just what I needed—alone time with my best friend. I filled Sawyer in on the engagement and dinner with Garrick’s family. The boys were banished to our apartment. Idly, I wondered what Garrick and Kurt were up to.
There was no telling.
I took a bite of the pizza we’d ordered. It was delicious. A comforting, carb-filled meal.
“So what do you have planned for Kurt?”
“I have no clue. But it’ll come to me. I’m going to teach his glorious ass a lesson.” Sawyer grabbed the wine and refilled her glass. “He knows it’s driving me crazy even though I’m playing it cool.”
Full, I set my plate aside. “I think he likes you.”
In response, she rolled her eyes and folded her legs underneath her. After Kurt left the apartment to go next door, she’d dressed in something more comfortable. “I don’t think so. He made it clear he doesn’t mix business and pleasure…multiple times. Something about shitting where he eats.” She made a face. “Disgusting. I am neither a meal nor a toilet.”
Wine nearly came out my nose. “Well, he’s a good guy. You two will figure it out.”
She took a sip of wine and changed the subject. “Enough about me. I cannot believe you’re getting married. And you’re handing all the planning over to Garrick. You only get married once, you know.”
I sat my glass down. Though Sawyer and I had been roommates, I’d never told her about Dylan. It was too painful. Last week, I’d decided I was ready. And here was my opening. “Actually, I was married before.”
Sawyer’s pizza stopped midair. “What? You were married? I had no idea.”
“We were high-school sweethearts. Kurt was his best friend. You’ve probably heard him talk about Dylan Reynolds.”
Sawyer gasped. As a huge Reverence fan, she had obviously heard the name before. “You were married to Dylan?”
“Mmm-hm. He died in Paris on our honeymoon—there was an explosion at a pharmaceutical company. I was hurt, too, and at the hospital, I found out I was pregnant.” I touched my abdomen as I remembered that awful time in my life. “I lost the baby.”
Sawyer had tears in her eyes. “Knoah, I—”
Sharing this with Sawyer freed a piece of me. Before, I’d been scared of the pity. I realized it wasn’t pity, but concern and love from those who knew me. “I wasn’t ready to share. I needed a friend who wouldn’t press me. You were that person. And through it all, we became best friends.” I knew Sawyer had something she hid from me, as well. When it was time, she’d tell me. “I will never forget Dylan and our baby. They will forever be part of me. But I’m thankful I’ve been given a second chance at love.”
“And now you’re engaged.”
“And now I’m engaged.”
Each time I said it, the realization hit me a little harder.
Taking an exaggerated sip, Sawyer raised an eyebrow. “I better be invited to the wedding.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course you’ll be there.”
“When is it?”
I shrugged. “I told him to surprise me on everything.”
“I think that’s romantic. Crazy, but romantic. I’d have hives, but they’d be love hives, I guess.” Sawyer shook her head. “I’ll let Garrick know I’ve got a monkey-wrangler friend if he wants a ring bearer.”
We burst out laughing.
Sawyer needed to know about the other development in my life since I decided I wanted the Monroes to be at our wedding. “There’s something else that happened.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “What else happened while I was away?”
This afternoon after Sawyer left, I called my parents to talk about the Monroes. They’d been fully supportive about my biological parents’ involvement. In the interest of the truth without bringing about an investigation, we’d decided to go with the adoption story. The Monroes agreed to the story. “I found out I was adopted. I met my birth parents.”
“What the fuck? You’re adopted? Did you know this before this week?”
“No, I hadn’t. It was a closed adoption. My birth parents found me through the video from the concert that went viral and they reached out.”
Sawyer was speechless. For about three seconds. “How are you doing?”
I played with the engagement ring. “It’s been a bit of a shock. But, I’ve come to realize it doesn’t change who I am or the wonderful parents I had. I’m only telling you and Kurt. I don’t want it known. Please don’t tell your family.”
“Of course. Never. Your secret is safe with me.”
And I knew it would be.
~ ~ ~
I waved good-night to Joe as I closed the door to the apartment.
“Yes, motherfucker, yes!” Kurt yelled from down the hall in the family room. If I knew my friend, his favorite football team had just completed a great play.
I walked down the hall, and the sportscaster recapping the Dolphin’s latest play confirmed my suspicions. Is that pizza I smell? I leaned against the doorway, and Garrick’s eyes caught mine as he took a pull on his beer. An empty pizza box lay on the table at the side of the room.
The whole scene was so not Garrick’s normal, more formal persona—the one he portrayed to the world. This meant Garrick thought of Kurt as a friend. It was important for my friends to get along with Garrick. When Kurt initially found out about Garrick’s ties to the mob, their relationship tensed considerably. But somehow, they’d found a middle ground.
Kurt stood a few feet away, eyes glued to the television as the football was driven down the field. As he laced his hands behind his head, I caught a glimpse of what he was wearing. That faded Dolphins T-shirt brought a smile to my face. Many a game in high school had been watched with that shirt on.
This was home. And everyone I loved had a place in my life. No longer was I pushing the past away. No, now I was welcoming it.
Garrick patted the chair, and I hurried over to sit beside him. I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Did you have fun, sweetheart?” he asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“I did. I needed that time with Sawyer. How about you? Did you have fun?”
“Sure, it was fun.”
I snickered. The word fun from Garrick was comical. With a straight face, I teased, “Was your beer quite enjoyable during the show of brawn?”
With his arm looped around my neck, he brought me in for a quick kiss. “Are you saying I’m stuffy?”
“No, not at all.” It was hard to keep from laughing as we smiled at each other.
“Hell, yeah! It’s the year of the dolphin. I can feel it.” Kurt held up his arms and did a victory lap, grabbing my attention.
I cocked an eyebrow. “You’ve been saying that for ten years.”
“It’s bound to come true one of these years.” Forever the fan. Kurt swigged his beer before he sat near me. “How are you doing with all this?”
Good, Garrick had talked to him. This afternoon, I’d asked him to fill Kurt in on everything that had happened—except for what we knew about Sawyer’s family. It would make it easier if anything happened between Kurt and Sawyer. I never wanted him to feel guilty for not telling her.
“It’s still hard to believe.” Over the last couple of days, I kept thinking I’d wake up from this dream.
“I’m here if you need anything. I always will be.”
Reaching out, I touched his arm. “Thanks, Kurt. I know that. Same for you, especially with your…umm…situation next door.”
He kissed the top of my head and stood. Beside me, Garrick remained relaxed, which was a relief. At times, he was a bit overpossessive. “How was my roomie? Still loving her room?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you that she’ll strike. She’s way too chill about this.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “She’s a harmless puppy. All bark and no bite.” Kurt grabbed his phone from the side table. “Thanks for the beer and pizza, Garrick. Next time, they’re on me.”
“Sounds good and fun.”
Kurt shook his head at Garrick’s awkward word emphasis and waved good-bye as he left.
“See? I can be relaxed.”
“Uh-huh. Very. Super chill.” The front door closed. “Seems like you guys have worked through your issues.”
Garrick positioned me to straddle his lap, and his hands slowly moved up my legs. “We have. You’re our number-one priority. Giving him complete transparency tonight helped. Also, Navarro had nothing to do with me. And the Monroes seem to be on our side.”
Seem.
“Do you trust them?”
The greenness in Garrick’s eyes intensified. He wanted me. I only had a matter of minutes left before he consumed me. His fingers inched a little closer to my core. “I believe them. I think they want to get to know their daughter. The situation is tragic. But I don’t believe we have all the details.”
His hands moved a little farther up to the inside of my leg. Instinctually, I pressed against his length. “Why do you think that?”
“Because we’ve kept things from them. We’ve shared pertinent details—that’s it.”
Garrick’s thumb was only a few inches away from my core. “Did you find anything else out?”
The progression stopped, and he took a deep breath to rein himself in. “Joe got the reports from Sawyer’s mom’s snowmobile accident.”
“And?” I sat up straighter, thoughts of sex pushed to the side for now.
“Someone cut the brake lines.”
I gasped. Someone had tried to kill Tonya. How far would they go? And why? “Navarro?”
“We aren’t sure. But I would assume so. I’ve made an offer to Sawyer’s parents to help get them out of this financial mess they’re in. If Navarro is already escalating to this kind of violence, they might be in too deep already.”
Christopher and Tonya had always been good to me. I hated the thought of them being in trouble like this. “What’ll happen to their business?”
“I’ll own it. For a while, I’ll let Christopher run it—with a tight leash, of course. My offer was more than fair because the family has been there for you. But I can’t simply hand them cash. It’ll cause too much suspicion.” That made complete sense. “We also found out Navarro made initial contact with them the evening after your dinner. I think Navarro sought Christopher out.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure what type of leverage it gives him. We’re going to keep looking.”
So I’d been the catalyst for all this mess for them. Me. First Christopher and Tonya. Then Jessica.
“Knoah, they chose their path. Not you. They could have said no, but they took the easy way out.”
I took a deep breath. “I know. They’re good people, though. I hate this. Does Kurt know anything?”
He shook his head. “I told him they weren’t involved in this and were clean. However, I was still keeping the no-contact rule in place for everyone but our families.”
I waited for him to continue. “And?”
“And he understands. The fewer people involved the better.”
“I hate lying to him.” And I did, but I wouldn’t want that burden of knowledge if I was attracted to someone.
Garrick rubbed my arm. “It’s not something he needs to worry about. But he was relieved, even if he doesn’t want to admit why yet.”
We’d made the right decision. If Kurt knew her family was involved in this, he would automatically distance himself. This wasn’t Sawyer’s fault. If things worked out between them, there would be enough of an uphill battle as it was.
Changing subjects, I asked, “What about Vivian?”
“Nothing new. We’re watching her, but Navarro hasn’t made any additional contact. I’m also looking into Carrie Duvall.”
Carrie Duvall. I could not imagine what she’d suffered and what had driven her to the actions she’d taken. What made her do it? Who’d been with her? “To see when she died?”
“Yes. And see how she knew the Monroes. I’m sure Hastings is investigating, as well. It’s why nothing has been mentioned. We also don’t know who her accomplice was.”
His hand resumed its path. The top button of my jeans unsnapped. “I think that’s enough talking for now.”