Chapter 32 #2
“Oliver made him say that,” Daphne whispers to me. “They don’t actually want money.”
“And if you don’t, we’re going to the press,” Lucky says.
“That too,” Daph murmurs. “But I think they’ll actually do that one.”
“I still love Oliver,” I murmur back. “But not the way you do.”
“Best kind of family. A little dysfunctional, a lot of love.”
I can’t believe she just made me giggle here.
“Also, lose the moose head. That’s gross,” Decker says.
“Why the fuck isn’t Daphne in the family paintings? She’s the best of all of you.” Jack glances back at me. “No offense, Margot.”
“No, no, I fully agree,” I reply.
“You’re going to donate another hundred million to a fund to save the polar bears,” Decker says.
Daph sucks in a breath.
Apparently Oliver didn’t tell them to say that.
Which means—
I suck in a breath.
Does it mean what I think it means?
That someone else—someone I miss terribly—told them to say that?
But no—when I look back at the door, it’s empty.
“And again, going to the press if you don’t,” Jack says.
“Fun thing about the press these days is that they’ll print anything halfway believable,” Lucky says.
“And I make shit up for a living, so I know how to make this story fucking sparkle,” Decker says.
Jack nods. “We help from time to time.”
“We don’t need money to make your life hell,” Lucky chimes in.
“We’ll do it for fun,” Decker says. “And we’ll be good at it.”
“Because you’re a dick,” Jack adds.
“A dick who’s never going to bother us or our sisters or family ever again.”
A tear slides down my cheek.
Daph leans her head on my shoulder. “Honestly, best brothers I could’ve ever asked for. And Bea has some pretty awesome brothers.”
“Where is my goddamn security?” my father bellows. “You’ll do nothing—”
“DNA doesn’t lie,” Lucky says.
“We’re your sons,” Jack agrees. “Not happy about it, but dude, we have the same eyes and the same noses too. Unfortunately for us.”
“And if you want to accuse us of lying about it, we’ll take you to court and make you prove you’re not,” Decker finishes.
My god, the way I love these men.
It’s like having Daphne and me all rolled into one.
“Anything you want to add, Margot? Daphne?” Decker looks back at us.
I shake my head and swipe my cheeks.
“Margot said it all already,” Daph says. “They’re not our problem anymore. We just want to live our own happy lives.”
“Great,” Decker says.
“Have fun being miserable.” Jack waves.
Lucky steers them toward the door, hustling Daph and me too. “Our lawyers will be in touch,” he calls back over his shoulder.
I look left and right as we leave the dining room, the five of us hustling down the steps to the door, but I don’t see—
I don’t see what I want to see.
My heart.
I don’t see my heart.
“The polar bears?” Daphne whispers. “You didn’t tell me you were going to make demands for the polar bears.”
“We, ah, had some time for research on the plane,” Lucky says.
We tumble out the front door, where the security agents who weren’t inside to help my father are all reconverging after clearly getting their attention split.
They look at me, concern fading to worry as they spot Daphne too.
She finger-waves at them.
The door to a black SUV opens at the curb, and our brothers hustle me inside.
I freeze halfway up.
“Rhys,” I breathe.
“God, you’re fucking beautiful,” he breathes back.
I tumble the rest of the way into the seat, and the door closes behind me, leaving Daph and our brothers on the street.
“They’re taking the other car,” my driver says as we pull away from the curb.
I blink at Rhys.
Open my mouth.
Try to talk, but I can’t because my throat is clogged and I don’t even know what to say.
His hand closes around mine. “You don’t abandon the people you love just because you’re scared.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry—”
“No, no, Skillet. I’m scared. You fucking terrify me.
But I get it. I know why you’re scared too.
And I—I want to be beside you while we both face our fears.
Stronger together. Better together. You make me—you brought me back to life, and you make me want to live.
So I want to do the same for you. However you need. ”
I don’t have the words for what I need.
But I have arms that work to wrap around his neck.
A body that works to scoot as close to him as humanly possible.
A nose that can smell his tobacco-and-pine scent.
Fingers that can grip his hair and hold him close when he sucks in a fast breath as he buries his head in my neck.
“I’m so sorry.” My voice breaks as a sob slips out. “I don’t—I’m so afraid—you deserve—I want—I want you.”
“I love you,” he whispers. “I love you, and I won’t give up on you.”
Love.
Yes, love.
Not friend-love.
Not settling-love.
Bigger-than-me, bigger-than-him, bigger-than-the-world love.
The kind that makes it hard to breathe when he’s not with me, and the kind that’s so big inside that I don’t know how my chest isn’t cracking open with all the power of it that wants to spill out.
“I can’t love you as big as you know how to love,” I whisper into his neck, “but I want to. God, I want to learn—to practice—loving you.”
“I can’t live as big as you know how to live,” he whispers back. “I want to practice living with you.”
“I’m so sorry—”
“Shh, Margot. It’s okay. Just tell me—just tell me you want me as badly as I want you.”
“More. I want you more.”
He shudders as he hugs me tighter, his lips pressed to my neck.
“I love you, Rhys,” I whisper. “I love you with everything I have to love you with. It’s not enough—”
“You are so much more than enough. You’re everything.”
I’m not.
He is.
But if that’s the biggest thing we have to work out—who means more to whom—then maybe, just maybe, this man who was supposed to be only a fling could become everything I’ve ever wanted and needed in this life.
And maybe, just maybe, I can rise to the challenge of being everything he deserves.
Not because I enjoy a challenge.
But because this man—he deserves the very best.
And it will be the privilege of my lifetime to spend every day being that best for him.