16. Extended Epilogue Chapter Two
EXTENDED EPILOGUE: CHAPTER TWO
I t was so amazing to see his Little girl laughing and smiling and basking in the spotlight. Made his heart feel like a bonfire.
The reading they’d done together had gone great, and half an hour after the signing had started, there were still people waiting to buy Nuala’s book and get her autograph. Of course that was probably because their friends had been first in line, and Ian had to play bouncer to keep the queue moving at all with all the squealing and hugs and bouncing. Littles sure bounced a lot. Plus they had a lot of friends here.
Remy had excused himself to use the bathroom, and he was taking a minute to watch his hummingbird from a distance before he got back to her. Not that he wanted to be away from her—pretty much ever—but it was nice to know her confidence was growing such that she could not only handle being the center of attention without being glued to his side, but enjoy it. It made him so happy it almost hurt.
Of course Hux and Tamsyn were keeping her company while he was gone, but it hadn’t been that long ago that Nuala wouldn’t have dreamed of even being at a place like Hive, never mind celebrating her debut DDlg romance—hell, the launch of a whole publisher even—with a book release party and signing. And here she was, having the time of her life.
He almost jumped out of his skin when a sibilant voice spoke from slightly behind him. “So are you going to ask her?”
Nuala had said Lowell wasn’t slimy, but Remy wasn’t a hundred percent convinced. Whatever he was, that man could sneak and slither around like no one’s business. Probably helped to be light on your feet when a key feature of your job was to trade in secrets. He’d been assured that both Foster-Webb twins were firmly on their side but Lo still gave him the creeps a little.
“Ask who what?”
He turned to face the more cunning of Tamsyn’s Daddies, who tsked at him.
“Please. Consider who you’re talking to. I know everything. But also, you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to notice that you’ve been touching your pocket every five minutes all night. Or to see the way you look at her. And have from the beginning. Even before Cabot was out of the picture.”
“What? How did you?—”
Lowell rolled his eyes. “You’re far too naive. Don’t worry, I promised Hux and Tamsyn I wouldn’t take advantage. Cabot and Nuala hosted a party out at Mountain Lakes a few years ago and Victoria made me go. Either you weren’t invited or you didn’t attend, but I saw you walk by. For some people, the look of envy would’ve been for the party itself—Cabot always did know how to put out a good spread—but not you. The only thing you wanted, despite their deck being full of some of the most powerful and richest people in the state, wearing clothes that cost more than your car, and watches that could buy your house, was Nuala.”
What exactly was he supposed to say to that? He’d never done anything about it until after Nuala had divorced the rat bastard, so it’s not like he’d done anything wrong. And besides, Lowell knew everything, why should he lie?
“You got me. I’ve been attracted to Nuala since the second I laid eyes on her. But you know I never acted on that until Cabot was out of the picture. And as for if I’m going to ask her… It’s a little more complicated than that.”
If anyone could understand that, it would be Lowell who shared Tamsyn with his twin brother—and Huxley was the one who’d married her.
Lowell made a “mmm” sound Remy couldn’t quite decipher but he wasn’t going to spend time figuring out what the cryptic man meant. He was a sphinx.
“It’s also time for me to get back to her, if you’ll excuse me.”
Lowell dropped his chin in a nod Remy wanted to think wasn’t unfriendly, and then Remy was on his way back to his Little girl.