Chapter 25
Nikki
“What will we do?” James asks from the back seat of Sutton’s truck, sounding confused yet excited.
“Hang out, eat pizza, watch movies. Oh, and I got a hell of a lot of chocolate,” Sutton tells him, looking at me quickly with a cheeky grin.
“You know, since it’s the number one food choice.
” He winks, and I smile as we drive to our cottage to get changed and freshened up before heading to his place.
To be honest, I was so happy to finally see Sutton today that I accepted his invitation without thinking too hard about it. I probably need to check myself.
It’s hard around him, though. I tried to keep my distance.
I tried not to feel connected, get close, talk too much.
But he feels like a safe space. He has as much to lose as I do in regard to our privacy, and the fact that I have a permanent smile on my face whenever he’s around, like I’ve never had before, makes me feel good.
For the first time in months, I’m throwing caution to the wind and just going with it.
“Do I need to pack anything? What do we take?” James wants to go, but having never really hung out with friends before, it’s all new to him.
Poor kid was locked up tight in his room after school, night after night.
His weekends were all spent at home too, either in his room or, on the odd occasion when our wicked stepmother wasn’t home, he was downstairs, talking to Chef Luc in the kitchen.
Because of this, James can now make the best Croque Monsieur I’ve ever eaten.
“Just bring yourself. I have everything we need.” Sutton parks his truck, and James is out before he even turns it off.
“I’m changing!” he yells, running inside, making us chuckle.
“Man, if I knew he’d be this excited, I would’ve arranged a playdate earlier,” Sutton says playfully.
“First time jitters, I think.” I grab my bag, opening my door, and Sutton runs around to help me out.
“What do you mean, first time?” He’s frowning, looking down at me, where he just planted my feet.
His hands don’t leave my waist. They haven’t left me all afternoon, actually.
The minute we walked out of the diner, his hand grabbed mine.
In the truck on the drive here, he still held it, resting my hand in his lap.
“He’s never hung out with friends like this before.”
“Never? Never gone to play catch or watch a movie or sleep over?” He looks stricken. It would almost be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
“Never. I guess he wants to make a good first impression.”
Sutton watches me quietly before his hand lifts to cup my jaw. “Are you two running from someone who locked him up?”
I inhale sharply as his thumb brushes across my cheek to soothe me. It seems I don’t need to say anything; he already knows. He’s more observant than most.
“Something like that,” I whisper, and the line between his eyebrows deepens as he nods.
“They lock you up as well, Tinker Bell?” His jaw tics with his question, his body tense. My chest heats at the intensity. He looks ready to go to war for me.
“Not exactly…” I blow out a breath, thinking about it all. I have secrets, ones I’m not ready to share just yet.
“You’re a good sister,” he says softly. My eyes get a little glassy, because I'm trying really hard to be exactly that. “He’s lucky to have you.”
A lone tear falls at his words, the pressure, the buildup, the acknowledgment all striking hard.
He leans forward then, placing his lips on my cheek, kissing my tear and down the wet trail until his lips find mine.
As he curls his arm around my waist and pulls me tight to him, my feet barely stay on the ground. I sink into his hold, kissing him back, this tender side new and full of emotion. Our lips move against each other slowly, deliberately, my heart racing, because he completely takes my breath away.
He pulls back a bit, the two of us a little breathless, his forehead meeting mine.
“Mmmm, I like kissing you.” Every time he grins, it’s contagious.
“I like kissing you too.” I feel the blush on my cheeks.
“I… ahhh… I got you something.” He’s acting a little coy, somewhat shy all of a sudden as he scrubs the back of his head. Leaning into the truck, he grabs a small box that I didn’t see before. “Here.”
“A gift?” I look up at him, surprised. The box is simple enough. Black, nondescript.
Nodding, he looks hesitant, and my heart thuds harder as I start to open it. Inside is a black velvet box, the kind that, in my experience, usually houses jewelry.
“Sutton?” I look back up at him, unsure what’s happening here.
“Come on. Open it,” he encourages, but he still looks nervous.
As soon as I open the box, it’s like the earth tilts beneath my feet. Because there, sitting in the box, is the most beautiful bee clip. Just like my broken one, but sparkling and new.
“I know how much your clip means to you. It’s the last thing you have of your mom.
I used to look at it in your hair every day when I came to the diner.
I almost had it memorized. So, I had my jeweler create a new one, replacing the gemstones with real diamonds and strengthening the clip with platinum.
Now you have genuine yellow and black diamonds to ward off those evil spirits you talked about.
” He’s watching me closely, and I think I’m about to pass out.
Real diamonds. The cost of this would have been exorbitant.
But that isn’t what sets my chest on fire.
It’s the fact that he memorized my clip.
The fact that he had it made, knowing it was special to me.
The tears I had moments ago are back with a vengeance.
“Oh my God…” My voice is almost nonexistent. I still have the broken pieces inside, but they are so damaged, there’s no way to repair it. I’m just keeping them for sentimental value at this point.
“I was hoping this would bring you comfort, like she’s back with you, and now you can wear your bee clip again every day.”
Tears fall rapidly down my cheeks as I stare up at him. “Sutton, I have no words… You shouldn’t have… I mean, I can’t…”
He shakes his head, reaching up to cup my face so my eyes stay on his. “I wanted to. I know it means something to you. You mean something to me too, Tinker Bell…” Something shifts between us. It’s deep, emotional, and I’m almost powerless to stop it, even if I wanted to.
“Thank you.” It doesn’t feel like enough. “Thank you so much, Sutton.” I can barely get the words out around the tears that fall thick and fast. Sutton’s thumbs brush over my cheeks, wiping away each and every one of them.
“What do you say we go inside, put that in a safe spot, and pack you an overnight bag? You guys are sleeping over tonight, because I can guarantee that there’s going to be a chocolate hangover.”
That makes me laugh. “Oh gosh, how much did you buy?” I pretend to groan, but I’m actually really excited. His hands drop from my face and run down to my waist, keeping me close.
“Let’s just say, if I got the chocolate from Willy Wonka himself, then I would have about twenty golden tickets.” He gives me a sheepish look, and I laugh some more.
“You’re suuure you want us to sleep over?” I smile as I ask, because the way he’s now looking at me, I already know the answer.
“Your brother needs a sleepover experience,” he says quickly, and I zip my lips. He does. He really does. “And I need you in my bed.” His tone drops, as does his head as he rests his forehead against mine.
“Oh?” I'm already short of breath. God, I’m such a hussy for him. Like he knows exactly what I’m thinking, his eyes turn molten.
“Buuut, if you prefer not to, then that’s okay too. We can take this as slow as we need to,” he assures me sweetly, pressing a kiss on my forehead and pulling away slightly to look at me.
“I want it.” I say the words so fast, his wicked grin widens.
“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that?” He knows exactly what I said. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself as I run my hands up his arms and cup the back of his head.
“I said… I will go pack my bag… although I don’t think I have any clean pajamas for this sleepover.” I bite my smile as I tease him, and he groans as his hands flex against my waist.
“You’re killing me, Tinker Bell. But I mean it. I’ll go as slow as you need. We don’t need to rush anything,” he reiterates, and I appreciate it. But while my history with men is limited and mediocre at best, I’m all in.
“I don’t need slow, Sutton. I just need you.”
Smiling, like that’s the best thing he’s ever heard, he kisses my forehead again and holds me close. With the bee clip firmly in my hand and feeling safe in Sutton’s arms, I can’t help but think my mom might just be looking down on me.
Telling me everything is going to be alright.
James and I should be in awe. Should be amazed by this mansion up on Billionaire Boulevard, but we’re not. It looks like the homes we used to visit when we were kids. Like the one we grew up in. Like the prison we escaped.
Sawyer and Annabelle left to go out as soon as we got here, and we’ve all been watching movies since.
“That was the best.” Kevin stretches out as the movie ends.
I look at my brother, and his grin can’t be contained, even though he’s looking a little tired.
He’s had the best time, running around, eating junk food, making him and Kevin firm friends.
But I know they’ll both be asleep the minute their heads hit their pillows.
“Right. Bedtime.” Sutton jumps from the sofa, full of energy. In fact, his knee has been bouncing for the entire time we’ve been here. He’s jittery, and I wonder what’s going on with him tonight.
“What? No!” Kevin whines, little Noah already asleep, Sutton putting him to bed hours ago.
“Yep, it’s late.” He promptly turns off the TV, and I look at my watch. It’s close to ten. Not early, but maybe a little late for kids having a sleepover.
“We went to bed much later than this last time you babysat us.” Kevin stands up, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Maybe. But don’t you two want to go into your room, sneak candy in, talk about sports?”
Kevin thinks that over, and James watches the interaction with interest.
“Can we take the chocolate?” he asks as Sutton starts switching off the lights.
Sutton nods. “As much as you want.”
“Marshmallows?”
“No worries.” Sutton picks up the cushions, cleaning up the space, not even listening, and I smile.
“Sour Patches?”
“Uh-huh. Fine.”
“Yes!” Kevin fists the air and grabs James’ hand, pulling him into the kitchen, where I hear them raiding the cupboards and laughing.
I let out a giggle and small snort that has Sutton pausing and looking straight at me.
“What?”
“He has you wrapped around his little finger.” It’s sweet.
“No, he doesn’t.”
My brow pinches. “You just gave him everything he wanted.”
“Not for him. For me.”
I frown, still not understanding. Together, we walk to the kitchen to see what they’re up to.
Looking at me, he leans in close to whisper, “I just want those little fuckers to get to bed so I can take you to mine.” Then he strides forward like a good uncle, helping the boys get their goods, ensuring they have full bottles of water as I watch it all unfold with a swooping stomach.
I lean against the kitchen table, spotting a newspaper, recognizing the masthead as one from the East Coast. It’s the business section, and I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but flick through it. Sure enough, my father’s hard-set face stares back at me, so I read some of the article.
In a move that has sparked euphoria among environmental advocates, The Titan Family Corporation has acquired 10,000 acres of protected wetlands in Louisiana, aiming to secure it from development for future generations.
The purchase, valued at $500 million, is one of the first investments from Titan since the announcement of his new environmental department, showing exactly how serious he is about helping the environment and offsetting his lucrative crude extractions around the world.
I swallow hard, looking at the image of my father. He doesn’t look like himself. Again, older than I remember, yet still doing big deals, even though he has no one to take over his legacy.
“You alright there, Tinker Bell?”
I look up quickly, seeing Sutton watching me with concern. The boys are nowhere to be seen, but I hear them down the hall in Kevin’s room.
“Fine. Why?” I fake the smile, trying to shake off the emotions that pulse through me.
“You’re ripping the page.”
I follow his line of sight down to my hand that’s gripping the newspaper so hard the page has crumpled.
“Oh.” Pulling back immediately, I wipe my hands on my thighs, trying to get my head on straight.
“Come on. The boys are in bed, safe and happy.” Sutton takes my hand gently in his, and we stop to say good night to the kids before he pulls me down the hallway. It’s dark, but I can make out the luxurious light fittings, the artwork on the walls, the tall ceilings, the marble floors.
As he opens the door to his suite at the end of the hall, we step inside, the carpet lush, the bed huge, and his hand comes up to cup my face, tilting my eyes to meet his. There’s heat in his gaze as his thumb brushes across my lips.
“Let me help you forget whatever’s in that beautiful brain of yours, at least for a little while.”
His lips press against mine, and I’m ready to forget it all.