50. Chapter Fifty
Chapter fifty
Adair
Peter walked in later, clearing his throat nervously as he looked at me. “Same sides as last night?”
I looked to my right, suddenly questioning if this was entirely necessary. “Um, yeah. That’s fine.”
He walked around to the empty side of the bed, slid under the sheet and blanket, and laid flat on his back. The stifling silence made me giggle, and Peter shifted and looked over. “What’s so funny?”
I rolled onto my side, facing him, and smirked.
“We’re lying here all straight-armed and panicky, like something terrible would happen if we so much as accidentally touched the other person.
We are grown ass adults, Peter. We can respectfully share a space.
We did it last night.” I reached over and poked him in the shoulder.
“There. Proof nothing terrible will happen tonight, either.”
An amused smirk appeared on his face as he rolled onto his side as well, mirroring my posture and body language. “So, since we are, as you say, grown ass adults who can respectfully share a space, what do you want to do?”
Seeing this sassier side of Peter amused me. “How about we play twenty questions?”
He narrowed his eyes for a moment as he considered it. “We can give it a go. You want to ask the first question?”
I took a second to readjust my pillows and settle in more comfortably. “Do you have any siblings?”
A wide smile appeared on his face. “I do. I have a younger sister. She’s the opposite of me in so many ways, and I love and miss her so much.”
Sadness filled me for a moment before I took a measured breath and forced the emotion away. The love in his eyes was the same as how I felt about my own sister a long time ago. “What are you comfortable telling me about her? I want to hear about what you think is so opposite of you.”
He grinned and looked away. From the far-away expression on his face, I assumed he was reliving a happy memory. I tried not to be jealous.
“Well, for starters, she’s a very free spirit who recently dyed her hair black and purple. I love it, though. It suits her.”
My eyes went wide. Not at the color choice, but the lack of social and professional restrictions she likely had that allowed her that choice. “I don’t know if I could be that brave.”
Peter’s attention snapped back to me. “You could. You’re the bravest person I know.”
We stared at each other, and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. A door closed out in the hallway, jolting both of us from the frozen moment in time. “I… It’s your turn.”
“Were you and Liam ever a couple?”
My mind ceased working as panic, anger, and sadness slammed into me. That was the last thing I’d expected him to ask about. “Why would you ask that?”
He pressed his lips together for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Before I came to collect you, I asked Lynette for a picture so I could ensure I was extracting the correct person. The one she showed me had you and Liam sitting next to each other on a couch. You were wearing a blue dress. Susan had her hands on Liam’s shoulders, but he was holding yours. ”
I took a breath and let it out slowly. Lynette had shown him a picture from the night Liam announced he’d proposed. Why did she show him that one? “I… Yes, but no.” As I fought with the feelings that memory dredged up, Peter grabbed my hand.
“You don’t have to tell me anything else. You answered the question.”
Tears pooled in my eyes at the kind gesture and words. I buried my face in my pillow, and seconds later, Peter wrapped an arm around me and held me tight.
“I’m sorry I upset you. I shouldn’t have asked that question, especially right out of the gate. That was a dick move.”
I shook my head and turned it to the side. “You didn’t upset me, and it wasn’t a dick move. The mention of that photo brought up a lot of memories, and their intensity caught me off guard.”
“Well, I still feel bad.”
I let out a sigh and snuggled in closer.
As I once again took comfort in hearing his steady heartbeat, an angry thought flitted through my head.
Liam never held me like this. Shoving yet another intrusive thought away, I cleared my throat.
“Can you tell me a funny story? I could use a mental distraction right about now.”
Peter let out a hum as he gently rubbed my back. “Well, I don’t know if it’s funny or not, but people are stunned that after my parents divorced when my sister and I were little, they both got remarried. Well, not stunned that they got remarried, but that all four of them are best friends.”
My head popped up. “Seriously? All of them?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah. My parents are so much happier being friends than spouses, and my stepparents are amazing, too.”
All I could do was blink. “So, no ugly custody fight? No jealous spouses?”
He shook his head this time. “Nope. Hell, my dad bought the house next door when it hit the market to make co-parenting easier.” A chuckle came out. “My sister and I couldn’t get away with anything for a while.”
I laid my head down again. “What about holidays?”
Peter let out a happy sigh and relaxed into his pillow.
“They were always a loud affair. We didn’t have a lot of extended family, even with the blended nature, but there was never a lack of fun.
” He chuckled. “There was one year my stepdad bought all of us plastic foam dart shooting guns and extra ammunition. Once we realized everyone was locked and loaded, it was war. I think we started out on teams, but it quickly became every person for themselves.”
The image of my pretentious family running around with plastic guns that shot foam darts was preposterous…
and I immediately wanted to make it happen…
for both me and Peter. I knew mafia life didn’t always allow for fun, but with all the sacrifices he had made for me, I wanted to bring this kind of joy to his life, too.
I wanted to feel like more than an obligation.
Not that he seems to mind holding me right now.
I pushed yet another thought from my mind. “Who won?”
He laughed again. “My stepdad won the first year, but Vi and I kicked everyone’s butts the next year.”
My head popped up again. “Who’s Vi?”
A warm smile spread across his face. “My sister. Her name is Violet.”
“Any chance that is why she picked purple for her hair color?”
Peter laughed, and I felt it as much as I heard it. The warm, cheerful sound seeped into the recesses of my cold heart and brought a little more of it back online. “I asked her the same thing. She said it’s not the reason, but I don’t believe her.”
I smiled at him. “I love that you made the foam pellet gun thing a tradition. It sounds like it was fun. How long did you all keep it up?”
“It’s still going.”
“It sounds like something the twins would absolutely love.”
We chatted for a little while longer, and at some point, Peter started running his fingers through my hair. Before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep, feeling happy and safe.