Page 48 of Broken Bodyguard

“Oh my God!” I squeaked.

“You’reheeeere!” Mercedes surged forward and pulled me into a hug, laughing wildly. Her baby bump was so much bigger than the last time I’d seen her, and I could feel it pressing into my belly. Boisterous greetings were exchanged between all of us, Grace immediately squealing with excitement that her bestie Willow was here. After we exchanged hugs and I formally shook Nash Nightingale’s hand, the eight of us moved deeper into the apartment. Warmth flooded the room, filling me from head to toe with contentment.

“This is such a surprise!” I watched as Seven unloaded some big bags onto the island.

“You have Trojan to thank for that,” Seven said with a shy smile. He looked over at his best friend. “He sent me on a wild goose chase for this specific cheese board.”

Tears pricked at my eyes as I looked over at Troy. He watched me with so much love in his eyes that it was hard to look away, or even remember that there were other people in the room.

“Gotta get weird cheese for my girl,” Troy said simply. “And there’s no weirder cheese than in NYC.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda the sort of thing you might want to have more regularly,” Mercedes said brightly, popping in a cube of cheese as Seven unwrapped the board. She got first dibs, as the one currently growing a human. But I was next in line. I picked a cube and popped it in my mouth. Something smoked and buttery melted in my mouth and I let out a happy hum.

Holy shit. This was what it felt like to have a community. A real, grounded network. Jericho had deprived me of that for so long. I barely had any friends back in Kentucky thanks to his efforts to distance me from my high school and college friends.

“God, this is good. Nash, please have some.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your fun family night guys,” Nash said, his husky baritone the sort of voice that women paid money to hear. “I’m just here to drop off the keys.” He revealed a set of keys, grinning over at Troy, who returned the look.

I narrowed my eyes. Troy was keeping something from me.

“What’re the keys for?” I asked.

Nash looked at me guiltily. “I think that’s for him to explain. But just know, this guy loves you a whole lot. And I’m happy to support my family man bodyguard.”

“See, this is why I wanted to be here,” Seven said, reaching for a cheese cube.

Mercedes rolled her lips inward, looking like she was trying to keep herself from bursting.

Nash squeezed Troy’s shoulder and waved at the rest of us, heading for the door. “Enjoy your evening, friends.” We all called out our goodbyes and when the door shut I looked around at everyone.

“Guys…” I started.

Troy set the keys on the kitchen island and then scooped my hands into his. “Maddie, it’s no secret I’m fucking crazy about you. I want you and Grace in my life forever. I’m yours, and you two are mine. There’s no question about that. So when Nash and I negotiated our contract, I made sure to include some provisions for…the future.”

Emotion swelled in my chest. I almost couldn’t believe my ears. “Yeah?”

“I’ve got a company car now that’s better equipped for a family. My Jeep is going into storage. And these keys are for the condo I’m renting.”

Mercedes made a little squeak, but I couldn’t rip my eyes off Troy.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “The hormones are making it impossible to keep my excitement in.”

“What condo are you renting?”

“It’s up to you…but I thought you’d be most comfortable living a bit closer to family.” Troy’s heartbreaker grin came out to play as he rubbed his thumb back and forth across my knuckles. Then he looked over at Mercedes. “Do you want to tell her?”

“Maddie, he rented the condo right beneath where we live!” Her words came out rushed and loud, and I could tell it was a major relief for her to finally get it out. I covered my mouth with a hand, the tears already blurring my vision. “It’s above abookstore,” she added.

“Oh my God,” was all I could muster.

“I know we’re just starting out,” he went on. “But I’m all in. And whenever you choose to come live here full-time, just know that I’m ready.”

My ears rang from the warring pressures of excitement and disbelief. Was this real life?

“This is unbelievable,” I said, and then the tears finally broke the dam and streamed down my cheeks. Troy scooped me up into his arms and I cried into his chest. The tenderness of his decisions—including me in his plans, leaving space for me to join, or not join, on my own terms—was somehow the hottest thing anyone had ever done for me.

When I looked up, I found tears in his eyes too. I pushed onto my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his in a long, sweet kiss.

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