Page 196 of The Illicit Play
I squeeze the keys in my palm, giving him a grateful smile. He nods, silently telling me to look after her, but he doesn’t need to keep doing that. I’ll always look after Blake.
We say goodbye, waving to the others, who are already setting up the pool balls.
“Catch you later!” Zander calls, and I cast one more look over my shoulder.
Tyrell’s still caught up in an animated conversation, and my curiosity is piqued. Hopefully he’ll tell all when he gets home… although I doubt it. The guy likes to keep to himself as much as he can.
Focusing back on the girl beside me, I drive her to the closest lookout, heading down the dark road until we pop out to a view that overlooks Nolan. The lights twinkle below us, but we climb into the back of Wily’s truck and gaze up at the stars instead.
Blake snuggles against my chest, letting out a blissful sigh that’s peaceful and sweet.
I think she’s finally found it.
That peace I was hoping the forest would provide.
It’s a humbling privilege to know that she’s finding it with me.
Brushing my lips across her forehead, I squeeze her tight against me and silently promise to never let her go.
Because I’ve found my peace with her too. And I can’t imagine it feeling any better than this.
CHAPTER 68
TYRELL
I can’t believe it. The second I spotted Dani behind the bar, I thought I was hallucinating. She’s a piece of my past that I never thought I’d encounter again.
When my family left Colorado Springs for Dallas, I planned on never going back.
And I haven’t.
There’s no way I want to set foot in that place again.
But I never expected a piece of it to show up in Nolan.
My heart started hurting the second I recognized her, but then before I could stop myself, I stood and wandered over to the bar.
It might hurt to look, but there’s also a sense of nostalgia that I can’t resist.
Dani Hill.
Damn.
Images from our days in high school flooded me, her smile and laughter filling my mind before I was taken out by thoughts of Atlas.
It nearly made me stumble. Nearly made me turn the hell back around, but my body had other ideas.
So I walked my ass to that bar, and I caught her attention.
And the second she figured out it was me, her face lit with that smile Atlas fell for the first time he met her.
Yeah, I walked through their entire romance.
Those two were made for each other, and my best friend was gone—hook, line, and sinker.
I helped arrange their first date, loaned him my car whenever he wanted to take her out. He even told me he was gonna marry her one day.
And then he died.
