Page 23 of Finally Forever
She’d have to be, to put up with what she has so far. “How do we get along?”
It’s an odd question, but I have zero recollection of her.
“You get along like any couple in love would. You laugh, joke, and, as you once described it, ‘are insatiable for each other.’ It’s a very healthy relationship considering…”
“Considering what? Who I am?”
“Considering the circumstances you’re in and what led you two here. I’ve always thought of it as true love, sir. Or what I would imagine it to be.”
True love? I never expected to find love for myself in that way or at all. Relationships were arranged, obligations, inconvenient, short-lived, lust-based, or temporary. “How long ago did I ask her to marry me?”
“Recently.”
“And we’ve been together for a year?” I confirm.
“A little over.”
“As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been keeping close tabs on Nathan and Riley. You should know, their lives are very different from what you remember.”
“How so?” I lift my head from the pillow and turn it toward Xavier, surprised and happy that I have some control over my body.
“Each are engaged.”
“Engaged?” Well, shit.
“Nathan is engaged to a long-time family friend. Her name is Kensington.”
I laugh but cut it off the moment my throat reminds me it’s sore from the ventilator tube. I’m usually much better at dismissing my pain. As for Nathan, I’m happy for him. He’s always had a thing for Kensington. Every time he got drunk, he’d talk about her to me. But because of their families—their alpha fathers mainly—he never saw hope for a future with her.
“And Riley?” I ask, realizing I can lift my hand a small amount. Progress.
“He was MIA for a long time, because of what I explained earlier.”
I nod, the incident with Marina, Ainsley, him, and me.
“He’s out of hiding now,” Xavier goes on, “and newly engaged to the famous Nova Allen.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to recall why her name is familiar.
Xavier elaborates, “She’s the daughter of the super model Elyana Gardner, and the granddaughter of Gia Gardner, the former film star and sex-symbol.”
The mention of Gia Gardner knocks the missing link loose from my brain. Riley knows Nova from his past, even talked about her a few times. That’s how I know her name.
“Is that safe, considering he’s on the Morello’s radar?” Marina’s family doesn’t let things go easily. No mafia family does.
He briefly explains Marina’s new situation and how she and her family are no longer a threat to Riley. Apparently, I knew this too, prior to the amnesia. I can tell he left out a lot of details, but I don’t want to waste any more energy on Marina.
“Reach out to Nathan first,” I say. “See if he’s willing to meet and get a read on Riley’s situation from him.”
“Would you like me to inform them that you’re alive and explain where you’ve been for the past year and why? They still think you’re deceased. Or would you rather tell them? I can arrange a meeting for you to reveal yourself, if you’d prefer.”
“You can tell them. I can’t deal with any emotional backlash right now. It’ll lessen the blow coming from a stranger. Nathan will be suspicious. Tell him my mother’s name and that will clear up any disbelief.”
I know him and Riley well enough to know they will forgive me and understand why I kept my resurrection a secret. To be honest, I can’t handle an emotional conversation with anyone right now. I lost my damn memory. It’s frustrating as hell not being able to retrieve my past from my brain. I’m not desperate to remember Ainsley, although it would be helpful. My biggest concern is recalling everyone I have in play. Everyone who knows about my existence. New people, like Xavier, and anyone I’ve used as informants. These are things that can get you killed.
“Arrange for us to meet in America. If my father is in Europe, I want to be on a different continent.”
How careless had I become to live in the south of France? I had to have known my father’s whereabouts. He could have been in America and that’s why I chose here, or this blonde is a bad influence.
