Page 12 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
Aviva
“You meannow?”
I felt like my brain was going a million miles, circling around and around, until Sampson touched a hand to my shoulder. “It’s okay, Good Girl.”
Was it? I looked down at my yoga pants and oversized hoodie. “I can’t get married in this.”
The words seemed foreign on my tongue, but there was no doubt that my heart was racing and it wasn’t all fight or flight. No, I was… excited?
“It’s lucky I bought you an insane wardrobe of clothes then, isn’t it?” He dragged me into one of the rooms, and I noticed that at some point, Tobias had sent my suitcases up as well.
“Guess if I’m going to be married, I should probably move in here too.”
Sampson stilled, but he looked over his shoulder at me with those deep, expressive eyes. “You can do whatever you want, Good Girl. Or not do anything at all. You don’t have to marry Drix; we’ll come up with something else. If you want to move in here, you can. Or if you want to go home with Evan, you can do that too.”
“If I want Evan to move in here with me?”
Sampson raised a brow at me. “Ask what you really want to ask, Aviva.”
My heart was hammering in my chest as I stepped closer to Sampson. “Are we okay? Are you okay with me marrying Hendrick?”
“He’s my best friend. I would do anything for him.”
“And us? Is there any room left for us? Any chance that maybe, one day, you’ll forgive me? Forgive Evan?”
He was silent as he went through my suitcase, finally pulling out a pale yellow sundress. It had an A-line skirt, and pretty blue flowers embroidered up the side. “I don’t know, Good Girl. I think I’ve already forgiven you, but the betrayal still burns. A part of me thinks, well, if the three of us weren’t enough, will the four of us be enough? Will you keep collecting lovers until there's no room left for me? Will we ever make you happy?”
I hesitated, because on one hand, I wanted to rail against what he was saying, and on the other, I could understand how it looked from his position. He’d already agreed to share me with his friends, yet at the first opportunity, I went to someone else.
Finally, I nodded. “I could promise you I wouldn’t, but words mean nothing—I understand that. But even though Evan wasn’t there the whole time, he was an integral part of the journey. He wasn’t a random person in some club. You mightn’t have seen it, or not wanted to see it, but he was there, this safety net even when I wasn’t aware I needed one.”
I stepped out of my clothes, not bothering to shoo him from the room. He’d seen me at my very worst, so pretty sure the need for modesty was gone. I took the dress from his hands, pulling it up over my hips. I threaded my arms through the holes, and then reached out to grab his hands.
“I can promise you that there isn’t anyone else. The idea of being with anyone else hurts. I missed—” My voice caught, and I cleared my throat. “I missed you guys. It mightn’t be perfect, but I want to give us a chance. All of us. I know it will be hard but…”
Sampson nodded. “I’ll think about it, Good Girl. But you should think about it harder too. With the press back here in the States, your anonymity would be gone forever. Your life would no longer be just yours; it would be for public consumption. And once they work out that our relationship is unconventional, they will camp outside our doors for months, hoping to get photos of us frowning or at an odd angle so they can spread lies.”
I felt sick, but I wasn’t an idiot. I’d thought of that.
“It’s not too late to take Evan and go. He’d love and protect you like you were his very heart. He’s a good man. The best of us, really. It’s why what happened hurt so much—he can give you things we can’t. Otto too.”
I shook my head. “It’s all or nothing; don’t you understand?” I turned. “Zip me up, Bad Boy. I have a wedding to attend.”
Tobias had managed to call in a favor for us, getting the twenty-four-hour waiting period between applying for the license and getting married waived in head-spinning time. We waited in the reception area of the government building, with Hendrick resting his hand in mine, and Sampson sitting to my left.
Evan took up his bodyguard position like he’d never left it, standing by the door like someone was going to storm through and take us all hostage to prevent the marriage from going ahead. Still, he cast a worried look in my direction at regular intervals, and I gave him a reassuring smile every time.
Otto had taken off out of the car in record time, saying he’d be back before we got married. I had no idea where he’d gone, but he was going to miss it if he didn’t hurry. Maybe that was the point. Maybe he didn’t want to see me marry the man he’d loved for most of his life.
On my right, Hendrick tapped his foot repeatedly. “Are you okay?” I whispered. Everyone had been so focused on making sure I didn’t back out, but no one had really asked Hendrick if this was what he wanted. I mean, he seemed okay, but what if he’d wanted to marry the woman of his dreams one day?
He kissed my temple. “I’m fine. This feels right. Just waiting for someone to burst in here and tell us we can’t, I guess.”
As if summoned, the door to the offices opened, and I sucked in a breath. But it was just Otto. He was grinning, and when I looked at what he was holding, I nearly burst into tears. It was a bouquet of dahlias, in lavender and white.
“Dahlias are my favorite, Otto. You shouldn’t have.”
Otto leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Sampson ordered them. I was just the errand boy.”
