Page 174 of Till The Sun Dies (Checkmate 2)

I stare across the lawn and meet eyes. A dozen pairs.

Eric stands on the porch with a stupid grin and a fur-lined trapper hat squished over his hair despite the heat. When our eyes meet, he lifts his hands in the universal symbol for ‘it’s not my fault.’

Alex sits on the edge of the porch with his brand-new baby girl in his arms, and though he’s scowling, he’s not in our faces hitting Ang – which I consider his blessing.

With Kari under his arm, Luc steps forward hesitantly, almost like we’re strangers and he’s unsure of where he stands.

In a way, I guess maybe we are strangers.

Neither Jess or I are the twin girls he grew up with. Jess is with Kane now; a guy absolutely not who anyone expected she’d choose, and I’m me… I’ve definitely changed.

I open the door and climb out on shaking legs. We’ve been driving for a long time, and my brother’s stare makes me nervous.

“Luc.” I step away from the car, but stop again when Jess grabs my hand.

“Hold on.” As a united pair, we step forward and stop halfway across the lawn, and though Luc shows reluctance at Kari slipping out of his hold, he comes to us when she pushes him forward.

“Laine.” An age-old joke where he messes our names up, Luc presses a kiss to Jess’ forehead, then he turns to me and does the same. “Jessie. I missed you knuckleheads. That week felt like a lifetime.”

Silly tears prick at the back of my eyes. It’s so dumb; I have no reason to cry, no reason to be so emotional, and yet, I drag Jessie forward until we crash against his chest. I never expected our homecoming to be emotional, but tears clog in my throat, and when Jess rests her face on Luc’s chest and her eyes meet mine, they’re watery, too.

“Are you okay, Baby?”

“Yeah.” I pat his chest and swallow down the croak in my voice. “I’m great.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes. For the first time in forever, I’m really, truly happy. Thank you for not going crazy.”

Chuckling, he presses a kiss to the top of my head and squeezes me tighter. “I’m not Marc, Baby. You can trust me to be cool about just about everything. Just don’t run away again.”

“It wasn’t running away, it was just downtime.” My lips pull up into a wobbling grin. “I needed a redo.”

“Did you get it?”

I hiccup, then laugh at how silly I am. “Yup. I left all my bad memories on the beach; I didn’t bring them home again.”

Nodding his approval, he lets out a freeing sigh. “I love you so much, Laine. I’m so glad you’re okay. And you.” He turns to Jess. “Your boyfriend scares the fuck out of me.” She lets out a snotty giggle and nods. “Ithinkyou’re happy. You sure look it, so I’m only gonna ask once, then I promise to leave it alone–”

“I’m gonna marry him, Luc.” Her lips wobble when he stills. “I’d love your approval, then if you weren’t busy that day, maybe you could escort me down the aisle and hand me over.”

He pulls back to catch her eyes. “Really? What about Dad? You don’t think he wants to walk with you?”

She shrugs. “Maybe you could both do it. That’s the only thing that could make everything perfect, because Kane is good and pure and so fucking perfect for me. He’s not going anywhere, so I need your approval or you’ll break my heart.”

His eyes soften, and though they snap up to a movement behind us, they come back down with a nod. “I approve of your happiness. Both of you. So if you’re saying this is it, then I promise to trust you.”

“Luc.” Angelo’s business voice makes my heart thunder. The heat from his body warms my back, then he pulls me closer and extends a hand toward Luc.

I swallow nervously when Kane stops beside me and takes Jess’ hand.Jesus, it’s happening.On the front lawn while everyone watches, it’s going down.

“I know there’s a rule about dating sisters,” Ang says seriously. “And I know it’s ironic that we stand here and have this conversation, considering who was in your bed last night. But you and Kari are separate from me and you. From me and Laine. I broke the rules, Lenaghan, but I’m not sorry.” Ang’s eyes drop to his still extended hand. “I’d like to formally ask your permission to date Laine, then I want to apologize for breaking the rules of friendship. I waited a long time to get here, so I’m not gonna back away if you say no, but I also wouldn’t feel right unless I get your word when I look into your eyes.”

Luc’s lips twitch with the ghost of a smile. It’s a role reversal, since Luc’s always the crazy one, the idiot that needs to be held back from making stupid decisions, but now he’s the boss, and he holds Ang’s heart in his hands.

Blue eyes sparkle with fun, his lips turn up into a smile, then he smacks Ang’s hand aside and pulls him in for a noisy back-thumping hug instead. “I trust you, Alesi. I already told you, you have my blessing.” Stepping back, the idiot of the guy pack surprises Kane and pulls him into a three-way hug that surprises him so much, his hand darts to the back of his jeans in search of a weapon that’s not there.

“Welcome to the family, thug. So long as you take care of my sister and never try to steal her from us, I won’t ever hurt you.” His eyes light up. “You should come to dinner this weekend; we have loads to catch up on, and Alex is on a tear, because some asshole is graffitiing all over town.”

“Oh, hey, Ang.” Kari steps forward with a large envelope covered by erratically placed stamps. “This came for you while you were gone. The return address says Earl from Ohio.” She grins conspiratorially. “I’m dying to know who Earl from Ohio is, because he writes in cursive like he was raised during the Depression.”

Accepting the parcel with a grin, Ang’s eyes flash to me as he tears the paper open and presents a mint conditionBuick Superowner’s manual. “I knew he wouldn’t let me down. Suck it, Laine! You owe me fifty bucks.”

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