Page 169 of Where Broken Wings Fly

“I don’t know about that. Is it too much?”

“This is your party. Nothing is too much.”

I fiddle with the light linen of my dress. “I just wanted everyone to see the person I am now, you know? This town saved my life in so many ways, and the people in it too.”

Giving my hair one last inspection, Aalia pecks my cheek. “I’m happy to see this big smile. I think these boys… they make you happy, yes?”

“Boys?” I feign innocence.

She rolls her eyes. “I know you’re with them all. Or… dating them all? I’m not sure about the correct word for this arrangement.”

I stifle a laugh. “Hell, me neither. I have no idea how to describe our relationship.”

“Having no words is sometimes a good thing.” She clasps my hand. “And I see that you took your ring off. Perhaps that says enough.”

There’s a pale band of skin on my finger where the gold wedding ring once laid. I’m not sure when that switch inside of me flicked, but I slid it off on a whim and never put it back on. Now, it hides with our passports and cash.

“I was finally ready,” I admit.

“I’m proud of you, Willow.”

“Thank you for being such a good friend to me.”

She beams. “Always. Come, let’s go.”

Checking her own appearance in my bedroom mirror, Aalia adjusts her patterned red smock and marches towards the kitchen. I slip my feet into a pair of sandals and follow, my stomach awash with nervous butterflies.

The housewarming party will be kicking off soon. It’s taken a while to get everything ready—organising chairs and tables outside, cleaning up the garden, buying enough alcohol and food to feed an army. Briar Valley parties take a lot of work.

Outside, Killian’s already tending to a huge bonfire. He insisted on building it high into the sky. Zach has set up the bar with a slightly worrying level of expertise. He’s already banned Micah from it too, with surprising fierceness.

“Let me go and find the children. I left Zach out there with Amie.” Aalia pulls a face at the thought. “Not a good idea.”

“He’ll have her causing trouble in no time.”

Aalia shakes her head, rushing outside to track down the kids. With her gone, I’m left in the kitchen with Micah. He’s quiet, diligently working alone to chop up the world’s biggest bowl of salad.

He wanted a task away from people and interacting. Tonight will be a real test of the progress he’s made. I’m already proud of him for giving it a go. Sneaking up on him, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my chin on his shoulder.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Hey there.” He chuckles, methodically slicing a cucumber. “I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show your face.”

“Aalia insisted on doing my hair for me.”

Laying down the knife, Micah turns and pins me in his muscular arms. He tucks a loose black strand behind my ear, one of his signature small smiles making my toes curl in a delicious, spine-tingling way.

“You look stunning, Willow.”

I bite my lip. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Dressed in distressed blue jeans and a button-down shirt that’s rolled up to his elbows, Micah looks good enough to eat. I slant my mouth over his, greedily drinking him in until his tongue is brushing against mine.

Breaking the kiss, I rest my forehead against his with a sigh. “Guests will be here soon.”

“To be continued?” Micah suggests.

“Well, I’m free next weekend for that date.”

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