I’ll never forget the day she stuck Maverick in his place. He won’t ever forget it either.
“I wanted to apologize about what happened at the funeral,” Dane continues, looking as shameful as I’ve ever seen him look before. “It was sure as hell the wrong place and time, and I acted like an idiot kid instead of an adult. I’m sorry.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, staring at him like she’ll rip him in half if he’s says the wrong thing right now. It’s so fucking hot.
“Rain is really excited about this,” she tells him. “I wish everyone could have that reaction.”
Surprisingly, Rain is the biggest fan out there of our relationship. Maybe Dane is right about letting our past bullshit die with the lie.
“I know Rain is happy,” Dane says, smiling at her. “So am I. But I’m also a self-centered jerk sometimes. I’m human, after all. Never said I was perfect.”
She tenses noticeably, like there’s something in there she didn’t like to hear. “No one is perfect,” she finally says, letting her eyes meet mine briefly, but then she returns her gaze to my brother. “Sorry I flipped you off in the cemetery.”
Dane bursts out laughing, and I smother my snickers with my hand while Tria bites back a grin.
“I deserved it,” Dane says when at last his laughter fades.
She shrugs, seeming to agree with him, and she reduces the distance between us quickly, moving to my side where I wrap my arms around her and pull her to me. Dane turns to smile at us.
“I’ll be taking off. I guess I’ll see you two soon.”
“Yeah,” I say as he walks away.
Tria sighs as the door shuts behind him, and she angles her head to look up at me.
“I didn’t know what I’d be walking into when I saw his car.”
Obviously I’m just as relieved.
“The guys got to him. They told him how I really feel about you. I actually think we’re cool again for the first time in a while.”
I’m careful not to bring Rain’s name into anything. It’s the smartest thing to do.
“Did he tell you the wedding has been pushed back two weeks? It’ll be a total of three weeks before we can officially go public,” she teases, smiling up at me with her long lashes looking close to her cheeks.
“Ha. I think we’re very much public now.” Sighing, I hand her the envelope before I change my mind and do something stupid like rip it up—been there, done that, not a good idea. I’d love to save her some pain, but I’ve learned my lesson about interfering with damn letters.
“What’s this?” she asks, looking down at the crisp white envelope.
“It’s from your dad. Dane brought it over.”
Her breath comes out harsh, and she takes a minute to just stare at it. I wait patiently, ready to do whatever I can to make it better no matter what that damn thing says.
“Here,” she says, handing it back to me. “Hold on to it for me. I’m not ready to see what it says.”
I take it, though I’m a little confused. “You’re sure?”
Her dark hair falls over her shoulder, going down past her breasts and touching her top few ribs.
“Positive. If he’s telling me he’s sorry and that he loves me, it’s going to break my heart. It’ll make me feel guilty for all the time we lost because I didn’t try harder. If it’s something cold and indifferent, then it’ll break my heart in a different way. He doesn’t get to speak to me from the grave until I’m ready to listen.”
I nod, folding the envelope and sliding it into my pocket. “Then I’ll keep it until you ask for it.”
She smiles, even though it seems forced now.
“Thank you. Now, I got three movies. You can choose which one we watch.”
I flip through them and choose the only one that doesn’t look like a damn romance. She rolls her eyes at my selection, and then she heads to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine and two glasses.