“Perry!” The relief that sweeps through me is almost overwhelming when he lifts his head, his beloved blue eyes meeting mine.
I pull out of Finn’s grip and run toward my husband, nearly knocking him over when I throw myself at him. He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me close while I rain kisses all over his face, pulling away when he winces.
“You’re hurt.” I study his face, noting the bruise blooming on the side of his jaw. The cut on his lower lip. He looks like he’s been in a fight. “What happened to you?”
“Your husband had a little altercation just now,” Winston says as he approaches. “Don’t worry. The police have been called.”
“Who did you fight with?” I ask Perry.
His expression is grim as he admits, “Seamus.”
My lips part, but no sound comes out. Seamus was here? At the party? And he fought with my husband?
“He had a gun,” Perry continues. “He wanted to kill me. And your father.”
“What?” The word is a breathless gasp and before I can say anything else, Perry pulls me back into him, my face pressed against his chest. I try to process what he just said, barely listening to what the men are talking about.
The cops and Seamus and the gun and how terrible the security was. How easily he got into the party. How he wanted to kill my father for ruining his life. How he tried to get in contact with me right after I left Paris, but my father prevented him from doing so.
Seamus sounds as if he was deranged.
“You hurt him?” I ask when our brothers enter the bathroom, leaving us alone. They won’t let Perry go in with them, which I’m okay with.
I need him to stay here with me.
Perry nods, gently brushing the hair away from my face. I notice his red and ravaged knuckles and wonder what Seamus must look like. “He was going to kill me. He had a gun. I knew I had to fight for my life. It was either him or me.”
“Oh, Perry.” The tears start to fall, which is something I’ve noticed comes far too easily lately. I blame my chaotic hormones. “I’m so sorry.”
He frowns. “Why are you apologizing?”
“It’s all my fault.” My voice catches on a sob and I turn into a blubbering mess. “The only reason he wanted to kill you is because of me. I’ve brought nothing but trouble into your life since I walked into it.”
“That’s not true.” He grasps either side of my face, his touch firm as he tilts my head back, forcing me to stare into his eyes. “You brought me so much more than that. You brought me light. You brought me laughter. You brought me sexual frustration and lust and so much more. You showed me what it’s like to connect with a woman at the deepest level. You brought me Jasper and Doja—” A watery laugh leaves me. “—and you brought me… you. You brought me love, Charlotte. You brought me a baby.Ourbaby.”
I gape at him, overwhelmed by his sweet words. The earnest expression on his battered face, his raw and broken hands cradling my cheeks as if I’m his entire world. Maybe I am. “What are you saying?” I whisper.
“I’m saying that I’m in love with you, wife.” He leans in, pressing his forehead to mine, his gaze never straying. “I love you.”
Oh.I’m shaking. Overwhelmed by my feelings for this man who has grown to mean so much to me in such a short amount of time.
“I love you too,” I admit, my voice soft, my heart swelling. “So much.”
His smile is faint, his eyes glowing as he dips his head, his mouth finding mine in the sweetest, softest kiss. “I would do anything for you, Charlotte Constantine. Anything to protect you. To prove to you that you’re mine. I hope you know that.”
“I do. I do. I love you, Perry.” He kisses me, swallowing my words, my emotions. Until we feel so completely entwined, I don’t know where I end and he begins.
I’ve never felt so connected to a person before. Just as I’m his, Perry is mine. I belong to him.
And he belongs to me. With me.
“Hey lovebirds.” That sardonic tone can only belong to my brother, Grant. “Hate to break up your meaningful moment, but the cops have just arrived. And shit is about to get chaotic.”
Grant isn’t lying. Within seconds, there are police everywhere, not doing a great job of being discreet even though Winston asked them not to disrupt the party, which is still carrying on in the nearby ballroom. But anyone who’s spilled out of the room can see the police swarming the vicinity. Two of them pull Perry away from me to question him and Finn stands with me, going into protective older brother mode, which I appreciate.
I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t even want them to see me.
Paramedics arrive on the scene a few minutes later, heading straight into the bathroom so they can assess the damage. I turn to Finn the moment they disappear, concern filling me.