More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
It melts my ovaries every time this perpetually broody man refers to his posh grandmother as Meems.
I hover the pen over the line with my name typed underneath. It feels like giving a blood oath.
The easy smile drops from his face and appears on mine. It’s almost a conditioned response for me to derive joy from his misery.
“All these months I’ve been sitting next to him, watching him show up for Callie. And then I saw him with Lucy and it just…hit this place inside me. He’s broken, Lexi. Like me.” “You’re not broken, Dred.” I take my friend’s hand. “I am, though. The things I went through as a child shaped me in a way that means I don’t always fit with the rest of the world.”
A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Can you see without the glasses?” I bat my lashes. “Fuck you, Connor.” “I don’t believe you want that from me.” He gazes down, untouchably aloof. “But I’d be happy to amend our contract and add that to our arrangement. Sort of like a bonus?” I smile up at him. “Please fuck yourself.” “Why, when everyone else is so much better at it?” he quips darkly.
“Stand down, Connor. Just because you’re everyone else’s villain doesn’t mean you need to be mine, too.”
“Imagine always being on the outside of everything—your family, your team, your social circle. Never fitting anywhere. How impossible would it be to believe you could belong?” Flip tilts his head. “You empathize with him.”
I put Everly and Victor in charge of handing out the snacks, so she’s obligated to speak directly to the young women and look at their adorable, whining children who range in age from six months to three years.
“Meems is excited to see you.” I motion for her to follow me. “Hopefully more excited than you.” “We’ve already established that my getting excited isn’t in the contract, and so far you seem opposed to amending it,” I quip. “I can’t tell if you’re insulting or complimenting me.” “Neither. I was ogling your assets.” She huffs. “You are something else, Connor.” “So I’ve been told, darling.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t particularly like asking for help.” She tugs at the hair tie again. I do know this about her. “But you’re always so willing to offer it.” She shrugs. “It feels good to help people. It feels bad to ask for it.”
“May I come in?” “Are you a vampire? You need to ask permission?” His brow furrows. Fuck, he’s stupidly hot when he looks disconcerted. He tugs at his shirt cuffs. “You might not want me in your personal space.”
The wedding magazine isn’t in the library anymore, though, which means Connor has it tucked away somewhere. Probably in his bedroom. Whatever his reason, I like that he’s been looking at dresses for me. And that seems both dangerous and enticing.
“You’re engaged to a Grace. It doesn’t matter that I’m considered the worst of them. The name is armor lined with cashmere. Remember that when the media start slinging their arrows.” “How do you deal with this all the time?” “I grew thorns.”
“It’s a nickname. Mildred is pretty spot on, considering my profession, and Dred makes me feel like less of a nerdy librarian and more like I belong on some secret superhero squad.”
Our worlds are so different, but now I know it’s true—underneath we’re the same. Broken. Discarded by the people who were supposed to love us the most. But Connor has been turned into a villain, and I became a savior. Maybe even now I’m becoming his. Would it be so bad to have my own villain? To be a soft place for him to land?
Connor’s family seems like a ball of wool unraveling, and I’m trying not to get tangled in the mess.
“Portia and I tried to cut each other’s bangs once, too. Except our hair was dry.” “Oooh, that’s a rookie mistake,” I say with empathy. “It was so bad.” Isabelle turns to Portia. “Yours were better than mine.” She grips her sister’s hand. “True, and I’m still sorry.”
“How’s my cute baby?” I kiss his little face while he squirms and smile when I catch a hint of Connor’s cologne. “Has someone else been giving you snuggles?” I arch a brow, and he wiggles around, a permanent smile on his adorable face. “I think you have a new fan.”
don’t know if I’ll ever really find the kind of love you have, Lexi. This might be my only chance, and selfishly, I want it. I want the fairy tale, even if it isn’t real, even if it comes with a wicked mother-in-law, and even if it means I marry the hockey world’s misunderstood villain.” “We’re all someone’s villain,” she replies. “Maybe you get to be his angel.” “I would like that.”
“You are such a beautiful miracle.” I don’t deserve her, but I pull her into my arms anyway, hugging her tightly. She returns the embrace, and it feels like she’s comforting me instead of the other way around. “I’m okay. I promise you don’t have to worry,” she whispers against my throat. How can I not worry? I cup her face in my palms.
“You listen without judgment, you stand by your friends no matter what, you are viciously loyal, aggressively loveable, and unbelievably compassionate.
“No, my feelings are big and your sweetness is hitting me in all my soft places. Please distract me, Mr. Grace.” “Whatever you need, Mrs. Grace.” He cups my face in his hands and slants his mouth over mine.
“Hey! Hi! Oh my God. Wow.” Everly is about ninety percent of the way to a full-on freak-out, and I could not love it more.
“You’re going to let me dress you, take you to see your friends, feed you, and hydrate you.” Her cute pout returns. “Why so sensible and sweet?” “I can’t be the worst all the time.” I kiss her chin and forehead.
“Darling!” I call after her. She keeps walking. “You’re going the wrong way!” I shout, loving the way it feels to push her buttons like this.
“You want to make me happy?” “I do, yes.” “Then you better kiss me,” she demands. I press my lips gently to hers. “Is that better?” Her eyes flash. “Make a scene, Mr. Grace.” I grin. “Of course, Mrs. Grace.” I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against me, and delve in.
Everything he does, every soft side he shows me, chips away at the armor I’ve built. I want to find out what it’s like to be part of him more than I want to protect my own heart.
“My sweet villain.” “Not sweet at all. I want these things for entirely selfish reasons.” “And what reasons are those?” “It makes you soft for me.” He threads his fingers through my hair and kisses the edge of my jaw. “Putty in your evil, plotting hands,” I agree.
“You two are so cute.” Rix hugs Tristan’s arm. “Aren’t they?” “Adorable,” Tristan agrees. “Don’t encourage him.” I scowl as Connor beams.
Flip gets two more bowls of ice cream, and they join us in the living room for sad story time.
Flip wraps his arms around me and rocks me, like I’m a child and he’s the parent I never had, but always wanted. We wear so many hats for each other—best friend, mother, father, confidant, champion, therapist, cheerleader, ass-kicker.
I’m struck by the fact that these people who love Mildred and have her best interest at heart aren’t shutting me out the way I did her. And they’re also not pouncing on my weakness the way my father would. Instead they’re reaching to pull me out of the hole I dug. And doesn’t that tell me everything I need to know about the woman I married? She is loved and beloved, and she and everyone around her want to show me I can be too. This is a once-in-a-lifetime gift, and it’s my turn to step up and prove that I deserve it.
“I’ll always look out for what’s best for you, even if it means delaying your gratification to save your irritation.”
“Why can’t I find a nice boyfriend? I just want someone who’s looking for authentic connection.” Maybe my expectations are too high. Maybe I need to read less LoTR fanfic and omegaverse romance where the heroes are head-over-ass in love with their partner and exceptionally focused on providing unparalleled pleasure. In the books I read, the boyfriends are devoted. Is that too much to ask?
