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“You can withstand anything,” I murmur. “You’re a Cobalt.”
Despite not being on my detail anymore, Thatcher Moretti still looks at me like his sole mission is to shield me and ground me and build a fortress of peace around me.
His love is raw, bottomless safety that deserves as much as I can give in return.
“I’ve only cleared out 30% of the closet,” I tell him, “and you’re allowed 50% now that we’re living together.”
“We’re still kerosene.” Flammable. Combustible. I smile. “Sounds disastrously right.”
Connor and Rose smile, clearly in admiration of their daughter.
“No, I’m not doing another bake sale for that school. They’ve insulted my baked goods enough.” She pauses. “Yes, they were from Whole Foods. That’s not the point.”
“He said you’re not invited to Wednesday Night Dinner. Not yet.”
“Would you plan our wedding for us? I know it’s a big undertaking and a ton of work—” “Yes,” I cut him off, my smile already reappearing. “Yes?” he asks in disbelief. “Yes, of course. I will plan your wedding. I’d love to.”
I’m head-deep, un-fucking-believably in love with this girl, and I would do anything for her.
Do not fall into his lap like a bird without wings, Jane. You’re born from lions.
“Murder with the Cobalt fam,” Donnelly says through a mouthful of cheesecake. “Those who slay together, stay together.”
First come the bodyguards. I count five. And then five famous faces bring up the rear. Charlie, Beckett, Eliot, Tom, and Ben. Every single one of my brothers. They’re all here, and they’re far too fixated on Thatcher like he’s tonight’s five-course meal.
And Charlie—everyone thinks he has no soul but his is just the darkest, deepest of them all.
My objective: don’t piss off my girlfriend’s brothers.
And behind that objective lies another: take care of them.
Jane is an alpha. I love that she’s in this with me. But she has limits like everyone, and the fact that she’s ignoring them concerns the holy hell out of me.
“Are you trying to impress him?” I take a swig of water. “No.” He wipes his mouth with the heel of his palm. “I just don’t want anyone else to leave.”
Sullivan Meadows & Akara Kitsuwon Charlie Cobalt & Oscar Oliveira Beckett Cobalt & Paul Donnelly Luna Hale & Quinn Oliveira
You’re the best. He’s lucky to even breathe the same air you breathe.
Aunt Daisy has taught me to use my voice, even if the world says stay quiet. Aunt Lily has taught me fierce courage, even on days when you feel lesser than. And Rose Calloway Cobalt, my mom—she’s taught me how to walk into a room full of men and never back down.
“Because I love you completely, Jane, and I want and need you during the worst and best moments of my life.”
“You drinking whiskey from a bottle is hot,” he clarifies. “And you just existing is fucking hot.”
Sempre toujours.”
Sempre toujours. The first word is Italian, the second French. It means, always always.
While Maximoff jogs past, Farrow gives him a blatant once-over, and we all watch Maximoff trip on a rug. Everyone laughs, and my lip begins to lift. “Jesus Christ,” Maximoff curses. “You didn’t see that.” “I definitely did,” Farrow teases.
“I don’t need a career to be a smart woman.” I go on. “I don’t need a job to be talented. I am both smart and possess talent, and the love that I give is just as important as the fashion empire my mom built. I am enough just as I am.”
“You’re a good man.” “You’re a better woman.”
“No boy’s allowed!” my mom screams from the treehouse window. “Go away, Loren!”
“I’m GTFO-ing really the fuck fast.”
Truth: 9 times out of 10, Uncle Loren will find a way to either pull Lily away or become a part of the PJ party. He might also be the biggest gossip queen of us all, so I don’t even mind the addition.
Situation is a kind word for all of us getting plastered last November and Aunt Lily falling down the third step of the ladder.
“Must be the Rose Calloway Cobalt gene in me. Planning and organizing.”
“My gremlin.” She gives me a look. “Do you really believe I’d have a good time calling florists, venues, and delegating out every last inch of a party? No, that you got from your father.”
“I hate you all. I’m wearing fresh mascara.”
“I’m scared to love him, but God, I do. So infinitely and terribly.”
“You’re not two halves, Jane. You don’t lose when you love. You gain.” She draws closer to whisper, “You have all of him.”
“I need you. I need you like the air I breathe, and I want you like ground beneath my feet. I’m not afraid—I’m not afraid, not even a little. You are the man who has respected all of who I am and protected every little piece of me.”
“You keep me whole,” I profess. “And love—that dreaded, beautiful word—love.”
“Love is two wholes. We are two-hundred percent—an illogical number, maddening, and I will forever embrace every illogical, maddening second with you.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you.” It pours out of me. “Je’taime, je’taime, je’taime.” He’s already clasping my face, and I’m in his arms, legs wrapped around his waist. Our foreheads nearly press together, and his lips skim over my lips.
“Mr. Moretti, will you spend the rest of your life with me?” His mouth breaks apart. He looks stunned. “I’m asking you to marry me,” I clarify.
“Sempre toujours.” Always always.
“Many people need me, but there are only a handful that I’d drop everything for—and you’re now among them.”
“Just so you understand: you rank higher than security, and I would lie for you, if needed.”
“You want to be a surrogate so you can help Maximoff have kids?”
“I belong here,” I say again, “because I love deeply and I’m learning to feel deeply too, and I make no apologies for who I am.”
But then again, I’d rather carry their secrets to my grave.
