Gods & Monsters (Serpent & Dove, #3)

by Shelby Mahurin

When he stepped forward to take her hand, he brushed his lips across them, trying to kiss each one. “See something you like?” he murmured in her ear. She eyed ...

I watched Coco and Beau dance for one long, bittersweet moment. He said something to make her laugh—really laugh, the sort of laugh that transformed her entire face. The sound of it made him giddy. He twirled her closer next time, his attention rapt on her expression.

Coco howled with laughter. I hoped she never stopped laughing.

Lou and Reid whirled with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. When she stepped on his toes for the third time—tipsy with drink—he swept her up in his arms and spun wildly, round and round until Lou shrieked with delight, tipping her head and urging him faster. He never lost his footing. He never loosened his grip.

“Everyone tell him how marvelous he is. Tell him how impressive.” Shaking his head, he tucked her firmly into his side and dragged her toward the nearest stump. “You’re embarrassing me, wife.”

“Ansel.” I turned at that voice, at that presence. I recognized it now as innately as my own. Two figures stood on the path down the mountain. His hair and his jaw were my own. Her eyes and her skin, as well. “Are you ready, darling?” The woman extended an olive hand to me, and her smile—it was as warm as I’d always dreamed it. As warm as this summer night. “That boy is asking after you again,” the man said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Etienne.”