by Nana Malone
I gave him a brief nod and squeezed Ariel’s hand, causing her to turn with a smile. As soon as we closed the door behind us, it opened again, and one of the staff brought in champagne. Ariel clapped with glee as she bounced from foot to foot. “I just thought we could all celebrate Tristan no longer having to go back into exile, Ashton being stripped of his title, and us generally being badass Team Winston Isles.”
There was even sparkling cider. Roone started pouring glasses. It was Ian who brought me mine. “Mate, to your health.” He raised his glass.
But before I could even say thank you, Sebastian popped up with a toast of his own. “Actually, everyone, before we toast ourselves, I would just like to toast my beautiful wife.”
Penny whacked him on the leg. “Oh my God, you’re stealing everyone’s thunder. I mean, for the love of Christ.”
But she didn’t get to finish because Ariel frowned at her and asked, “Why aren’t you drinking champagne?”
Penny glanced down at her glass. “What... who says this isn’t champagne?”
“That’s darker than everyone else’s. That’s not champagne. Is that fucking cider?”
Every female in the room sat up as if some kind of instinct homed them in on Penny like they could see the baby from the outside or something. Sebastian’s lips twitched. He was terrible at keeping secrets.
Ariel squealed first. “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God, we’re having a baby?”
Bryna hopped up off of Lucas’s lap and made a beeline for Penny.
Jessa was quick behind her, and Ariel was still standing there, jumping up and down. Penny just laughed and called her over. “Well, come on, let’s go. You’re going to be an auntie.”
Ariel grinned. “I’ve always wanted to be an auntie.”
“Are you sure? I know you don’t really love kids.”
“Your baby, little curly afro, I cannot wait. I’m going to spoil him or her. Oh, it’s going to be awesome. My way back at Sebastian for all these years with my bestie.”
Sebastian groaned. “Oh dear God.”
“Yeah, get ready for a world of pink.”
Sebastian lifted a brow. “And if it’s a boy?”
“Still pink.”
He chuckled softly. Lucas was already patting him on the back when I approached. “Sebastian, congratulations. You’re going to do great.”
“Thank you.”
Queen Mother Alexa just looked like she was beside herself and was going to cry. Ethan kept blinking rapidly and staring at the ceiling. When Penny approached him, he just kept up with the blinking and wrapped his daughter in his arms. God, there was so much love in the room. Something I never thought I’d see or deserve. As I watched Ariel bounce with glee, I knew I was exactly where I belonged.
Are you sure?
That seed of doubt my brother had planted there over the years flared to life, and I shoved it back down. No, I deserved this. I deserved to be happy. We deserved love.
Sebastian tapped his glass to get everyone’s attention, and we all finally stood in a semi-circle. “Now, I’d like to toast my cousin with an official welcome home. I know the original circumstances behind you coming back weren’t ideal. But you’re home now, and you’ll never have to leave again. Welcome to Team Winston Isles.”
“I’ll drink to that.” I began to raise my glass.
Suddenly, Ella ran up to me and whacked my glass out of my hand.
Everyone froze. “Sorry,” she muttered.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't drink that. As a matter of fact, I don't think any of you should drink any of the champagne."
Ariel stared at her, and Ella stepped between me and Ian.
"Ella, what are you doing?"
"It's him. Ian's the one who has been trying to kill you. I wasn’t sure until tonight."
That was all Ariel needed, and she put herself between Ella and Ian. Ian backed up. "What? What the hell? I'm not trying to kill anyone."
Ella shook her head. "No. You’re lying. You jumped up to help the server pull it in here. You thought I didn't see it, but I absolutely did. That sleight of hand. If Lucas hadn't had his tongue down Bryna's throat, he would have seen it too."
Lucas perked up. "Hey, I did not have my tongue down her throat."
"Oh yeah? Then were you looking? Because he slipped something in Tristan's drink."
I glanced down at the glass that was now rolling around on the carpet, and then I lifted my gaze to Ian's. His eyes were wide, and he was backing up and shaking his head, his hands up. "No, I would never do that. Why would you even suggest that?"
But Ella wasn't backing down. "No. The night of the ball, you were late." She turned her attention to Sebastian. "Your Majesty, I’m sorry. I know I sound like a crazy person right now."
Surprisingly, Ariel backed her. "No, Ella, tell us what you know."
Ella continued. "The night of the explosion. We made a previous appointment to see each other. He was late. Tristan, when you and Ariel left, we uh, we found somewhere private to talk. There was sand on his tuxedo, in the cuffs. I thought it was weird because he was taking me to his car. There was no reason for him to have sand on his tuxedo. It wasn’t like he’d come up to the party from the beach. And I couldn't understand why. Then there was a ticket on his dash. The valet had stamped it 6:00 p.m. But I didn't see him inside the hall until at least an hour later.”
Ian blinked then backed up some more. This time, he backed straight up into Roone. He wasn't budging.
"What are you up to Ian?" Roone asked.
Ian shook his head hard. "You lot are crazy. You see murder around every corner. I knew you were batshit. There was a reason Max Jacobson dropped you as a client."
Ella lifted a delicate brow. "If I were you, I wouldn't align yourself with him. It will just make you look worse."
Ian leaned around Ariel to meet my gaze. "Tristan, mate, please. Tell your fiancée, or whatever, that I would never do that."
But the way Ariel and Ella were watching him, I didn't think I should do that. "Ella, please continue. The sand, the stamped ticket, anything else?"
"Yeah, he was pretty obsessed about being seen with me. He wanted to make sure that everyone saw him with me. I thought it was about me at first, but he made a big show of going to the valet and asking for his car to get something. When the valet said that he'd go get the car, Ian made a point to say no, he wanted to take me to the car. He made a big production of it, tucking me in his arm. I was an alibi in case anyone came asking."
Ian threw up his hands. "For Christ's sake, she’s crazy"
I inched closer to Ella. "Is she?"
No matter what he said, Ella wasn’t backing down. "I'm telling you he spiked that drink."
Ian laughed. "Prove it. You spilled the whole damn thing."
Ariel leaned down to the mostly empty glass. "Actually, no, there is a little bit in here. Now, I can run this down to the onsite lab and have them test it, or I can just make you drink it. It's the best way to tell if it's poison really, to poison someone."
She held up the glass toward Ian, and he stared at her like she was insane. Ariel advanced. "Open up, asshole."
Ian snapped his lips together, pressed them tightly, and shook his head, making that mmm sound as he shook.
The bottom fell out of my stomach. He shoved Ariel away. "What the fuck is wrong with the lot of you?" Then he turned his attention to me. "Jesus Christ. You, you just won't fucking die. Do you know how many times I have tried to kill you? And every time, you just skate by. You have seriously got nine fucking lives."
Roone, Lucas, and Ariel moved in on him. He pulled out a knife. I stepped forward, yanking Ariel back. She, of course, wiggled out of my grasp. "I'm a knight remember?"
"Yeah, but the crazy guy has a knife."
And of course, crazy Penny, she stepped forward.
Sebastian pulled her back. The woman had just been down to having a baby, and she was ready to go fight.
The women
of the Winston Isles were certainly something else.
Jessa casually moved behind Ian. Roone's eyes flared wide as he gave her an imperceptible shake of his head, but she shook back and kept her position. Okay, it was for sure. Every single one of these women were crazy.
Ian didn't seem to notice as he kept on screaming and waving the knife about. "You. God. Just die already."
I stared at him. "Why? Why do you hate me? I haven't done anything to you."
"You have done everything to me. You stole from me."
"No, I didn't. What did I steal? Ariel? If she was yours, she would still be yours. It's called free will. I didn't make her do anything she didn't want to."
"My position, you stole that right out from under me. You were my mate, my brother. Next thing I knew, I was injured and alone with no team."
I stared at him. "Are you serious right now? This is about that?"
"That was everything. It was my home, my team. It was all I had."
"That wasn't even my fault. You got injured. What was I supposed to do, not take the job?"
"Yes. You were my mate. You knew I had nothing else."
"You're insane."
"And I watched you with a beautiful supermodel girlfriend. You forget I knew everything about you. How you winged and mooned about the girl that you loved and lost. You never even fucking said sorry."
"It wasn't my choice. I had an opportunity and I had to take it."
"Yeah, and screw anyone else who got in the way, right?"
"You've been harboring this resentment all these years? This warrants you trying to kill me?"
"It was mine. My position, my accolades, mine."
He launched forward. Ariel tried to step toward him, but I dragged her back. Ella was in the way, and I was worried she was going to get trampled. But Lucas was right there and stepped in front of her. Roone tried to make the same launch for him, but he was too late. In the end, it was Jessa. Jessa who was right behind him. The princess, my cousin, with the smooth amber skin and the bright sweet smile, downed the maniac with the knife. She gave him a kick to the back of his knee, and he tripped, falling forward. Then she planted her knee in his back, her hands gripping his hair. She looked up at her fiancée. “Are you going to give me a hand or what?”
The look on Roone's face was somewhere between adoration and terror.
Several feet away, Penny pouted. "I could have done that."
Sebastian just rolled his eyes.
Ariel wiggled out of my grasp. "Man, I could have done that."
Sebastian and I exchanged a glance. My cousin laughed. "You'll get used to the women, I promise."
Roone had Ian in a tight grip. Ethan had already called for reinforcements, and before I knew it, two Royal Guards were there, leading Ian out of the fray. I shook my head as they led him to the door. "Do you really hate me that much?"
“Yeah. As a prince, you had everything, but you had to take something away from me. Well, how did you like it? My lips on Ariel?”
Suddenly, that tightness in the chest that I hadn't been able to explain or understand had loosened. Ashton hadn't been the one trying to kill me. Those unanswered questions… suddenly they were clear, even if I didn't like the answer.
As he was carted out, I marched over on shaky legs to Ella. "I owe you my life."
She shook her head. "No. We're even now. You saved mine and I saved yours."
"I don't even know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. He was crazy. I sure know how to pick ‘em."
Ariel followed suit, and she wrapped her arms around Ella. "Thank you. Thank you. I’m not sure how I can repay you."
Ella flushed. "I'll take your friendship. It's good enough for me."
I glanced around.
This was my family. Even with everything that had happened, they stood by me, and it was going to be okay. Ariel stepped into my embrace and wrapped her arms around me. "It has been one hell of an adventure. How about from now on we just be, you know, normal?"
"I'm good with that." Then I kissed her softly.
Roone stood holding Jessa tightly to him. "So, is now a good time to mention that Jessa and I have finally set a date for the wedding?"
I realized in that moment that this was always how it was going to be. Crazy, but full of love.
Epilogue
Zia…
As it turned out, Roone and Jessa liked to do things big. We were at wedding reception number three for the pair, and my feet were killing me. Not to mention my thigh holster was digging into my skin.
I loved to dress up as much as the next girl, but playing double duty wedding guest and security was losing some of its luster.
Also, Roone's cousin, Ben Covington, had been making an ass of himself asking me to dance. He wasn't being disrespectful, he just thought he was a comedian. And so far, I couldn’t find the humor in his attempts
"Come on, darling. I can tell that under that buttoned-up exterior, you know how to do a mean running man."
I wrinkled my nose. "Do you even know what the running man is? And what makes you think I can do that in heels?"
His gaze slid over my body. I saw the interest. And honestly if he wasn't so arrogant and clearly a player, I might be interested. But I could almost count the swarms of women he'd been with as clearly as if they’d been etched on his forehead.
It emanated off of his aura like flashing neon letters. I am a player. Beware all who tarry on this cock.
I had zero problem with handsome, and Ben Covington had the handsome gene in droves. He was Roone’s cousin after all.
I had no problem with rich, and from what I understood, he was a billionaire. I might be down with someone who I didn’t have to look after financially.
I just had a problem with players. Guys who were ruled by their dicks. And I had no desire to be some playboy's plaything.
"Don't you have someone else to go and bother? Honestly, I'm working."
He leaned against the bar. "Well, the way I figure it, you should always aim for the most beautiful woman in the room. You never know when she'll say yes."
"Okay, what if I tell you it's a resounding no?"
His brows furrowed as if he'd never heard the word before in his lifetime. "A no?"
I couldn't help but grin at that. "Yeah. Nope. No thank you."
He drained the rest of his scotch, something worth more than my salary for the week, no doubt. His brows were still drawn down as if completely confused that some woman wouldn't want him.
"What? Is it because I'm not James Bond? I know you work at Royal Elite. You prefer rough and tumble and someone who knows his way around a gun? Would it change your mind if I told you I happen to be good at hand to hand combat?" He winked.
I couldn't help it. That was funny. Almost kind of witty. So, I snorted a laugh. "No, it wouldn't change anything."
He sighed. "Fine. Might I ask why? Because earlier, I thought we had a moment."
"I met your gaze and smiled."
He nodded as if that said everything. "Yeah, you smiled at me."
I rolled my eyes. "Just because I smile at you doesn't mean I want to shag you. I'm allergic to playboys."
His mouth formed an O as if he was shocked, and he crushed a hand to his heart. "Oh, you wound me."
"As if. You know you're a playboy. How many women have you had sex with?" I turned to face him and lean my elbow on the counter.
He could barely contain his smirk. "A gentleman never tells."
I grinned at him. "You sir, are far from a gentleman."
"The lady sees the truth."
Again, he made me laugh. "I’ll let you in on a secret. I'm far from a lady."
And I had to give him credit, because his gaze did not falter from mine.
"Then I think maybe you don't see enough."
Something about his statement heated my skin made me flush. It was the first hint of something honest out of his mouth.
Out of my periphery, I watched as
Jessa and Roone twirled around the dance floor. It was shocking how bad Roone was on the dance floor, but Jessa did her valiant best to keep him on beat. They only had my attention for a moment, because something else caught my eye.
Someone else.
Hair the color of midnight, piercing smoke-gray eyes. He leaned against the wall by the door to the balcony. A short round woman with gray hair held him hostage with her animated chatter.
His gaze, however, was on me. Focused. Intent. Unwavering. And Jesus Christ, the jolt of awareness was hot, piercing, and I couldn't shake it. His look was like a blast from a furnace.
I wasn't trying to get distracted. Screw distraction.
No, seriously. Screw distraction. When was the last time you got laid?
I tried to avert my gaze, but it took longer than it should've. When I finally managed to tear my eyes away, I turned my attention back to Ben and his brows were raised.
"So, I guess I'm out of luck. You found someone else more interesting."
"What makes you say that?"
"The look on your face. You certainly didn't look at me like that." He shrugged. "And to the winner go the spoils."
I retorted back immediately, "And who said I'm a spoil?"
His grin was slow, sexy, confident. The player was back. "Who said you were the spoil?"
He sauntered away, and I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't. If I were a different person, Ben was someone that possibly could intrigue me.
If I'd been the kind of girl who hadn't had her heart broken by someone playful and fun, someone who exuded that same kind of confidence, I could've fallen for someone like him. But I had already been burned by a playboy, so Ben Covington wasn't on the table.
As I walked through the ballroom, I headed to the balcony to find Tamsin. We were primarily guests, along with the rest of Royal Elite. But in case something happened, and security and the Guard failed, we were plan C.
Things had been crazy with work. We'd been busy, especially since Prince Tristan came back. There hadn't been time to date, let alone find a suitable partner for bedroom workouts.