the wound and then found a bottle of liquid bandage. He pulled the skin together as tight as he could and doused the area several times. Then he covered it with several butterfly bandages and leaned back to assess his work.
Aubrey was staring up at him. “I love you. You know that.”
He bent down and kissed her. “I love you. Just so we’re clear, it will never get old hearing those words from you.” He grinned down at her just as there was a knock on the door and Zoey and Scarlett walked in.
“How is he?” Scarlett asked.
“Oh good, you patched her up,” Zoey said when they noticed Aubrey lying on the sofa.
Aubrey pushed her ruined shirt down and sat up. “I’m fine,” she said quickly. “So is Aiden.”
“The storm is just officially hitting us, and we thought you two would like to rejoin the party,” Zoey said, glancing towards the wall of windows that had been boarded up. “Safety in numbers and all that.”
“We’ll be right there.” He helped Aubrey stand up but pulled her into his arms. “Thank you for saving my life,” he said into her hair.
“Thank you,” she said, pulling back slightly, “for setting me free from my fears.” She leaned up and kissed him.
“Aww,” Zoey said as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
“God, are you going to cry for the next six months of your pregnancy?” Scarlett joked as she wrapped her arms around her sister.
He took Aubrey’s hand and followed them back into where everyone else was sitting around a circle of candles.
“This looks like a séance instead of a hurricane party,” Aubrey said as they walked in.
Food filled the table along the wall, untouched. When they stepped in, Aubrey was pulled aside by her friends as Elle started talking.
“Seeing as this is the last time we’ll do this, we decided it had to be a special occasion. And seeing as the pair of you cheated death tonight, we figured it was as good of time as any.” Elle chuckled as she pulled a small box from her pocket.
“From us,” Elle said, holding the box. Zoey, Scarlett, and Hannah all joined hands with hers as they handed the small box over to Aubrey.
“I never thought I’d ever get this,” Aubrey said, wiping her eyes as she looked down at the box. “I never thought I’d deserve it.”
Aiden glanced at the guys, who all just smiled at him and shrugged.
He moved over and watched her flip open the small box and looked down at an ugly rainbow unicorn ring nestled in the box.
Aubrey picked the small thing up like it was made of the finest jewels and slipped it on her finger, then held it to her chest.
“I earned this,” she said with a laugh as the five friends hugged one another.
Owen walked over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Out of all of us, I’d say you had to work the hardest to win the prize.”
“That’s a prize?” he asked, motioning to the ring.
Dylan walked over, a fresh white bandage covering the cut on top of his head, a goofy smile on his face. “Hell, yes, it is. The best sort of prize.” He shook Aiden’s hand and motioned to Aubrey. “One that’ll last a lifetime.”
He sighed and smiled at Aubrey as she looked at him over her friend’s head.
Epilogue
When the sun woke Aubrey up the next morning, she at first didn’t think anything of it. It had been just after one in the morning when Brett and his partner had come and hauled Bridgett and her mother away.
After that, the hurricane party had turned into more of a slumber party. They’d all gathered their sleeping bags around the candles and camping lanterns and chatted while the rain started to disappear.
“It’s morning,” she said, sitting up. “Oh god.” She glanced around and noticed a few windows had lost the protective plywood.
“What?” Elle sat up and then gasped. “I have to see…” She jumped up at the same time Aubrey did.
The pair of them rushed to the front doors together.
Brett had mentioned that several trees had fallen, which had been the reason it had taken them so long to get to them.
Aubrey helped Elle open the front doors and as they stepped outside, they were joined by Zoey, Scarlett, and Hannah.
“How bad do you think it is?” Elle asked.
“Let’s find out together.” Aubrey held out her hand for her sisters.
The five of them stepped out into the morning sun together and gasped.
Trees, branches, and other debris lay everywhere. The lush green grass of the fields was littered with shingles from the roofs.
Warm hands rested on Aubrey’s shoulders. “I know a guy who can fix all this,” Aiden said with a sigh. “He was looking for an excuse to stick around the campgrounds.”
“It could be worse,” Dylan said, wrapping his arms around Zoey.
“Yes.” Aubrey turned in Aiden’s arms and smiled up at him. “It could have been,” she said before kissing him.
Also by Jill Sanders
The Pride Series
Finding Pride
Discovering Pride
Returning Pride
Lasting Pride
Serving Pride
Red Hot Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Return To Me
Rescue Me
A Pride Christmas
The Secret Series
Secret Seduction
Secret Pleasure
Secret Guardian
Secret Passions
Secret Identity
Secret Sauce
The West Series
Loving Lauren
Taming Alex
Holding Haley
Missy’s Moment
Breaking Travis
Roping Ryan
Wild Bride
Corey’s Catch
Tessa’s Turn
Saving Trace
The Grayton Series
Last Resort
Someday Beach
Rip Current
In Too Deep
Swept Away
High Tide
Lucky Series
Unlucky In Love
Sweet Resolve
Best of Luck
A Little Luck
Silver Cove Series
Silver Lining
French Kiss
Happy Accident
Hidden Charm
A Silver Cove Christmas
Sweet Surrender
Entangled Series – Paranormal Romance
The Awakening
The Beckoning
The Ascension
The Presence
Haven, Montana Series
Closer to You
Never Let Go
Holding On
Coming Home
Pride Oregon Series
A Dash of Love
My Kind of Love
Season of Love
Tis the Season
Dare to Love
Where I Belong
Wildflowers Series
Summer Nights
Summer Heat
Summer Secrets
Summer Fling
Summer’s End
Distracted Series
Wake Me
Tame Me
Stand Alone Books
Twisted Rock
Hope Harbor
For a complete list of books:
About the Author
Jill Sanders is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of Sweet Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Western Romance, and Paranormal Romance novels. With over 55 books in eleven series, translations into several different languages, and audiobooks there’s plenty to choose from. Look for Jill’s bestselling stories wherever romance books are sold or visit her at jillsanders.com
Jill comes from a large family with six siblings, including an identical twin. She was raised in the Pacific Northwest and later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent for writing sweet and sexy page-turners. After Colorado, she decided to move south, living in Texas and now making her home along the Emerald Coast of Florida. You will find that the settings of several of her series are inspired by her time spent living in these areas. She has two sons and off-set the testosterone in her house by adopting three furry little ladies that provide her company while she’s locked in her writing cave. She enjoys heading to the beach, hiking, swimming, wine-tasting, and pickleball with her husband, and of course writing. If you have read any of her books, you may also notice that there is a love of food, especially sweets! She has been blamed for a few added pounds by her assistant, editor, and fans… donuts or pie anyone?