a pit stop in the kitchen for coffee and then joined her. Tinsley set a bag of muffins down on the table and smirked at Skye. With an incline of her head, she drew Skye’s attention to Karri, who had a smile on her face Skye had never seen before.
“What’s going on?” Skye asked her best friend.
“Nothing.” She sighed happily.
Tinsley rolled her eyes. “Nothing? Oh, I guess it was nothing when I caught Peter Castle sneaking out of my house at four this morning?”
Skye gasped but was smiling. “Karri! Tell me everything.”
Karri’s happily glazed eyes finally focused on Skye and her own lips turned into a teasing smile. “It looks as if I’m not the only one who has something to tell.”
Tinsley waved that off. “We already know she and Trent are in love. Now you and Peter? That’s new.”
“Is it true? Does he love you?” Karri asked as only a best friend who knew how much Skye had hoped for a relationship with Trent could.
“He does. We do. It’s everything I ever dreamed and never thought would come true. And you?” Skye wanted the same for her best friend.
“We didn’t sleep together, but he did spend the night again. He held me while I slept and it was . . . perfect. I never thought of myself as traditional until Peter. Is that crazy? I’m suddenly thinking of marriage and that my children will carry on the Wolf Clan and that I want to teach them all that my family has taught me.”
“It’s not crazy, it’s love.” Skye couldn’t be happier for her friend. “When will you tell your mother about Peter?”
Karri let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I was thinking after things are settled I could have them fly down here.”
“They’ll be excited for you, Karri. No matter who you bring home. If you love him, you know they’ll love him too. I don’t think this one will run, either. He’s the one for you. He’ll fight for you, just like in your dream.”
“I think so too. I can show my parents the restaurant if they fly down. I know they just want me to be happy and to follow my dreams. Speaking of parents, have you talked to yours yet?” Karri asked.
Skye shook her head. “I didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing and give away my location. I text them every morning and night and tell them I’m safe. I was thinking the same as you. I want to bring them here to meet everyone when it’s all over.”
“So, you and Trent?” Karri asked then.
“Are madly in love. Do you love Peter?”
Karri smiled and looked so content at the sound of that word. “I feel as if he’s been with me in my dreams forever. I know it’s silly but you’ve heard of old souls? It’s like our souls are old together. Like we already have a history.”
“That’s not silly. It’s wonderful.”
Life was changing so fast for them both, yet it felt as if she couldn’t move at all. Skye was stuck until the court ruled on her contract. Olivia had fought so hard to get the jurisdiction in New York and then to get ready for a bench trial as fast as possible. Now she wasn’t going to be there. Olivia had texted that morning that all was taken care of. Skye wished they could go now. Tomorrow there would be darkness, but there would also be light. There was love and friendship, and Skye wasn’t going to face it alone. They’d face tomorrow together.
Tinsley and Karri had left, and now Skye prepared for the biggest moment of her life. They wouldn’t know it was coming, but she was going to face Jim down in court. The speech she had prepared was finally ready. She was ready.
The door opened and Skye glanced up as Trent walked in. “What are you doing here so early?”
Trent closed the door and joined her in the kitchen where she was eating a slice of apple pie for a snack. “I was dying for some . . . apple pie.”
“This apple pie?” Skye asked in her best seductive voice as she held up the remaining slice of pie in the dish.
“Yes, that pie,” Trent said roughly, but his hand didn’t reach for the pie, but for her center.
Skye’s breathing suddenly picked up as her body heated. “What will you do for the apple pie?”
“Let me show you.”
Oh goodness. Trent stripped as he walked toward her sitting in the kitchen chair.