sleepless night, I realized that maybe forever would be too soon for Nessa. She’d already had love in her life and she probably wasn’t looking for it again, especially not with a man like me.
“You got that, Emmett?”
I blinked and looked away from my glass of Velvet Fire that Maureen had just brought out. I looked at Jasper. “What?”
“Until Brendan is no longer an issue, we need everyone helping out.” I nodded my agreement. “Whatever is going on with you and Nessa doesn’t matter now. Keep her safe. I don’t want to have to put Provo or Mace on her.”
“I will,” I promised. I didn’t want either one of those guys spending 24/7 with her. That was my job.
“Good.” Jasper stared off into space for a long moment, probably daydreaming about the way he would end Brendan Rhymer, before he returned to the moment of revelry.
“Now raise your motherfucking glasses so we can toast my kid brother, marrying the love of his life. Now you have something else to fight for.”
“Slainte.” We all raised our glasses and killed a full bottle of Velvet Fire before we finished off the food.
Chapter Thirty
Vanessa
It was good to be here again. That was the thought that settled around me as I took a seat in one of the family rooms at Ashby Manor, surrounded by the smiling faces of Kat and Maisie, and the bemused smirking face that belonged to Sadie.
“Should the bride be involved in planning her own bachelorette party?”
Maisie tossed her head back and laughed. “We’re not sticklers for tradition around here if you haven’t noticed. And when planning the party becomes a party, I’d say the bride has an obligation to show up.”
Her red lips parted into a bright smile that made her skin glow and she lifted her tumbler in the air. “To creating our own traditions.”
I thought of my own family and the old traditions they expected the newer generations to follow without question, and I raised my still empty glass, preferring this way instead.
“I’ll drink to that,” I said. After the past week without Emmett’s smile or his big strong arms, I’d drink to just about any damn thing.
“What the hell?” Madison stood in the doorway wearing a scowl. “I graciously get food for this planning party and you bitches start drinking without me? Rude.”
Kat waved off her words and poured another glass. “We were just drinking to the fact that Vanessa is here.” I let the lie slide, figuring Kat had her reasons.
Madison’s gaze found mine and her brows rose in surprise. “Are you back or are you just here for planning?”
Kat choked on her drink and Maisie tried—and failed—to stifle a laugh, while I just stared back, shocked at her blunt question.
“You don’t hold back, do you?”
Madison shrugged and set four bags on the side table. “I have issues so I don’t have to, and I don’t want to get used to having you around if I shouldn’t. So?”
Well damn, so much for keeping a low profile. Madison had put me on the spot, but I didn’t want to answer. When it became clear I’d find no allies in Kat or Maisie, I decided to try another tactic.
“Is Bonnie coming?”
The room fell quiet at the question, but the tension in the air told me their attention had been effectively diverted to someone else.
“No, she’s not coming,” Sadie answered, her words quiet and steely. I nodded before burying my face in another drink.
“So,” Madison began again. “You and Emmett. That’s why you ran off.”
“I thought this was a party to plan Maisie’s bachelorette party,” I insisted with a small, but totally dignified, whine.
“We have a ton of food,” Madison said and held up a finger, “and a well-stocked booze cabinet. We have all day.”
She was right. It wasn’t even dark yet. “Fine,” I sighed and fell back against the plush sofa. I swallowed a shot of whiskey straight from the bottle, wiped my lips and shot back another one.
“Emmett told me he loved me. I freaked out and ran away, and I haven’t heard from his since.” That was the abbreviated version of events but they had all the important details. “Pretty sure I screwed it all up.”
That was hard to admit, but Emmett hadn’t come to me, hadn’t reached out to talk. He’d only shown up to act as my bodyguard once in a while, never saying a word. Never offering a smile. Just his silent, unwavering protection.
“Why did you freak out?” Madison’s question was genuine,