Page 84 of Sweet Oblivion

I bite my lip to hold back the laugh bubbling up. “I mean, kind of. She’s very cute and very happy.”

“She can also hear you two twat waffles,” Kaleigh adds from the other side of the door. “She also looks hot in her bridesmaid dress and is hoping for a certain gorgeous baller to be at this wedding, so thanks for picking dresses that show off the girls. Now. Let. Me. See.”

“I told Ashton I should just do this alone,” I groan when Caitlin checks the lock on the door.

“No, you shouldn’t. Friday night is your wedding. Marry the man for whatever reason you have, but enjoy the night with your friends, Delaney. Who knows where you andRyker will end up. But your girls. They’ll stick with you, no matter what.” She steps back and grabs the veil so we can get the full effect. “I love my husband, but my best friend is as much my soulmate as Callen is. Keep your circle close and tight. You’ll never regret it.”

She pins the veil, and I look up at her, feeling a little bit like I have for weeks. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions, and I’m in the middle of yet another one I’m not sure how to process. “Why are you so nice to me?”

Probably not going to earn myself any kind of cool factor in this woman’s eyes.

“Because.” She smiles, and her grin is cocky and confident and so damn cool. “I see a piece of me in you, and I think you might just be exactly what my cousin needs. He’s a really good guy, Delaney. And he deserves a woman strong enough to stand next to him, not behind him. These guys... these football gods. They’ve had women chasing them for years. My husband, unfortunately, more than most before he was lucky enough to land me. And none of those women were ever good enough to stand beside them and fight with them and for them. They were weak. They were after the fame or the money. They didn’t care about the man. But then you walked in, and you didn’t want that. I heard all about you before you ever set foot in this shop.”

“From who?” I gasp, shocked. “What did they say?”

“Don’t forget my mother and Ryker’s mother are sisters. They talk every single day.” She slides my heels in front of me, then takes my hand as I step into them. “I already knew who you were, what you’d been through, and that one of the few things you requested before agreeing to marry Ryker was to sign a prenup.”

She steps back and looks at me through the reflection. “Absolute perfection.”

“I’m not sure I recognize myself,” I whisper.

“You should. It’s still you, just you in a pretty dress. Now,are we showing your friends?” she asks as I push down the emotion threatening to break free, completely overwhelmed by her words.

“Yes,” four sappy voices chime in.

By the time I got home, I had only enough energy left to feed Tori and basically fall into bed. At least that’s what I’m blaming for the fact I grabbed the first thing I saw to sleep in. I mean, why else would I be sleeping in Ryker’s jersey... again?

It wouldn’t be because it smells like him. Right?

It’s not like the scent of him on the pillows is comforting.

I mean, I don’t bury my face in his pillow as I close my eyes or anything.

At least, not that I’ll admit.

But hours later, when the real thing climbs in and wraps his strong arms around me, I don’t fight it. I don’t flinch. I scoot back until I’m tucked against his chest, my head resting on one arm while the other holds me close.

“A man could get used to this,mia moglie.” His husky voice wakes up parts of me I try to ignore, and I turn my face toward his.

“You scare me, Ryker.” I don’t know if it’s the quiet room or the darkness surrounding us that makes me brave enough to admit it. But I do, and I don’t stop there. “Not because of what happened. Not because of Roger Dennings. Please don’t think that.”

“Why then, Lane?” he asks, frustration and confusion hanging thick on every word.

I roll over to face him and scoot up on the pillow, so we’re eye to eye, and drag a finger along his jaw. “Because I’ve never let anyone in like this before. I don’t depend on people. I don’t trust people. You already figured that out. I don’t letanyone in. Ever.” I close my eyes as that admission settles in my chest. “I tried not letting you in. First at Dad’s bar and then this summer...”

“What happened to you at the bar?” His hand slides under my jersey and rests on my hip. Possessive and protective and so damn intoxicating. “One day you were there, and the next you were gone. I asked the other bartenders, and they just shrugged it off. It was like you’d vanished.”

“My dad saw you. The last shift I worked with you there. He saw you ask me out. Saw me shoot you down.” I remember the fury in his eyes after, and a tremor races down my back. “He knew you were a Beneventi and saw all the ways he could exploit you. By the time I got home, he had a whole plan. And I refused to be part of it.”

“Delaney . . .”

I don’t tell him he beat the hell out of me after or that he used that as an excuse for months.

That I still had the bruises from the last beating the day I showed up at Jamie’s house to help my sister. Ryker doesn’t need that on his conscience. And I know him enough to know he’d carry that on his shoulders.

“I’m here now,” I whisper, taking a leap of faith. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

As if those were the words he needed from me, Ryker’s lips claim mine. Molding to mine. Our tongues tangle as his hands pull me closer. Hold me tighter. One slides to my thigh and drapes it around his hip. Opening me to him. And my God, there’s so much of him.