Page 168 of Firecracker

"Good luck to him," I said.

"Yeah, he'll need it. But I think he'll be okay."

There was a beat then…

"Anyway, we got some news."

"Okay, Ror, I can see you want to tell me. What happened?"

Aurora's smile grew. "He found out his brother is engaged."

"Oh?"

"Ryker and London. She's really awesome actually. I met her on tour. Anyway, someone in the press leaked it, and yeah, it caused a whole thing."

I shot her a smile. "You know exactly what that's like."

"I do," she said, reaching out a hand to stop me. "Hey, Freya. Are you…okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just I know you're with Tolliver now, but I also know you had that crush on Ryker. I wanted to make sure you're good. Because I love you."

I didn't even have to think about it. Hadn't thought about HERS's drummer in a long time—besides to enjoy their music. The news about Ryker and his fiancée didn't phase me. I felt nothing, not even a twinge in my chest.

"I love you too, Ror," I said. "And I'm good. Really."

After hugging me, she went to say hi to my other cousins.

They looked so happy, and I smiled, feeling thankful. Us being together again, that was what made it my favorite event of the year. I looked out at my family, at the guests they'd brought with them, until finally, my eyes landed on Tolliver.

He was already looking at me.

With a smile, he mouthed, "What?"

We still had a minute until we had to perform.

Before I could overthink it, I ran back out and straight into his arms. Tolliver caught me around the middle, and I kissed him.

"Don't you have to play?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"And you know your family's watching?"

"Nah, they're all doing their own thing."

We smiled at each other.

"Love you," I said.

"Love you too," he said back.

It didn't get any better than that.

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