Page 7 of Taken With You

I was fine. Everything would be fine.

My hands shook as I unlocked the deadbolt and then the second deadbolt, and then the handle lock itself.

When I opened the door, the girls each smiled at me. Sienna held cupcakes. Harmony had a bottle of sparkling juice. And Violet held out a charcuterie board.

I snorted, shaking my head.

“Ah, I see you’ve come prepared,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as if I’d just had a minor heart attack.

They couldn’t know. They couldn’t find out who I had been in my past, the choices I’d made. I didn’t want them to know why I screamed myself awake every night.

All they needed to know was that I was Meadow. I was normal. Safe.

As far as they were concerned, I didn’t have a past—at least not one worth mentioning.

I took a step back, raising my brows as the girls walked in, chattering to one another even as they said hello.

“Well, we wanted to bring in a bit of a party before we forced you out of the house.”

I closed the door behind me, doing my best to act nonchalant as I locked both deadbolts and the regular lock.

The girls didn’t even notice. They had been here a couple of times before and were likely used to my antics. For all they knew, I was a single woman alone who wanted the extra security.

I pressed the keypad to make sure the security system was armed and then turned back to the others, a smile on my face. I hoped it reached my eyes.

“You guys didn’t call or anything. A little weird. And shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon now, Harmony?” I asked.

Harmony shook her head, tossing her gorgeous hair behind her shoulder. “Not for a bit. It’s been three days since the wedding. I’m allowed to get out for some oxygen.” Her cheeks turned red, and I shook my head, smiling as Sienna and Violet laughed.

“I’m surprised you can even walk,” Sienna said. “I mean, with the way Brendon was all over you at the wedding? Yeah. Are you sure you haven’t just escaped from being locked in the basement or something?”

I froze, the smile still on my face but no longer authentic. I was grateful that the others weren’t looking at me.

I wasn’t going to think about that night. Or any night from before. I was fine. Just fine.

“I’m allowed to leave. Brendon’s at the bar with the guys, and I wanted to see my girls. So I showed up with cupcakes because I wanted to bake.”

“And after Aiden stole one and said that they were ‘okay, even though you aren’t a chef,’ we brought them over,” Sienna said, laughing.

“I am going to kick your man’s ass one day,” Harmony said. I sat back and watched as the others laughed and shared their inside jokes. They were dating or now married to brothers and were already a family in their own right. I was on the outside looking in, but that was where I wanted to be.

“Anyway, where have you been?” Violet asked.

I frowned. “Here? Where I am always.”

“You say that, yet you haven’t texted. No call. No note,” Sienna said, perfecting her perfect British accent as she pretended that she was Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter series.

“I’m fine. Really. Just busy working. And after the wedding, I figured everyone would be busy with cleanup and honeymooning and everything that brides are supposed to do on their wedding night.” I looked at Harmony, and she blushed even harder.

Apparently, she’d had a very nice wedding night.

“Well, considering you ran out of the reception, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I looked at Violet, noting the concern in her eyes.

“I didn’t run. I said goodbye.”

“And then you ran like there was a demon on your tail,” Sienna said. “We saw. Are you okay?”