Page 68 of All for Love

The car I’d hired for the night was waiting outside, and thankfully, every car used by this service came with a privacy shield. I put it up. Marissa sat beside me and Mercedes was on her other side, and I really hoped she was okay with what I was about to do.

During the drive, as the snow began to fall in fluffier snowflakes, Marissa turned her head toward me, slanted it some, and then made her eyes big. “What?”

“Out with it,” I said to my friend. “If you’re going to lecture us, do it now.”

Her eyes widened and she snorted. “All I’m going to say about this is that you shouldn’t keep it a secret for too long. The longer it goes on behind your family’s back, the weirder it’s going to be when it comes out.”

Mercedes stiffened, and Marissa reached for her knee, giving it a comforting squeeze as she turned her attention to her. “It’ll be okay. I promise. Barring perhaps a few uncomfortable weeks after you let the cat out of the bag, they’ll get over it. Again, you’re both grownups with zero shared history. It’ll be fine.”

“You’re the only person who sees it that way,” Mercedes muttered. “The rest of them all think it’ll be the end of our parents’ marriage.”

Marissa scoffed. “If that’s all it takes to end their marriage, then it wasn’t a very solid one to begin with. Something tells me it’s solid. They’re very much in love. This won’t break them.”

“How do you know?” I asked. “You haven’t seen the old man in years and you only met Margaux tonight.”

“True, but I’m a good judge of character,” she said to me before returning her attention to Mercedes. “He’s not a bad guy. Just don’t let him get away with treating you like shit. He tends to do that to women when he gets scared.”

“I don’t get scared,” I objected.

Marissa’s eyebrows shot up when she looked at me again. “Bullshit. Don’t make me start with examples, Wagner.”

“Fine,” I surrendered immediately. Marissa knew where too many of my skeletons were buried and I didn’t want her scaring Mercedes off when we’d only admitted to each other earlier tonight that we still couldn’t stop thinking about each other. “How did you get so smart anyhow?”

“I’ve always been smart,” she retorted with a slight smirk. “These days, I just take my mental strength as seriously as my physical strength. I have to. Can’t let this big brain go to waste when I’ve got so many criminals to catch.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough.”

Marissa gave me another knowing look, then lapsed into a silence Mercedes and I matched. For the larger part of the drive, we were all lost to our own thoughts until the car finally started slowing near her house.

She turned to Mercedes, and I heard the sincerity in her voice. “I’m no threat to your relationship with him. I promise. If you ever need anyone to talk to, don’t hesitate, okay?”

“Okay,” Mercedes agreed, then returned the hug my enigmatic friend pulled her into.

By the time they broke apart, we were stopped in front of Marissa’s place. I opened the door and climbed out of the car. Once she’d followed me out, I popped my head back in. “I’m just going to make sure she gets inside okay. I’ll be back in a few.”

Mercedes nodded, but I saw her noticing Marissa’s overnight bag when I took it out of the trunk and carried it to the door. I sighed, and Marissa punched my arm.

“Don’t you dare fuck her over, you hear me?”

I pretended to salute her. “Yes, officer.”

She glowered at me playfully, then chuckled and unlocked her front door. “Thanks for the act of chivalry, but I’ll be okay from here. I’ve got a few moves for self-defense I can employ against the neighbor’s cat if she dares come at me, but once this thing locks, I’ll be good.”

I nodded. “You’re no damsel in distress. Got it.”

Lingering at her door for a moment, I exhaled deeply and gave her a sheepish smile. “Thanks for coming with me tonight, and for covering for us.”

“No problem.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a tight hug. “Don’t disappear on me again, Kody. Okay? Just because there’s no romance between us, it doesn’t mean I can’t be your friend.”

I chuckled as I hugged her back. “You got it, and I’m sorry I disappeared in the first place.”

“We’ll talk about it all some other time. For now, it was good to see you guys again. Take care of her, alright?”

“Will do.” I let go of her and double-timed it back to the car. After telling the driver to head to my place, I got into the backseat and thanked all the stars for the damn privacy shield as the driver got us underway.

I scooted all the way across the seat, folded both arms around Mercedes, and practically cradled the poor girl. “Finally, I’ve got you all to myself again. I feel like it would’ve been easier being a fucking spy than spending time with you.”

Mercedes glanced up at me, relaxed in my arms but with some serious doubts in her eyes. “She’s educated, confident, strong, and gorgeous. Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her? I saw you two together just before we left the party. It looked pretty intimate.”