Page 68 of Wicked Brutal

“I absolutely will.”

“He’ll have you killed.”

“No, he won’t. He likes me more than you.”

“Everybody likes you more than me.”

I smile. There she is. Not fixed — I’m not stupid enough to think twenty minutes in a parked car fixes what happened this morning. But she’s here. She’s against me. Her hand is still curled into my shirt.

I touch my forehead to hers. “Can I kiss you?”

Her expression softens. “Yeah.”

So I do. Not desperate. Not to shut her up. Not because I need to turn this into something else. Just one slow kiss. Then another. Her hand moves into my hair, and mine settles against her cheek. When we separate, she stays close.

“I love you,” I murmur.

“I know.”

I pull back. Her mouth twitches. “Excuse me?”

She laughs. Then she kisses me before I can complain. “I love you too.”

“Better.”

“Bossy.”

“Yeah.”

“Asshole.”

“Also yeah.”

“Publicly humiliating dickhead.”

I wince. “Deserved.”

She kisses my cheek. “Very.”

We sit there a little longer. Eventually, I have to take her back to Becca. Then Becca takes her home. Then tomorrow morning, we’ll walk into Edgewood separately. I’ll see her. She’ll see me. And maybe I’ll have to look straight through her again.

But not here. Not right now. Right now, her hand is in mine.

And Roman doesn’t get this part of us. He never fucking will.

Victor Tremblay arrives at seven carrying flowers for my mother and a bottle of scotch for my father.

I get his hand at the small of my back. Lucky me.

“Alison.” He leans down to kiss my cheek, and I smile, because it’s easier when I know it’s coming. His palm settles against my back as his lips brush my skin, and I force myself not to move until he does.

There’s nothing technically inappropriate about it. Nothing I could point to later and explain without sounding dramatic. A greeting. A hand against my back. A kiss on the cheek. Normal things.

Except Victor’s hand stays there after he straightens, and his thumb moves once against the fabric of my dress. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Dad comes out of his study before I have to decide how long I’m expected to stand here and let Victor touch me. “Victor.”