Page 43

“Shall I take the young miss, sir? The nursery is fully assembled. We can let her nap there in comfort,” Garrick suggests in a soft tone.

“No,” Eddie and I respond in unison, though his response is much harsher than mine.

I continue, “She’s fine here, Garrick. Thank you.”

With a tip of his head, the butler acquiesces, stepping away while his focus goes from Eddie to the door of the great room.

“That’ll be all, Garrick.” Eddie’s tone leaves no room for anything but dismissal.

“Don’t be a dick to him,” I whisper. “He’s just trying to help.”

“Yeah? Why was he checking exits?”

I push all the air from my lungs and with it, my frustration, because Garrick isn’t bad. He couldn’t be. He⁠—

“Fuck.” Eddie’s fingers stall in their mission to swipe the hair from my forehead.

“What?” I blink up at him as his Adam’s apple bobs with a swallow.

“Nothing.” He shakes his thought away and continues pushing my hair around. “What happened out there?”

I curl my arm around Evie, pulling her closer, keeping her safe from the evil that’s no longer right here. Maybe it’s even dead. That would make my day immeasurably better. “You probably know more than I do. Is… is it gone?”

“What, the snake? Yeah. Nearly hit me with it when you flung it.” I flinch at the thought of that thing hitting Eddie or Evie. “No one was hurt but you.”

“I’m not hurt.”

“You passed out. You’da hit the ground if”—he tilts his head toward the door—“Garrick hadn’t caught you.”

“Is that why you’re all pissy with him? Because he caught me, and you got slapped with a nope rope?” I shudder at the mental image.

I don’t get an answer. No words. No sighs. Just a hand in my hair and the other wrap protectively around me and his daughter.

We stay just like that while Evie takes a cat nap and I replay the events of the day. Of all I’ve done and what I still need to accomplish. I’m lulled by the quiet breaths and reassuring weight and the gentle caresses.

“I should probably get up. Adjust the remaining arrangements and get changed.” I sound groggy, my voice raspy with disuse. I might have snoozed for a hot minute there.

“Not necessary.”

Our exchange, no matter how quiet is just enough to have Evie stirring and rubbing at her eyes.

“Shit… shoot, again. She’s waking up, why don’t you just take her for a minute and⁠—”

He does, but cuts me off with, “Plans have changed. You’re good, just relax.”

I push up to sitting and stand, taking stock of myself as I do. “What do you mean? The wedding isn’t happening? You can’t… They…”

“Relax. It’ll happen, just not today.” Eddie shifts Evie’s weight and stalks toward the kitchen.

“Stop.” I stomp my foot like the perfectly reasonable adult I am. “Stop. They can’t cancel⁠—”

“Postpone.”

“Fine. Postpone the wedding just because I got freaked out. Everything is set, it’s all here, the guests are coming⁠—”

“There aren’t that many of them. The party can happen anytime.”

“And the cake. And the caterers. And the flowers. Jesus, the flowers. Eddie, I can’t do that again. I can’t.” I’m not proud of the fact that I appear to be losing it, nor am I proud of my second foot-stomping incident. But this is serious. Christophe is my boss and if I ruin his wedding, and Winnie doesn’t get her happily ever after, I don’t honestly know what I’m going to do.