Always the joker, he looks over the bed, and as the paramedics work on him, he answers, “A bullet went through my arm, Matthias. So, on the whole, not great.”
Leave it to my husband to make light of being shot.
I parkthe car behind Ava’s and turn to look at Marius in the passenger seat. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You just got shot four days ago.”
He lifts his left arm and pretends to try to flex his bicep. “I’m great! Just a flesh wound. Isn’t that what they always say in war movies? No worries. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure? I can tell Ava you’re not up to this, and we can go right back home. You just give the word.”
Marius waves away that suggestion. “No way. I need to celebrate something good after all that’s happened. Tonight we eat, drink, and be merry.”
Thankfully, he doesn’t say the rest of that because if he mentioned anything about dying, I might burst into tears. I’m not usually a woman who’s prone to crying, but this whole thing has made me far more emotional than usual.
And the last thing either of us needs right now is me sobbing like a baby over the thought of him dying.
“Then I guess we better get inside. Your family is waiting.”
Marius covers my hand resting on the console with his. “Our family, Duck. You’re married to a King, so that makes them your family too.”
All week, Ava hasn’t stopped talking about how thrilled she is that we’re sisters-in-law. She’s got a million ideas of things we should do together, and to be honest, I love every single one as much as I love being married to this King.
“Okay, Then we better get inside.Ourfamily is waiting.”
He leans in and kisses me sweetly. “Better. Don’t worry. Being a King has its perks.”
I can’t help but smile at how cute he can be. “Do you mean to say marrying into a family of billionaires comes with bonuses?”
Marius winks at me before nuzzling my neck. “Quite a few, actually. I’ll be sure to show you a few tonight.”
Entirely too cute. No wonder I can’t deny him anything.
“All right Mr. Big Perks, let’s get going before Ava comes out and drags us inside.”
We don’t even make it to the door before all three of his brothers come out of the house to greet us. Matthias makes a beeline to where we are and gives me a big hug while Kellen and Ronan joke around with Marius about having the dubious distinction of being the first King shot since some great-great-uncle who got gunned down in some saloon in Wyoming back in the nineteenth century.
Ava stands in the doorway, which seems strange, so after I thank her husband once more for being there that night when all the madness with Sam happened, I hurry up the sidewalk to see her. We haven’t talked much about that night, so I’m sure she wants to know every little detail.
“I know, you want all the dirt, and trust me, I’ve got it. One thing, though. My mother was right. Making friends as an adult is a nightmare!” I say with a laugh.
But Ava doesn’t say a word. Instead, she throws her arms around my neck and hugs me tighter than I’ve ever been hugged before. When I start to ask her what’s up, she begins to cry.
“I could have lost you, Eden. That crazy girl could have killed you. I don’t know what I would have done if she did that. I’ve been beside myself all week. Ask Matthias. If I’m not crying, I’m yelling about the dumbest stuff.”
When she takes a breath, I gently ease out of the hug to see tears rolling down my best friend’s face. “Aww, you didn’t think you were going to get rid of me that easily, did you? It was horrible, but I’m fine. Promise.”
Ava wipes her tears away and smiles. “You better be. We can finally enjoy being sisters-in-law, so you better not go anywhere. We’ve got a future of kids and grandkids and vacations and holidays and all that great stuff families do together when they don’t hate one another.”
“It’s you and me, kid. Together forever. The world better watch out.”
This time, I hug her and let my serious side come out. “It was horrible, but I never doubted Marius would save me.”
“Me neither.”
Behind me, he says, “So many people who believe in me here. I’m going to start to think I can leap tall buildings in a single bound.”
We look at him and shake our heads. “Well, Superman, today is all about you two, so get in there so we can get this party started,” Ava says.
As Marius passes me, he leans in and whispers, “Does this mean you’re Lois Lane? Because if you are, I’m feeling some role play coming on later.”
