Love Renewed (Entwined Hearts #3) (7 page)

“Sounds good. Maybe we should pop out for a bit, let the men have some guy time,” she says nodding her head toward Saul and Con.

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan,” I answer.

Five hours later and guy time is officially over. However, so is peace.

“I don’t think so, Con!” Pea shouts, hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.

“I don’t get what the problem is?” Con shoots back shrugging his shoulders.

“You don’t get what the problem is…are you on drugs?” Pea gets louder and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Do you think we could creep out the side door?” Saul whispers to me while Dane, who heard Saul’s comment, suppresses a grin.

“Doubtful,” I whisper back, but still trying to shuffle to the left, aiming for the door. Dane realises my plan as I bang my shoulder gently into his, trying my hardest to go unnoticed. He starts shuffling too. Our plan is working as Con and Pea are so engrossed in their argument. That is until Saul kicks a rogue mug that happened to be on the floor. The scrape of the mug against the tiled floor, followed by the handle snapping off as it falls over, stops Pea and Con in their tracks.

“What the fuck?” Con snaps, transferring the annoyance he had with Pea onto Saul. I bite the inside of my mouth to stop from laughing.

“I…it’s just…well…” Saul stops stuttering and glares at me which makes me burst into a fit of giggles. I slap my hand over my mouth and snort through my nose. Then glance around at everyone, ending on Dane, whose eyes are glued to the top of the doorframe on the other side of the room, he also looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

I look back at Saul, who has wide eyes, and then to Pea whose frown and crossed arms now face me.

“Who puts a mug on the floor of a kitchen?” I snap, trying to act like I’m pissed off and divert the attention to something else. Pea’s eyes flick down to the cup and then back to Con, who now has the same look as Dane did on his face, but his eyes aim toward the fridge.

“Con?” Pea says low and menacing

“I don’t know,” Con lies, he has always been a bad liar.

“Con!” Pea shouts this time.

Con’s eyes flick to Saul, my eyes follow to see Saul glaring at Con.

“Saul?” I ask but my voice, unlike Pea’s, holds humour.

Saul looks over at Con with a smirk. “Sorry man,” he says and Con just shakes his head.

“There may have been some activity with a paintball gun,” Saul tells us.

“What the fuck?” Pea screeches followed by, “Stop right there, Matthews.” Who freezes at her words, his escape attempt thwarted.

“It was Saul’s idea,” Con says.

“Seriously bro?” Saul groans.

“Explain,” Pea clips out not taking her eyes from Con. I look between her and Dane and wonder how alike they really are, that was a classic Dane one-word demand.

“Well, I was thinking about going to the shooting range. Learning how to shoot and shit,” Con starts telling Pea.

“How to shoot…and shit? Really Con?” She shakes her head.

Con glares at her then continues, “Dane said we should stay away from guns, but suggested paintballing. He got all the kit together and then last week came over, but we couldn’t find anywhere to try it. All the places that allow paintballing have their own kit.” At this point, he seems to run out of steam. Pea stares at him waiting. When he realises she’s not going to stop, he rubs his hand down his face and continues speaking, “So I may have suggested we try in here. I may have lined up some mugs and other pieces of crockery and used them to shoot at…and I may have broken some of the plates, cups and other kitchen shit when we did it last week and again today.”

“Kitchen shit?” Pea whispers quietly and I take a step back. “
Kitchen shit?
” she repeats, her eyes are like little slits now, narrowed on Con.

“Con…is that how that red paint got on my Radley handbag?” her voice is getting quieter and I’m thinking Con is getting castrated tonight.

Con—I think wisely at this point—says nothing.

“I asked you about my bag, you told me I must have spilt nail varnish on it without realising. You had no idea how it ended up with red paint all over the bottom of the bag. Crazy things happen that we can’t explain, you said. Maybe the last time I used it I put it down on something while I was out, you said.” She is getting louder now.

“This is what happens when you spend so much money on handbags…they get ruined, and we
women
get upset, you said!” she’s shouting now and to be fair, Con looks like he’s shitting himself.

“You played paintball in the fucking kitchen Con.
Paintball!
”

“They did too,” Con replies pointing at Dane and Saul.

“Not cool, bro, not cool,” Saul replies and I’m biting my tongue now, so hard that I may have drawn blood. This shit is so funny, but I’m not stupid enough to get in Pea’s line of fire. Not when she’s on one.

“Oh no, Conner McKenna, don’t try and move the focus away from you. This is
your
house, not theirs. You can’t act like a friggin twelve-year-old then tell me that you want another child. Especially, when the one we have is only a few months old!” She slams her hand down on the kitchen surface, which knocks into a plate, which then in turn slams into a glass which shatters.

“Well, now you’re breaking things,” Con says with a smirk.

Stupid fuck.

“That’s it, we’re breaking up…no wedding, no more kids. I’m going to be a single parent…but at least I’ll have my fucking dishes, my handbags, and my sanity!” Pea mutters.

I have both my hands over my mouth and nose now, I’m struggling not to burst into a fit of giggles. Pea’s ranting—although justified—is so funny.

Just then Eleanor cries and Pea stomps into the lounge. We’re all quiet, so can hear her clearly.

“Hey Mama’s little baby, how’s my girl. Mummy loves you,” she coos.

“She used to talk to me like that,” Con moans.

“Seriously?” Saul questions with a raised eyebrow. “If that’s true dude, then you have bigger problems than a freshly paintballed kitchen,” Saul says wearing a shit-eating grin.

“Fuck you,” Con mutters.

“Don’t mean to interrupt this little lovefest, but maybe now is the time to leave?” Dane asks.

“Shit, don’t leave me with her!” Con moans.

“You asked her to marry you,” Saul replies smiling.

“Little Con does far too much decision making,” Con says shaking his head while looking down at his crotch as we all disappear out the side door.

Walking back to our cars laughing, I watch Dane. He’s happy. Well happier. He’s seemed so sad lately. So lost. Maybe just making a decision has helped him focus. I walk over and hug him. His return embrace is strong and safe.

“Dane,” I whisper looking up to him. “I want to ask you something?”

He says nothing, just waits for me to continue, “I’ve spoken to Saul about this and he’s in agreement.” At my words, he arches one eyebrow. “I haven’t got a dad, obviously, and I know you want to stand with Saul, you know as his brother. But I was hoping, well, you can say no—”

“Tink.” His one word helps me to breathe again and I look back into his eyes.

“I love you Dane. You’re the best person I know. Don’t tell Saul I said that.” I watch the corner of his mouth tip up. “I want nothing more than for you to get your Nova back. You deserve it.” His lips thin, but I plug on. “Walk me down the aisle. Please?” I ask. Watching him is fascinating at times. Like right now, when he lets his guard slip and all you see is beauty.

“Tink, of course. I’d be honoured.” He pulls me back in for another hug.

“All right brother. I need to get my woman home and you need to pack your shit to get your woman back,” Saul says with a smile on his face.

Dane lets me go and pulls Saul in for a hug. I see him whisper something in Saul’s ear, but I can’t hear it. Whatever it is, it makes Saul swallow a couple of times and brings a lump to my throat just watching it.

Dane silently walks the few steps to his car, he beeps the locks and opens the door. Looking back at us he says, “I’m getting her back. I’ll find Nova again, even if it means I have to battle the demons with my bare hands.” Then he slips in the car and drives away.

Turning to Saul, I murmur, “What do you think he meant?”

Saul smiles. “When you love someone, they mean a lot. When your existence depends on that person…well, you’d walk through hell to bring them back if you had to. I think my big brother just threw down. Now, he just needs to do that with her. Come on, let’s get you home, I want to lose myself in you for a few hours.”

I smile at my future husband and feel very lucky to already have my person.

As I lay in bed, I think about so much that I struggle to sleep.

I’m glad I spoke to Saul and Soph yesterday and visited with all my family today. They know I’m going out to New York. They know I’m going after Nova.

My Nova.
If she still exists.

Either way, I’ve decided and I’m going. If I can’t find her, then I’ll have to get to know Libby instead. I can’t be hollow anymore. Fucking these faceless women over the years has been fun, but unfulfilling. Now I want more. Whatever
more
I can get.

It’s good that I’m able to look into this missing disk situation too. If I get somewhere with Nova then this life, it will have to end. I can’t continue to do this. I couldn’t put her in danger. But I’ll have to make sure everyone knows that when I get out, I’m out. That’s it. If they ever try to come for Nova, I’ll kill them. There’s no question. And I’ll make it as painful as possible. Not too much pain that they will pass out, but enough to make them cry and piss themselves while they slip away.

Closing my eyes and laying my head back on the pillow, I feel anger throbbing through my body and nobody has even threatened Nova. They’d be stupid to. But the truth is, right now I’m in the game so everyone is as safe as can be. It’s when I get out that I’ll have to be cautious. That’s when people will think I’ve gone soft, and let my defences down. That’s when they might come. I have to stop that before it happens. But first I have to actually get Nova back. Then I’ll fuck her for a straight twenty-four hours. Only then will I deal with the rest.