Thirteen (Love by Numbers Book 4) (32 page)

I
t’s been just over six months since the night that Wayne, my soon to be official ex-husband, broke into the apartment I shared with my sister and held her against her will. Six long months of waiting for this day to come.

Yesterday I stood up in court to give my evidence against him, and Nic is due to give hers today. The court offered for her to appear via video link, but Nic was determined to face the man who tried and failed to take something away from her, from us.

Sat next to me in the packed courtroom is Harry and on my other side are both my parents. We can see the back of Wayne’s head from where we sit but I have no urge to ever look at him. He’s nothing to me, less than nothing. I’m here today for my sister and to make sure that man is out of our lives for good.

When the court comes into session and my sister takes her place in the witness box, I heave a sigh of relief. She looks on edge but not out of control, unlike the girl that had a full-blown panic attack earlier this morning, resulting in her new boyfriend, Blake, calling me to ask for help.

Yes, you heard right, Blake Henshaw, aka Doctor Hottie, has been a permanent fixture in Nic’s life for the last few months. He’s the man responsible for her wanting a place of her own, and the main reason she’s as composed as she is up there today. He’s her
extra-
ordinary.

My
extra-
ordinary is currently rubbing his thumb over my knuckles, giving me strength without even knowing it.

He’s my best friend, someone I laugh with every single day.

We’re both still living at Nate’s; I never moved out. Truth be told, Harry wouldn’t let me, not that I made much effort to go. We thought about getting a place together but with Nate away so much, it seemed silly to bother, plus we both get along well with him and Liv, his girlfriend. She’s become one of my closest friends. We get together weekly for some ‘girls time’ and are often joined by Emma, when she’s home, Cari and her bestie Laura-Nel. It’s a new thing for me to have a group of girlfriends. Sure, I have Bear and the guys at The Riot, who I still visit once a month, and I have Nicola, but actual girlfriends have never been part of my life, until now, and I like it.

“She’s doing well,” Harry whispers into my ear and squeezes my hand tightly.

I nod, but keep my eyes on my sister, hoping she can feel my support,
our
support, from across the room. Sitting here and listening to her version of events, even though I’ve heard them before, is still just as heart breaking. I can hear my mother’s quiet sobs and my father’s murmured words of comfort and I lean into Harry needing that extra connection.

She doesn’t falter, though. She tells the details of that awful day so vividly that I’m sure every member of the jury feels like they lived it with her.

When the judge calls an end to the day, we all walk out of that courtroom a little numb. Tomorrow the jury decides what to do with all the evidence that is piled up against Wayne. Tomorrow, this part of my life finally reaches its conclusion and I can’t bloody wait to move on.

“Let’s find Nic; then you can take me home.” I kiss Harry on the cheek and go to say goodbye to my parents. Nicola and Blake are waiting for us in the lobby and after a lot of tears and hugs from our folks, she rushes up to me and squeezes me so tightly I fear for my ribs.

“That was bloody awful, Lils.”

“You were amazing, Nic. Honestly, amazing. I’m so proud of you.”

She pulls back to look into my face; her eyes wet with unshed tears, “I had some inspiration. You see, I know this girl who has always been the strongest, most determined, least fearful person I’ve ever known. She never shies away from the shit life throws at her; she deals with everything head on and does so with grace.” She smiles and when her cheeks rise with the effort, a lone tear spills down her face. “You won’t hear me say anything like this again, so make the most of it, but you’re my hero, Lils. You’ve always been my hero. Even when we were kids I wanted to be just like you.”

I laugh over the lump that has formed in my throat, “We’re twins, you have to want to be like me.”

She rolls her eyes and wipes at her cheeks, “I’m not talking about our obvious good looks.” She gives me a wink to let me know that the conversation is no longer a serious one. “I mean everything else, the whole package.” Her hand’s motion all around me and her eyes linger on Ally-tastic before locking with mine once more.

“He know how lucky he is?” She nods her head towards Harry, who is standing a few feet away talking to Blake. I mimic her motion and tip my chin towards her hot Doctor, “Does
he
know how lucky he is?”

She all but snorts and I swear it’s the first time I’ve seen her blush so hard. “Oh, he
knows.”

We stand side-by-side and stare at the men in our lives. Almost like they can sense our perusal, they both turn to look our way, matching smiles breaking out on their handsome faces when our eyes meet theirs.

“So… I was thinking…” Nic laces her arm through mine and walks us slowly towards our men.

“Uh-oh. That’s always dangerous.”

“Hush your mouth; this idea is brilliant. I realise it’s early days for us both, but I know what I want and it’s that man over there in the grey suit, and I don’t just mean in my bed, I mean forever. I guess you want the same?”

The guys are still far enough away not to hear our conversation and I can’t help but mess with her a bit, “Nah. He’s hot and all that but I only have eyes for the guy in the blue suit.”

She hip-checks me and I almost stumble until she giggles and wraps her arm around my waist.

“Anyway, before you started taking the piss, what I was saying was…”

“Oh, bloody spit it out would you? I hate it when you drag your crazy ideas out for effect.”

“Two words: Double wedding.”

This time I actually do stumble and end up sprawled on the floor, legs akimbo.

Harry is at my side in a flash. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

I take his hand as he wraps his arm around my waist and hauls me up off the floor. “I’m fine, I just… lost my balance for a second.”

I catch Nic’s eyes over his shoulder and she doesn’t look a bit phased by my fall, in fact, her face is smug as Blake pulls her in close to him. She gives me a little wave and calls out, “You know it’s the
best
idea ever. Love you long time.” Then she’s on her way out of the doors with a skip in her step.

“What was all that about?” Harry asks as we walk towards the doors, his hand a little tighter around my waist, probably from worrying I’m going to fall at his feet again.

I stutter but find the words, “Oh, nothing, you know how Nic gets with her crazy ideas.”

He seems content with my answer and we walk out of the courthouse, into the spring sunshine, hand in hand. He flags down the nearest taxi and seconds later we are heading home our hands still joined, his thumb once again caressing my skin.

I hear a beep and he manoeuvres himself so that he can grab his phone from his pocket without letting go of my hand. When he swipes the screen, he chuckles and hands his phone over to me.

The text says:

Double Wedding. Sort it out.

“The little…” I’m about to call my twin all the names under the sun and my finger hovers over the screen so I can do just that, but before I hit send the phone is snatched from my hand, turned off and placed back in his pocket.

“It’s never going to happen.” He says, staring straight ahead.

Five words that slay me.

I try and fail to hide my reaction, but the flinch of my arm as I try to pull back is a dead giveaway.

“It’s never going to happen because when that day comes, and I pray to fucking God it will, I’m not sharing you with anyone.”

My head spins towards his; did I just hear him right?

“You’re it for me, Lils and I hope you feel the same way.”

My smile is watery but I manage a nod.

His striking grey eyes meet and hold mine as he cups both my hands in his. “I want my entire future to be with you. I want to wake up every morning to your drool on my pillow-” I can’t help but laugh at his cheek. “-and Ally-tastic trying to trip me up as I stumble out of bed to take a leak.”

Yeah, that’s happened a few times, I really do need to remember to put her out of harm’s way.

“I want your deep brown eyes to be the first ones I see every day and the last thing I see before I go to sleep.”

My heart melts and I open my mouth to speak but he silences me with a finger to my lips.

“I
love
you, Lilah, and I know you adore me too. If I never hear you say it back, I’m okay with that, because being adored by you is enough for me.”

My mouth opens to protest but he silences me once more, “No, don’t say it because you think I need to hear it. I don’t. You’ll say it when the words can no longer be kept inside. When they demand to be spoken and not a second before…” He smiles his lopsided, half grin that melts me from the inside out. “and if you never feel the need to say them, that’s okay, because being adored by you makes me a luckier man than I have ever been in my entire life.”

Then he kisses me.

It’s slow, sweet and filled with the love he just professed.

I want to give the words back to him, but not now, not when he might think that they have been coerced. So instead, I say, “Take me home, Harry. Take me to bed and let me adore you forever.”

He rests his forehead against mine, and whispers, “How did I get so lucky to not only find you but get to keep you? My lucky number thirteen.”

I place my hands on both sides of his face and pull his lips to mine, “Because luck has nothing to do with it. You
see
what others don’t, and in this life, you get what you give.” His lips skate over mine but before he can claim my kiss, I add, “And you give
good,
Harry Brown. You give, so goddamn good.”

Thirteen months later…

T
he majestic calmness of the Meiji shrine is just as potent as it was the first time I came here. When I asked Lilah how she wanted to finally celebrate her divorce, knowing that Wayne would stay behind bars until he was old and grey, she said, “I want you to show me something amazing.”

So, I took a few weeks off work and I showed her the world.