Chapter 305

Bonus 5: The Tease

Enzo

Dust and sweat clung to my skin as I wrestled with the new living room furniture.

It was a final touch to the renovations we’d been slogging through for months, transforming our once dull house into a vibrant home. Despite the exhaustion tugging at my muscles, a sense of satisfaction washed over me as I looked around the house. Our house.

Just as I was finishing up on the final bench for our massive dining room table, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

A picture of Nina lit up the screen, her smile making my lips curve in response. “Hey, love,” I answered, using my cleanest elbow to press the speaker button.

“Enzo,” she started, and I could already hear the hesitation in her voice.

“I… uh… had a little run-in with a raccoon. I maybe… sort of… kind of got myself stuck in a ditch.”

The last part of her sentence came out all at once like an avalanche. I could tell immediately that she was embarrassed. And I was a man; it was my job to capitalize on her embarrassment. What good would it be if I didn’t tease my fiancee a little?

out laughing. A raccoon?” 1 chortled. “Are you telling me you swerved off of the road because

Nina huffed on the

and independent woman who pretty much single-handedly saved the entire town of Mountainview from the Crescents, survived on her own with a bullet hole in her

Nina, I don’t know if I should leave you alone anymore,” I continued to tease as I stood

you to come pick me up,” she said, ignoring my jabs. “And we

smother my laughter as my voice took on a more serious tone. “I’m on my way. You’re

relief. “Just artnoyed, both at myself and that damn bastard

prepared to leave. Just as I was heading out the door, however, a glint caught my eye. I frowned as I approached the little hallway table that sat near

face. I missed her. It

my mom died, I still missed him. I wanted nothing more than to make up

we made on this house; my mother likely would have loved the bright colors and the eclectic furniture. I think that my father would have liked it, too, although

for him to punish himself, a way to convey the feeling in his heart that his life had become void of color since my mom

the photograph down and made a mental note

the nearly finished

to the car. Not even ten minutes down the road, I spotted her. As I pulled up next to Nina’s car in the ditch, I found her sitting on the hood

sulky expression struck me as comical, and I couldn’t suppress

but I decided to use it rather than let it sit in the

bother to steal it, but then again, they didn’t seem to steal much of anything. The act of ransacking my dad’s house was more of a way to show their disrespect than anything else. They may as well have spat on his grave. But I supposed that it was a good thing

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