Page 98 of Wild Fires

Huffing, I rolled my eyes. “Go.”

He dressed in a dashing black tux complete with a bow tie. He was so handsome that I nearly retracted my insistence to go to this thing at all.

On the drive over, I reached for his hand. “Maybe we only need to stay a few minutes.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma'am.”

Arriving, he parked, and then jumped out and ran around to open the door for me and offer his hand before the valet could do it.

“Ready?” he asked.

I'd never attended one of Ginny Davenport's notorious garden parties, but I'd certainly heard enough about them. I had this unfounded fear that I wouldn't know anyone there. That was dumb because I knew just about everyone in Ravenden.

Tonight, I would stand there and smile and play the part of Ryan's new arm candy. Though I supposed new wasn't the right word as he'd never been one to escort women around in public before.

And now there would never be another, I thought to myself, unable to hide the smile from my face.

Helena and Edward came to greet us almost immediately. His parents were warm and welcoming to me, and I hated knowing they hadn't initially been so kind to Kim. It made me understand just a bit of why Carson had done what he'd done. But then again, life wasn't always fair, and we could learn to live with that fact, or we could spend life jaded and angry.

I knew better than most how hard life could be. There was nothing fair about a young girl losing her parents so suddenly. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, I chose to move forward. It wasn't always easy, but now that I had Ryan in my life things were certainly looking up.

Ryan excused himself for a moment, leaving me with a quick kiss. Gia was quick to swoop in and rescue me. Kim and Dean soon followed.

“What are you grinning at?” Gia asked him.

“Nothing really. It's just nice to see Ryan so happy.”

“Nothing, huh. Well just think about this. I'm mated, Elias is mated, and now Ryan's mated. Guess that just leaves you. Looks like your turn at happiness is coming next, little brother.”

His jaw dropped, and then he scowled before walking away in a huff.

The three of us cracked up laughing.

“You guys aren't going to miss game night this week, right?” Kim asked.

I rolled my eyes. “We'll be there. Andrew will never let me live it down otherwise.”

As the girls started to talk and make plans, I looked at them both and bit my lip to keep from crying. I didn't just have Ryan in my life, but sisters and brothers too. It was more than I'd ever hoped for. I had a true family once more.

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