For now, she could say, and mean, what he wanted to hear.
"I love you, Liam."
~~~~
DESTRY HAD AN appointment with the police. However, before she told the authorities what happened, she needed to tell her family. They gathered on the top floor, in the room she and sisters claimed as their own when they were little girls.
The room didn't get very much use anymore. Now and then, when they needed to feel an extra sense of togetherness, they still met and remembered. Today was one of those times.
"We either need bigger chairs or smaller fellas," Calder chuckled.
The furniture they appropriated from the nearby attic, perfect when they were children, was dwarfed by four full-grown men. Still, they managed. Bryce sat on Zach's lap. Andi and Noah snuggled on the old blue loveseat. Adam sat on the floor with Calder by his side.
Destry took the overstuffed chair. Liam on the arm, his hand clasping hers.
"Start from the beginning," Bryce told her.
"We already know how Miller and Hunter got Destry into the car," Calder reminded her twin.
"We haven't heard Destry's version. Besides, every story needs a proper build to the climactic ending."
Bryce was right, Destry realized. Without her sister's reminder, she would have blurted out the highlights, the heck with the subtleties.
For years, she kept her adventures to herself. Partly out of loyalty to her customers. Partly in deference to her sisters. Mostly, because the stories were hers to hold tight, little secrets that did no harm to anyone.
After last night, she wouldn't need therapy or wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. As she told her sisters, and Liam, she really was fine.
No, the need to tell the whole story wasn't about her, but about all of them. What started months ago was finally over. Now, was the time for closure.
Destry began slowly. She didn't want to leave anything out. Occasionally, someone asked a question for clarification, but for the most part, they let her speak, uninterrupted. Until she came to the part about Billie and the baby.
Destry could tell her sisters wanted to say something, but the shock of the revelations left them speechless. At least at first. By the time Destry finished, they had regained their voices.
"I can't believe Billie thought she could pull off such an underhanded deception." Bryce looked stunned and angry. Her expression echoed everyone else's.
"She almost did. If the baby were a boy, we wouldn't have questioned his paternity," Destry pointed out. "A male heir born with Benedict blood. He would have rightly inherited the family fortune."
"And Hunter would have been in charge with no one the wiser," Calder sighed. "Wow."
"Until Billie inevitably grew tired of him and spilled the beans." Andi's green eyes grew wide as the truth sank in. "Hunter might have killed her to keep the truth hidden."
"Luckily, we'll never have to worry about him or his machinations again."
"Another girl." Bryce shook her head. "I wonder who the father is."
Destry thought for a moment and smiled.
"If Billie follows her pattern, we'll find out as soon as our new sister gets her name."
“If I knew what he had planned for you.” Liam’s expression was hard, his blue eyes like cold steel. “I should have ripped off the bastard’s balls. One and a time.”
“Justifiable castration,” Zach nodded.
No one argued, least of all Destry. When she threatened Hunter with the same fate, albeit with her knife, not her hands, she meant every word.
“Do you really think he would have…?” Calder swallowed and shuddered. “Rape? He’s crazy. Right?”
“His lawyers will probably try and argue his lack of sound mind,” Adam grumbled. “Hopefully, Hunter’s ego won’t let them.”
“For tonight, I don’t care.” Destry looked at her sisters one by one. “We won.”
Andi, Bryce, and Calder nodded. They were still a little shell-shocked. The worst was over. Ingo Hunter tried to tear them apart. What he couldn’t know, could never understand?
If they stood together, nothing and no one could take down the Benedict sisters.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
~~~~
LIAM LAUGHED WHEN, as everyone else headed toward the kitchen for a snack, Destry pulled him away and into the sitting room. She loved the sound. She loved him. Today was about clearing the air and moving forward. Until she spoke to him alone and told him everything, they couldn't go anywhere.
"Can't wait to be alone with me?" he teased.
"We need to talk."
"I thought we already did." Puzzled, Liam frowned. "Did you stop loving me somewhere between the sixth floor and the first?"
"My feelings haven't changed. They never will."
"Good." He sighed with relief. "Had me worried for a second."
Destry took a step away from Liam. Then another, and another. She needed a little distance to keep her head clear until she finished. If he touched her, she might lose her nerve.
"My feelings won't change, Liam. Neither will I."
"Good. I love you exactly as you are
"I believe you do. Now." She looked him in the eye. "What about when you want us to go to a party? Or a movie. Or hang out around the house and watch TV. But I'm not here because I was called out of town on a potentially dangerous job?"
"Would you mind if I went to the party alone? Or the movie? If I invited Zach or one of the other family members to join me in front of the TV?"
"Of course not."
"Great." Liam shrugged. "Problem solved."
He didn't understand. Destry regathered her thoughts and tried again.
"You'll want to get married, if not to me, to someone, sometime in the future."
"What do you mean, if not to you? Who else would I marry except the woman I love?"
Why did she have such a tough time expressing herself? Destry took another deep breath. Liam deserved the truth, she reminded herself. For his sake and for hers.
"I don't want to marry you, Liam. I don't want to marry anyone."
"Ever?"
Destry shook her head, then rushed on.
"If you asked, I would spend the rest of my life with you."
Liam rubbed the back of his neck, obviously confused.
"Commitment without the vows?"
"You want vows? I'll say them on a hill, or by an ocean. And, I'll mean every one. But…"
"Nothing legal."
"A piece of paper doesn't keep people together." She placed Liam's hand over her heart. "What's inside here does." She tapped his temple. "And here."
"Destry, I—"
"Not now." She placed a finger to his lips. "Take some time to think about what I said. Try to understand. Then decide. I'll be here."
"Will you?"
"Yes." Destry walked into his arms, held tight, and sighed when he returned her embrace. "As long as you need."
He paused at the door.
"I love you, Destry."
"I love you, too"
Destry watched Liam go. She said her piece the best way she knew how. Now, all she could do was wait.
~~~~
A WEEK PASSED. Destry turned down several interesting jobs without a second thought. She made Liam a promise to be here. If humanly possible, she would never let him down.
Restless and out of sorts, Destry started to get on everyone's nerves. She didn't blame them. She wasn't terribly thrilled with herself either.
"Why don't you go for a run?" Andi suggested.
"Ran ten miles this morning."
"Then a walk. Get a little fresh air, the carpet will thank you."
Destry looked down, smiling in spite of herself. She hadn't worn a hole in the rug from her pacing, but she might if she continued. Deciding to give Andi a break, she nodded.
"I'll be out in the garden."
"Good. Take your time. Lunch won
't be ready for another hour."
Take your time. Destry said the same thing to Liam. She walked through the fall-blooming roses, around the bed of colorful mums, and past her favorite fountain, the one with the cherub in the center. She didn't see any of it.
Apparently, Liam decided to take her at her word. The decision he had to make was big. But come on.
"How much thinking does one man need to do?"
"A lot."
Destry froze. She closed her eyes, took a breath, said a prayer, and turned.
"Hi."
"Hello."
Liam. His impossibly blue eyes locked with hers. Destry felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. Wishful thinking? Or did he look as though his nerves were a little jangly as well?
"You're here."
"Told you I would be." Destry's smile was tentative. "You can trust me to keep my word, Liam."
"Can I trust you with my heart?"
"Always."
"Then I have no choice."
Liam took Destry's hand, kissed the palm, and lowered himself to one knee.
Don't, she begged him with her eyes. Please don't make me hurt you when I have to say no.
"Destry Benedict." Liam brought her hand to his heart. "I need your answer to four simple words."
"Liam, I—"
"I have the right to ask. And you have the right to say yes, or no. Okay?"
She never cried. Almost never. But the prickle behind her eyes felt a lot like tears. If Liam needed to ask, she wouldn't stop him. She bit the inside of her lip and nodded.
"Ms. Benedict. Please, never marry me?"
"Never?" Destry gasped.
"Never, ever. If you try, I'll leave you flat."
Laughing, her tears fell—tears of joy. Destry threw herself into Liam's arms, and as always, he caught her. She kissed his jaw, and his chin, and the end of his nose. When she would have kissed his lips, he stopped her.
"You didn't give me an answer."
Hadn't she? What a fool!
"My answer is yes, Mr. Stanton. Yes, for now, and forever."
EPILOGUE
~~~~
NOVEMBER IN ARUBA. Destry lifted her face to the sun and smiled. She hadn't stopped since the day Liam proposed to her in the garden. Please, never marry me? Not the four words most women hoped to hear. But for Destry, they were like sweet music to her ears.
"Don't forget your sunscreen," Andi warned as she joined her at the water's edge.
"I'm covered from head to toe." Liam helped her with all the hard to reach places. "Where are Bryce and Calder?"
"They're coming. Calder forgot her sunglasses, and Bryce was on the phone. You won't believe the latest Billie news."
"Do I want to know?"
Three weeks earlier, their mother had given birth to a beautiful girl. Billie named her newest daughter Iris after the flower, not the baby's father. The tradition was broken. Destry and her sisters could only speculate as to why. Billie wouldn't say.
In fact, Billie stayed mum about anything to do with little Iris' paternity. Perhaps she didn't know. Or, the man was married. Or not interested in a family. Whatever the reason, until their sister was ready to ask, they'd keep their questions to themselves.
"Might as well tell me." Destry braced herself for the worst.
"Billie ran off and got married. To Bryce's father."
Dermott Bryce. The man who had loved Billie the longest. He pined for her since high school, had an affair with her while she was married to Calder's father. She strung him along for years. But, he never wavered in his devotion.
"Guess Dermott was due." Destry shook her head. "I don't know whether to feel happy for him or sorry."
"Why don't we start with happy?" Bryce said as she and Calder joined them. She put her arm around Destry's waist and looked out at the ocean. "Dad is over the moon. He can't wait to spoil little Iris rotten."
"Do you think he's…?"
"Our sister's father? Swears he's not and doesn't care. Where Billie is concerned, Dermott has a blind spot ten miles wide."
"How are you, Destry?" Calder slid her sunglasses into place. "After your father's call last night, you had a lot to process."
"We all did."
Miller finally took Destry's advice and made a deal with the FBI. Once he started to talk, he couldn't stop. From mob bosses to thugs, he spilled almost fifty years of information. He knew more than she imagined—enough to put away a few bad guys and get him a prime spot in witness protection.
"Strange to think I'll never see him again."
"Strange, but not heartbreaking?" Andi asked with an understanding smile.
"No." Destry wouldn't miss the drama.
"Best news of all" Calder sighed. "Ingo Hunter is well and truly out of our lives forever."
Kidnapping charges turned out to be the least of Hunter's worries. Once they had him in custody, a few not so subtle hints put the feds on the trail of his international properties and the papers he might have hidden inside. Money laundering, embezzlement, various kinds of fraud, not to mention the oldie but goodie, tax evasion.
Guilty of a laundry list of crimes, after the U.S. government was through with him, Ingo Hunter would never see the light of day again.
"Such a relief." Bryce made a happy humming sound. "We can breathe again. No clouds, no worries. No Billie, for the time being. Nothing but blue skies ahead."
"Don't get too complacent," Destry warned her. "Remember, we have three weddings in the not so distant future."
"Mrs. Finch is at the helm. Nothing would dare go wrong."
The sisters, arm in arm, laughed. They were in love, in Aruba, and incredibly happy. Life for the Benedict sisters was good. Better than good. As close to perfect as possible.
~~~~
"GENTLEMEN?" LIAM, WITH Zach, Adam, and Noah by his side, pointed toward the beach and four bikini-clad beauties. "I give you the world's greatest natural wonder. The Benedict sisters. And, lucky bastards that we are, they're ours."
"Breathtaking," Adam agreed.
"Awe inspiring," Zach nodded.
"Makes you wonder," Noah asked as he clinked his bottle of beer with those of his friends. "Why the hell are we up here when our women are down there?"
None of them could come up with a good answer.
Liam held back a little as the other men approached the sisters. He still wasn't used to the idea that Destry was his. All his.
Love was an interesting emotion. Just when he thought his heart couldn't hold another ounce, he discovered he was wrong. Every day, his love grew stronger, bolder, more complex and, oddly, easier.
All doubts, if he had any, were gone. Destry opened her arms and her life to him without reservation. When he could, he accompanied her on her adventures. If he had to stay home, he worried but knew she would always come home to him. They traveled for pleasure as much as possible. The rest of the time, they were content to stay at home and simply be together.
Destry wasn't the woman of his dreams. She was better, so much better.
Sensing his gaze, Destry turned. With one smile, plain and simple, she lit up his world.
"You know what I love most about warm, tropical weather?"
"What?" he asked, pulling her close.
"How much of your skin I have to enjoy." She kissed his bare chest as her hands roamed his back.
"Same thought occurred to me.” Liam grinned as he caressed the curve of her hip. “But you know what I love most?”
"What?" She grinned, certain of the answer.
"You."
With a happy sigh, Destry rested her head on his shoulder. Liam was exactly where he belonged. Their future was limitless. Just like their love.
Be sure to catch up with all the Benedict sisters. The entire series is available.
One Way or Another—Calder and Adam
mybook.to/Onewayoranother
Two of a Kind—Bryce and Zach
&nbs
p; mybook.to/Quartet3
Three Wishes—Andi and Noah
mybook.to/sistersquartet3
~~~~
And look for a special SISTERS QUARTET CHRISTMAS love story.
Sometimes a minor, but vital, character begs for his own story. You briefly met Trey Stanton—Ingo Hunter’s son, in FOUR SIMPLE WORDS Now, learn what really happened to him all those years ago when he and Liam were roommates. And find out what his life has been like since. Romance is on the way in the form of a beautiful woman in distress. When Trey meets Olivia, sparks fly. As do bullets. Their lives, and hearts, will never be the same.
Look for Trey and Olivia’s holiday romance, FIVE MINUTES MORE, in November.
TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT YEAR’S BRAND-NEW BOOK SERIES. A SPIN-OFF THE BESTSELLING HART OF ROCK AND ROLL.
COMING IN FEBRUARY
ALMOST PARADISE (Rock and Roll Forever Book One)
They were the hottest band in the world.
Everything they ever dreamed about was finally theirs. Sold out tours, number one records, fortune and fame.
Nothing could get in their way to super-stardom.
But, they were young and unprepared for the dark side of success. The fighting. The jealousy. Drugs. Cheating. Lies. The outside pressure finally tore them apart from within.
One woman has the task to bring the group back together. She was with them from the start. Their friend and confidant, she knows their secrets.
Once, they were her family. Her best friends. One of them is the only man she ever loved.
Can an old man’s dying wish do the impossible? Or is it too late to heal old wounds and mend broken hearts?
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Four Simple Words: A Badass and the Billionaires Contemporary Romance (The Sisters Quartet Book 4) Page 25
