Free Escape to Heaven (Heaven on Earth Book 1) by Reana Malori Page A

must have been fully recovered, because he was back in the room and his disposition was as sunny as ever.
    “Yes I do, Ethan! He asked me out and I’m going.”
    “Dammit, Adele, this isn’t funny. How do you know it isn’t him making these calls to you? He may be some psycho who latched on to you, for all we know.”
    She laughed. She didn’t mean to, but the looks on their faces—all of them except Noah—were hilarious. They looked as if they’d just swallowed some nasty-tasting medicine.
    “Adele, this isn’t a joke. What do we really know about him?”
    “I know it’s not funny and that’s not what I’m laughing about. I’m sorry. Listen, I like him and I’m going on this date. Whether you guys like it or not, it’s about time I tried to move forward. You can’t stop me, Ethan.”
    “Just watch me! I’ll lock you in the house.” He was yelling by the time he finished. She stood toe to toe with him, not backing down one bit.
    “You may be big, Ethan, but I swear I’ll kick your ass,” she yelled back at him. “I didn’t tell you this so you could make me a prisoner in my own home. I just wanted you to know what was going on.” Adele could feel her eyes well with tears, and she prayed they would not fall. Crying was not an option. She could not—would not—show weakness right now.
    “Adele, don’t fight me on this. I will do whatever it takes to protect you, even from yourself. We don’t know this guy Stefano,” he sneered. He turned to Daniel and spoke again. “While you’re checking out Joey, why don’t you run the stats on this guy Stefano? I want to make sure we have the full skinny on him as well.”
    “Come on, Ethan. We’re going to be in a public place for dinner. Do you think I’m stupid enough to make another bad decision?” She turned to Tony, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange. “Tony, help me out here. You know I can’t hide out and stop living my life because of this. If it is Joey, we’re already prepared for that possibility. If it’s not, hiding out isn’t going to make whoever it is go away.” She turned back to Ethan. “If you want to protect me, fine, but I won’t hide. I want my life back.”
    He attempted to stare her down and make her back off, but she just gave it to him right back. It was time for her to stand on her own two feet. Sure, they had protected her when she needed it, but now it was time they realized she could hold her own. The woman they’d known before was dead and buried, and they had better get used to it. She noticed Ethan glance over in Noah’s direction and saw some of the tension release from his body. She wasn’t sure what type of communication had just passed between them, but she was happy for it nonetheless.
    “When did you stop needing us, Adele?” He whispered his question so low that she almost missed it. The agony in his voice brought tears to her eyes, and her love for her family grew even stronger.
    She was speechless and taken aback by his comment. That wasn’t the situation at all, and she never wanted them to think she didn’t need them, because she did. She would always need them. She loved them and no matter what happened, they were hers and she wasn’t giving them back. She placed her hand on his arm.
    “Ethan, I will always need you. Never doubt that. I’m just ready to move on and start living again. I like Stefano, and I want to get to know him and he wants to get to know me. You can check him out if you want—I won’t complain. But if he checks out okay, then you have to back off and let me enjoy myself. I’ll even let you know where I’ll be on Wednesday. Stefano already knows I was going to tell you. Okay? Agreed?”
    He mumbled something under his breath, but finally gave her the answer she needed. “Fine, agreed.”
    She turned to the other four, knowing they wouldn’t be as difficult to deal with as Ethan was. Capturing them all in her gaze, she repeated her demand. “That