Free Always (Spiral of Bliss #5) by Nina Lane Page B

you can have extra whipped cream on your hot chocolate.”
    “Sweet!” Nicholas jumps to his feet and follows her a short distance away, where they start tossing the Frisbee back and forth.
    Bella busies herself meticulously plucking grapes off the stem and arranging them into a pile. I watch her, struck anew by how much she looks like Liv, right down to the shape of her eyes. She’s like Liv in her strength too, her pursuit in getting what she wants, only Bella is more vocal and stubborn. Liv’s strength is quieter, but no less profound.
    I turn my attention from my daughter to my wife. Liv is laughing, her ponytail flying behind her as she runs after the Frisbee.
    She jumps to catch it, her beautiful body arching like a rainbow. She’s wearing yoga pants and a faded King’s University shirt that clings to her torso, outlining every curve. Her hips. Her rear. Her waist. Her breasts.
    Her breasts. Her full, perfect, gorgeous breasts.
    Pain and terror seize my chest, so hard that for a second I can’t breathe. The world darkens. Liv vanishes from my line of sight.
    There’s a soft touch on my arm. My daughter’s voice filters through the dull roar in my ears. I inhale and focus on her. She’s holding out a fistful of grapes.
    “Gapes, Daddy,” she announces.
    “Thanks, honey.” I take a few grapes and rest my hand on her hair, trying to calm the sudden racing of my heart.
    “He won.” Liv returns to us, her cheeks flushed with exertion and her eyes bright. “Extra whipped cream for Nicholas.”
    “Me too,” Bella shouts.
    “Of course.” Liv bends to pick Bella up and looks at me. “You, professor?”
    “I’ll have some of yours.”
    “Then I’d better get extra whipped cream too,” she says with a smile. “C’mon, kids. Order up.”
    The three of them head for the hot chocolate stand. It’s so ordinary—a family of four having a picnic and hot chocolate in the park. How can something so normal feel so menacing?
    “Hey, man.”
    I glance up, lifting a hand to shade my eyes from the glare of the setting sun. Archer is standing in a shadow, his hands loosely on his hips.
    “Saw you from the parking lot,” he says, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m meeting Kelsey for dinner at Azteca.”
    “Good food there.”
    “You just hanging out?”
    “Yeah. Not a bad night for a picnic.” I nod to where Liv and the kids are standing in line. “And hot chocolate.”
    “I’ll wait and say hi.” Archer glances at his watch. “I’m early anyway.”
    He sits beside me. I fight the urge to move away. Archer and I have been on good terms the past few years, but we still don’t hang out much. And right now I don’t want him around.
    I especially don’t want to talk to him. I can’t stand the thought that I might hint something is wrong. And if I give voice to this horror… even accidentally… then it’s out in the world. Then it’s real.
    “How’s the fan club?” I ask, figuring that’s safe territory. “Kelsey up in arms about the groupies?”
    “Nah, I think she likes the publicity it’s bringing to the show.” Archer helps himself to a few potato chips. “The marriage proposals are weird though.”
    “You’re getting marriage proposals?”
    “Yeah, from random women.” He shakes his head with a laugh. “Ironic that women I’ve never met want to marry me, but I still can’t get Kelsey to say
yes
.”
    “You asked her again?”
    “Not yet. I’ve been waiting all these years for her to bring it up, but she hasn’t.”
    “Maybe she’ll come around now that you’re in such high demand.”
    “Or maybe I need to fight for her instead of wait for her.” He scratches his head. “She’s a tough cookie. She does her best work when she’s challenged. Even provoked.”
    I watch Liv as she turns to hand Nicholas a paper cup of cocoa. Her ponytail swings like a long, thick ribbon behind her. She’s challenged herself in countless ways over the years, and she’s fought