Only You (Stevens Book 12)

Chapter 19

"I don't think this is a good idea, Beth," Mave said as she hung back from the rest of the women in her family.

Beth, Mave's twin, looked over her shoulder and recognized the hesitancy in her sister, which was not at all in keeping with her character.

"It's just...the last time I was here, it didn't end well, and I ended up in the hospital."

They were at the restaurant again, where Mave had been drugged. It may have been foolish to agree an hour ago, but now that the time had come, she was hesitant to enter. The idea was that Mave should visit the restaurant while surrounded by her female tribe. They would keep her safe in their circle so she could take her time determining if her kidnapper could be Tammy.

Of course, Sam and Henry knew nothing about it, but they would as soon as Lincoln, her constant shadow, told on them.

The family was delighted that Sam and Mave had formally announced their engagement. They all insisted that they knew it was an inevitable conclusion to the most extended romance in the family's history.

Sam had mentioned the idea of an immediate wedding, admitting that, on top of wanting her as his wife as soon as possible, there was also the likelihood that Angel would try to intervene. Mave and all the women in the family were outraged that he would want to ruin a wedding day with such a thing, and he was told, whether he agreed or not, that they could have a lavish engagement party but that the wedding would wait until Mave's kidnapper was no longer a threat.

So that put Mave where she was now, about to enter the restaurant with the female family members who had descended on Savannah to help keep her safe and now plan an engagement party to rival all engagement parties.

"We got your back, Mave," Beth insisted.

"Henry and Sam couldn't keep me safe, but you think you can?" Mave shook her head, her heart racing and her breathing faster than normal. Her hands felt clammy, and her head tingled, letting her know that danger was near.

She couldn't be sure if the danger was real or if it was just her anxiety playing with her head.

"Mave, I promise you, one of us is better than Henry and Sam combined, and together we're pretty much invincible." Beth linked her arm through Maves. We have a private room to eat in, and our only server is Tammy. You and I will order each other drinks, so if someone tries to drug the drink, I'll get it instead." Beth reminded her of the plan.

"I don't like that either!" Mave exclaimed.

"It's alright. With two kids and Wyatt, I'm exhausted all the time. It would be nice to have an undisrupted nap." Beth was trying to make light of what was a very dangerous situation.

"But what if it's not something to put me to sleep, but something to kill me!" Mave shook her head. "No, it's a chance I can't take. If we're going to do this, then I'm ordering my own drink."

"Fine, and we have Aggie with us as long as she doesn't go into labor. She brought the first aid kit." Beth squeezed Mave's arm against her side. "You got this, and it's the only way you can be sure."

"Sam and Henry think that Angel has been wearing a disguise. If that's the case, I won't be able to recognize her anyway." Mave took a shaky breath but let Beth lead her into the restaurant, through the bar, and into a private party room at the back of the restaurant.

Their party consisted of Mave and her sister Beth, her cousins Fiona and Aggie, her mother Alice, and her aunts Lizzy, Laura, Cassie, and Trisha. The star power and beauty in the restaurant drew more than a few interested eyes, and I would soon be all over social media where they were eating.