Survival Clause, стр. 83

Behind it, like an afterthought, came a blue SUV. I blinked at it. “Is that Dix?”

It was Dix. My brother got out of the SUV, still in the fancy suit he wears to work—probably the same suit he’d worn to go with Rafe and Bob to Daffodil Hill Farm this morning.

While the two paramedics scrambled down from their vehicle, and converged on Yung and Jacob Drimmel, checking pulses and doing triage, my brother stood there beside the SUV taking in the scene. After a few moments, he focused on Grimaldi, and I could hear the crackling from where I was standing. She could see it, too, because she fell back a step when he started toward her.

“Uh-oh,” I said. The corner of Rafe’s mouth turned up. And then we both fell silent as my brother grabbed Grimaldi, shook her once, and kissed her. And kissed her. And kept kissing her.

“About time,” Rafe said after a few seconds had passed.

I nodded. Yes. It was.

And then things got even better. Dix let Grimaldi go, and dropped down to one knee, right there in the middle of the crime scene. And while I couldn’t hear what he said, it was obvious to everyone what he was doing.

I held my breath while I waited to see Grimaldi’s response. And while I couldn’t hear that, either, I saw her nod. And saw Dix surge to his feet and grab her, and plant another kiss on her.

Rafe slung an arm around my shoulders. “Congratulations,” he told me, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. “You lost a friend and gained a sister.”

“You, too.” After a second, I added, “I can’t wait to see how Mother responds to this one.”

He smirked. “It’ll be nice to have someone else take some of the heat off me at the Thanksgiving table.”

“Grimaldi might be used to lasagna for Thanksgiving. I wonder how Mother will handle that?”

“With her usual finesse,” Rafe said, and gave me a nudge. “C’mon. Let’s be the first to welcome your brother’s fiancée to the family.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” I answered, and stepped forward.