A loud cheer goes up as I make my way back to Sven and Kai. When I reach them, I notice a man talking to Kai. He’s young—I would guess mid-twenties. He’s wearing a suit and his blond hair is pulled back into a ponytail. His posture is casual, but the expression on his face is anything but.

“We good?” I ask, stepping into the mix when the man presses his chest into Kai’s.

His eyes come to me and he looks me up and down before looking back at Kai. “Tell Myla I send my love,” the guy says, starting to walk off.

I put a hand to Kai’s chest when I see a look I’ve become familiar with over the last few weeks come across his face.

“You don’t even get to say my wife’s name!” Kai growls, grabbing the guy around the throat.

Wife? I look at Kai’s hand and notice for the first time that a very thick band is wrapped around his left ring finger.

“What’s going on here?” Paulie Sr. asks, walking up and putting a hand on Kai’s shoulder.

“Just making a few things clear,” Kai says, shoving the guy away from him. The guy looks like he wants to say something before thinking better of it and walking away. “Let’s get the f**k out of here,” Kai says, shrugging off Senior’s hand.

I look at the older man and give him a chin lift before leaving the warehouse.

“You okay, man?” Sven asks Kai, and he nods, but I notice that his body is still tight and his fingers have started rolling his wedding band around his knuckle. I don’t say anything, but I do watch closely as he and Frank have some kind of silent conversation. Sven looks at me and shakes his head, saying, “I’m gonna call and have the plane ready.”

“Thanks, man,” I tell him, sitting back. I pull out my phone, sending a message to Autumn, telling her that I love her and I will be home soon. It didn’t take long for her reply to come through. The simple “I miss you” message has me smiling to myself. A few more hours and I would be home with my woman, leaving all this shit behind us.

Chapter 11

Future, Meet Past

Autumn

I look in the mirror and turn my head to the side, taking in my face. My jaw is still slightly swollen, but for the most part, I have healed completely. I know I’m the one who said that I hated being beautiful, but when I was able to see myself in the mirror at the hospital for the first time, all I could think about was how disgusting I looked. My face was swollen and deformed, my lips cracked from being so dry. It wasn’t so much that I cared what I looked like, but I was worried Kenton would see me and the look of love I was so used to receiving from him would turn into something else. I didn’t want that.

I should have known better though. The first time he saw me without the bandages covering my face, his hand gently cupped my cheek while his eyes told me everything I needed to know. I knew he loved me before everything happened, but now, I will never doubt it again.

I look down at my hand and remember when I saw my engagement ring for the first time. I was sitting up in bed, my head swimming due to the pain medication I was on, but Kenton was there to see me and I never wanted to go without spending a single second with him. We were talking. Well, he was talking; I was writing everything down on a white board they had given me. My face was bent towards my hand when my eyes caught on something on my finger. At first, I thought it was a bug, but then my eyes focused on the sapphire and diamonds and my breath caught in my throat, making me feel like I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen.

“Breathe, baby,” I heard him urge, and I gulped down a lungful of oxygen as my eyes filled with tears. “Will you marry me?” His hand covers mine on the whiteboard before I could write YES. “I already told everyone you’re my fiancée, so you have to say yes. Maybe I should take your pen from you so you don’t have a say,” he mumbled, and I growled. “So what will it be? You gonna make an honest man out of me?”

His hand left mine and I wrote MAYBE in large, bold letters on the board.

“You must feel better if you’re f**king with me.” He smiled and my heart contracted. “Now, will you please just f**king say yes?”

If I could have smiled, I would have. My head bent and I wiped the board off before writing YES across the whole surface. The smile that lit up his face was one I would never forget until the day I die. His fingers went to the ring, rolling it back and forth on my finger.

“We’re getting married,” he whispered. I nodded, feeling tears fill my eyes. “Thank you.” His forehead touched mine. I lifted my hand and held it against his cheek.

I shake my head out of my thoughts when I hear something coming from down the hall. I peek my head around the corner just in time to see Tubs running with a pair of Kenton’s boxers, taking them with him down the stairs. I shake my head and go back to getting ready, figuring that Kenton can deal with him. I hear Tubs bark and Kenton growl, and I start to laugh.

When my eyes go back to the mirror, I see the dimple in my cheek I didn’t have before the shooting. My hand lifts and my finger runs over the mark. It’s funny how something that seems so innocent can come out of something so painful.

I clear my head and finish getting ready. Tonight is the night I marry Kenton. Well, kind of. When I got out of the hospital, Kenton wanted to go right to the courthouse and get married, but I wanted to at least have his family there to witness us starting our lives together.

He didn’t agree with me. He didn’t want to put it off another day, so we compromised. We got married two days after I was released, and he promised me that, when I was completely healed, he would throw me a huge reception, where I could wear a dress and he would wear a suit, and that way, I could have the wedding pictures I really wanted.

I finish my hair and makeup, and when I hear someone coming up the stairs, I smile as Tara calls out my name.

“In the bathroom!” I yell, touching up my lipstick.

“Your dog molested me when I walked into the house. I think it’s time you got him fixed.”

“We can’t. Not yet anyways. Only one of his balls has dropped,” I tell her, walking into our bedroom.

“Seriously?” she asks, and I can’t help the laugh that escapes me.

“Seriously, but don’t bring it up in front of Kenton. It’s a sore subject.”

“What’s a sore subject?” Kenton asks, walking into the room, wearing his usual jeans and T-shirt. I cannot wait until later—when I get to see him in his tux.

“Your dog having one ball,” Tara teases him.

His eyes narrow and I shake my head.

“What time are you heading to your mom’s?” I ask in a rush, knowing what’s coming if I don’t change the subject.

“I’m leaving now. I just came up to kiss you,” he says sweetly.

I smile as he walks towards me. His eyes move from my mouth to my cheek and then to my eyes. I see pain cross his features, but he quickly covers it. He told me the other day that he loves my dimple, just hates what it reminds him of. I can’t imagine being in his position, thinking he was going to die. He hasn’t talked much about what happened while I was in the hospital, but before he left, I could sense that he was ready to snap at any moment.

Since he got back from Vegas, he’s seemed much more at ease. He hasn’t told me what exactly went down when he was away, just that I was safe now. I asked about the police and what they were doing, but all he told me was that sometimes justice isn’t provided by law enforcement. What that means is anyone’s guess.

His mouth touches mine in a soft kiss, bringing me back to the moment. When my eyes meet his, I take a deep breath, willing myself not to cry.

“I guess I’ll see you at the altar.” I smile, and he shakes his head, kissing me again.

“You’re already my wife,” he says against my mouth.

“I know,” I whisper then start to giggle when I hear Tara making gagging noises. I look around Kenton at her. “You know I have seen you with Finn, right?” I ask her, watching a blush creep across her cheeks.

She and Finn got together while I was in the hospital. She had been in the ER while I was being worked on and was a wreck when they took me to the ICU. Finn found her sitting in the hospital chapel and didn’t leave her side. Since then, they have been inseparable. It’s funny to watch him with her. He never lets her leave his side when they are in the same room. Life is crazy sometimes. The guy who seemed to take life as a joke has done a complete turnaround.

“Oh, shut it,” she growls, picking up a pillow from the bed and tossing it at me.

I laugh and Kenton kisses the smile off my face. This time when he pulls away, it takes a few minutes to pull myself together enough to finish getting ready.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right? We can run away and live on a beach somewhere, drinking from coconuts and using banana leaves as clothes,” Justin says.

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. “First of all, that’s sick. I don’t want to even see you without a shirt, much less wearing nothing but a banana leaf. Second, you’re like a brother to me, so that’s just weird. And third, I’m already married to Kenton, so it really doesn’t matter if I walk down the aisle or not at this point.”

I watch his eyes go soft and he puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side before kissing my hair. “I love you too, sis, and I’m honored to walk you down the aisle.”

“If you mess up my makeup by making me cry, I’m going to kick your ass,” I tell him, putting my arms around his waist and laying my head against his chest.

When I was little, I used to wonder who my dad was. My mom never talked about him, and if I did bring him up, she would get pissed, so I learned quickly not to ask questions. Kenton asked me if I wanted him to look for him, but I don’t know if I want to do that. When Nancy and I talked about the wedding—or renewal of vows—she asked who I wanted to walk me down the aisle. At first, I said no one, but then I thought about all the people I have gained as family here. Then I thought about Link and wished he would be here to do it, but he was taking care of the club for Sid. Then I thought about Justin, how much he means to me, and how important he is in my life, and I knew it had to be him. We may not be blood, but I know deep down we are family—maybe not in the traditional sense, but in every way that counts.

“All right. Let’s go before you get my suit all wet,” Justin says as we hear the music begin.

I look at myself in the mirror that’s propped up against the side of the door one last time, making sure my dress is still in place. The white lace dress with cap sleeves that drapes under my shoulders hugs my body, showing off every curve until it reaches mid-thigh and bellows out similar to a mermaid’s tail. I fell in love with this dress immediately when I tried it on at the bridal shop.

I pull the veil over my face and down around my shoulders, taking a deep breath. Tara looks at me and smiles, and I smile back as she opens the door. I take in the backyard of Kenton’s parents’ house. There are chairs on the grass, where all of our family and friends are seated so they can watch us say our vows. At the end of the aisle, Kenton is standing under a large arch that’s been covered in tulle, lace, and flowers. My breath catches in my throat when I look at him in his tux. He is always gorgeous, but right now, as his eyes take me in, I have to do the same. His broad shoulders are covered in black material that shows off the expanse of his chest and the strength in his arms. His hair looks like he has been putting his hand through it all day, and the dark hue around his jaw that is always visible only adds to his hotness.

He asked me if he should shave, and I told him that, if he did, he wouldn’t be getting lucky until his scruff grew back. He laughed and smiled, picked me up, put me on the bathroom counter, and ran his jaw along my inner thigh before looking up and whispering, “Told you you would love it.” Then he proceeded to shove his face between my legs, making me scream out his name. He was not wrong; I loved the way I could grab fistfuls of his hair to hold him in place and the way the roughness of his facial hair felt between my legs.

I come out of the memory as I make it to the end of the aisle, and Kenton takes my hand from Justin. When I look into his eyes, his travel down my body and he mouths the words, “Holy shit.” I smile bigger and look into his eyes.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Kenton and Autumn,” the pastor says, and my eyes go to him. “Is there any—”

“We’re already married, so you can skip the part about anyone not wanting us joined together,” Kenton says, cutting the pastor off, and I feel my cheeks get pink as everyone in the crowd starts to laugh.

“Okay, we’ll skip that part,” the pastor says, looking at Kenton and laughing. He continues the ceremony, and when he asks Kenton if he will have me as his wife, Kenton’s eyes come to me and I see the same look in his eyes that I saw the first time he said, “I do.” Every ounce of love he has for me is there right on the surface for me to see.

I don’t even remember saying, “I do,” when my veil is lifted and Kenton takes my mouth in a kiss that is way too hot for all of the people who are there to witness it. His tongue delves into my mouth, his body pressing against the length of mine. One hand is on my ass, his other hand on the back of my head, forcing it to the side so he can get deeper. I moan into his mouth as I feel his erection press into my belly.

The moment is broken when the catcalling and clapping starts.

He rips his mouth from mine and his lips go to my ear. “You’re so f**king lucky my whole family’s here.”