Page 103 of Day Shift

Conan gently set the guitar on the floor and pulled me onto his lap, wrapping his strong arms around me. I buried my face in his neck. The warmth of his skin and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat grounded me in the moment.

“I love you so much,” he whispered into my ear, his breath skittering across my skin. “It’s time for us to start our new life together, anywhere you want. If you’ll have me.”

My words came tumbling out. “I love you too. With all that I have and all that I am.”

I held onto him tightly, knowing that wherever we went, as long as we were together, it would be home. In that moment, nothing else mattered. It was just us, in our bubble of love and promise, ready to face whatever came next together.

After catching my breath, I pulled away and gazed up at him. He took my face in his big ole gentle hands, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. His touch anchored me, giving me the courage to say what had been bottled up inside.

With a shaky breath, I confessed, “I’m sorry it took me this long to swallow my pride and admit my feelings… You’ve been better to me than I ever deserved,” I choked out. “I can’t live if it means living without you. My life only makes sense when I’m with you.” My voice trembled. “I want you with every fiber of my being, and to call you mine forever.”

Conan’s eyes softened, and I continued, “From the moment fate brought me into your emergency department, you became the best example of what a man should be. Honest, even when I couldn’t be truthful about my past. Kind, when no one else was. Giving, to a complete stranger without hesitation. Funny, when things were at their worst. You protected my heart, my soul, and my body. You understood me even when I didn’t understand myself.”

Tears streamed down my face again as my breath hitched. “I’ve never experienced someone loving me just for who I am. I didn’t even consider it an option. But you showed me it was possible. I’ll go to the ends of the earth to be with you. I promise, Conan, I will be the woman you deserve. I will be worthy of your love.”

Conan’s eyes glistened as he leaned in to kiss me tenderly.

The kiss deepened, filled with all the promises we’d made to each other. As the kiss grew more passionate, a loud round of applause erupted around us. Startled, we broke apart and realized the bar was crowded with people. They clapped and cheered, and I couldn’t help but laugh through my tears. Conan tightened his arms around me, a smile spreading across his face.

Heat surged to my cheeks. I was sweetly embarrassed by the applause. Conan scooped me up and carried me off the stage. As we moved through the crowd, he kissed me gently and whispered how much he loved me and how he would protect me forever. He took me up the staircase to the elevator, his lips never far from mine.

When we entered the office, Lucian, Lachlan, Julian, and Gabriel were there, clapping their hands. “Did everything we said on stage get played over the speaker system?” I asked, half-laughing.

“Absolutely,” Lucian said with a teasing grin. “Loud and clear. And it was recorded on the multiple video cameras around the main floor too. I’ll make sure to save you a copy.”

Conan set me down, and Lucian pulled me into a big hug. “I’m so happy for you, Ana,” he said with genuine affection.

“You’re not mad at me for ruining our…arrangement?” I asked, worried about the impact it might have on our friendship and the club.

“Hell no,” he said, shaking his head and laughing. “I always knew I wasn’t the man you would spend a lifetime with. Go take some time to be a real person, not just some mafia princess. We’ll hold down the fort here at Club Xyst. And besides, we can always video chat.”

I kissed him on the cheek, grateful for his understanding. “You’re the best, Lucian,” I said, stepping back.

He extended his hand to Conan, who grasped it firmly. Then he wrapped an arm around Conan’s back and tugged him into a tight embrace. He gave Conan a couple of strong pats on the back. “I couldn’t be happier for both of you,” he said. “Ana, you couldn’t have found a better man.”

Conan grinned. “Thank you, man.”

Lachlan walked over to the office bar and reached underneath it, hauling out a small wooden box. Inside was a bottle of whiskey. “I’ve been waiting for just the right special occasion to crack open this bottle of J.J. Corry’s The Chosen whiskey for years,” he announced dramatically. He opened the bottle, savoring its fragrance for a moment before pouring everyone a shot.

“Before we drink, here’s an old Irish toast,” Lachlan said, raising his glass. “May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.”

We all threw back our shots, the rich, smoky flavor of the whiskey warming us from the inside. I walked over to Lachlan and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m lucky to have so many good men—no, brothers—in my life,” I said.

Just then, Braxton and Nik walked into the office. “What’s the celebration?” Braxton asked, looking around. “What did we miss?”

Everyone laughed, and Lucian couldn’t resist teasing. “I’ll show you the video later, but let’s just say the happy couple professed their love for each other in front of at least a hundred people.”

“Lucian, hush,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Braxton turned to me. “So does that mean you’re coming back to Tacoma, Angel, or is Conan moving to the Big Apple?”

“No decisions have been made yet,” I said, glancing at Conan with a smile. “It doesn’t matter as long as we’re together. But I could really use a break from the army that watches my every move.”

Nik chuckled. “Since Angel owns the estate in Tacoma, it would only be fitting for a Thorin brother to move in. I’m sure that bit of news would piss the hell outta my father. Luca would take sport in rubbing Viktor’s nose in it as he rots in his basement.”

The room filled with laughter.

I looked around at my friends—my family—and felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the whiskey. For the first time in a long while, I saw a future filled with hope.

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