Page 70 of Ride or Dies

I gave the only response I could.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I said quietly as I looked at each of the men in turn. “Not when I don’t know if I have a reason to stay.”

And then I walked away because I needed a minute to pull myself together.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Levi

The three of us had agreed that whoever had the chance to ask Evie if she’d decided whether or not she was going back to Nashville should do it. I just hadn’t expected it to be me.

And I definitely hadn’t expected the flash of hurt in her eyes when she answered.

It cut me, that look, and I knew that, no matter what else happened tonight, my brothers and I needed to make sure Evie knew, without any doubt, that we wanted her to stay.

Now that we were at the reception, I wasn’t having second thoughts, but I was definitely having anxiety. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d gotten nervous about anything, but this woman could do it to me. Yeah, I was completely confident that I could fuck her into oblivion, and I’d take a bullet for her without thinking twice, but the idea of laying my heart on the line, telling her how I felt, had my mouth dry and my palms sweating.

And being in this damn tux didn’t help.

I snagged another glass of champagne from a passing tray and downed it in one gulp, barely tasting it.

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” Mason asked as he shrugged out of his jacket and hung it across the back of his chair.

I shook my head. “Just not fond of talking in front of people.”

“Which is what’s gonna tell Evie that we’re serious,” Tucker said. “Me and Mason, she might just write it off as us being drunk.”

“And let’s be real,” Mason said. “Tucker and I might’ve been jerks to her sometimes when we were growing up, but you were a mean fucker.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, guilt twisting my already knotted stomach. “I know. I got a lot to make up for.”

The sound of silverware tapping against glass had the three of us looking toward the table where Jenna, Isabel, Evie, and Isabel’s grandmother were sitting. Isabel stood up and took a microphone from the DJ.

“Good evening, everyone.” Her voice carried easily, and the few people who hadn’t stopped talking before did now. “First, Jenna and I would like to thank everyone for coming and celebrating with us today. It means the world to know that we have your love and support as we start this newest chapter of our lives together. But that’s enough from me. We’re going to start the toasts now, and before anyone worries that Nona will say something inappropriate, she’s agreed to keep it short and sweet.”

Isabel’s grandmother took the microphone and smiled at her granddaughter. “I’ve lived and loved a good long time, and all I’ve ever wanted for any of my family is for them to experience the same. The advice I could give you is too much to put into one little speech, so I have a letter for each of you that will say far more than I can right now. But for tonight, I’ll just say this: The love you have to fight for, that’s the sweetest kind. So fight for each other every day, and anyone who doesn’t like it can go straight to hell.”

Laughter and applause mixed as she handed the microphone back to Isabel. I clapped along with everyone else, but those words rang in my head.

It wasn’t uncommon for club sluts to be shared by the MC, and some of the guys even picked up girls they wanted to fuck together, but it wasn’t that simple with Evie. If it’d just been sex, that could be hidden, even after that video. But the one thing my brothers and I didn’t want was to be her dirty little secret. We wanted all of her, but she had to want all of us, and for someone in the public eye, that wasn’t going to be easy. We would have to fight for it, every day, but my little sister had shown us that it could be done.

“Next to speak is my maid of honor,” Jenna said, smiling at the woman next to her. “Evie Hayes.”

Evie’s hand was trembling as she accepted the microphone, and I had the sudden urge to go to her and wrap my arms around her, tell her that it was okay because we were here.

But I stuck to the plan, because I knew Evie would never forgive any of us if she thought we were taking attention away from Jenna.

“I’ve known Jenna since we were twelve. She was the new girl with the good-looking older brothers and the sweetest, bubbliest personality. And she didn’t know that the quiet, sometimes dirty, girl at the back of the class wasn’t someone she should want to be friends with.” Evie sniffed even as she smiled, her eyes shining.

Damn. That was the girl we’d made fun of and bullied—who I had bullied. A girl who’d already been beaten down by life. And I’d been the stupid son of a bitch who picked at her because I thought it was fun riling her up. And then I’d done it because I saw she had a crush on me. And when she started looking more like a woman than a child, I’d lashed out like an immature bastard.

Guilt nearly choked me, and I felt my brothers shift beside me as if they were thinking the same thing.

“From that moment, I’ve only ever wanted the world for you, and when you called me to tell me about this beautiful woman you’d met, I knew you’d found your world.” Evie looked at Isabel. “Thank you for making my best friend the happiest I’ve ever seen her. I know it hasn’t been easy for the two of you, living in a world that still sees your love as something to be ashamed of, but you’ve never let the hate win. You’ve overcome everything you’ve faced, because you’ve done it for each other and with each other.”

Evie’s eyes flicked to me, to Mason, to Tucker, and I found the anxiety leaving my body. Suddenly, my feet were firmly planted, every inch of me steady. I knew that I would do anything for this woman, and that certainty made everything else perfectly clear.

“I wish you every happiness life can give you, and may your love be a beacon of hope for everyone who’s thought those stars were out of their reach. To Jenna and Isabel.”

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