Page 53 of A Twist of Fate

“You know you can always be honest with me.”

“I kind of love that I have a new name too.”

“I kind of love you,” I told her in response.

“Just kind of?”

“You know better!” I rolled away from her and smacked her beautiful ass when she too tried to roll to the opposite side of the bed. “Now, you better go get ready if you want to see Anna and the baby this morning before we have to get to work.”

“Yes sir!”

“Oh honey, I’m gonna make you scream that for me later!”

“Maybe we should call in sick today?”

We both laughed, knowing that wasn’t possible since someone would come upstairs to hound us if we tried it. I know I wished like hell we could stay there all day just wrapped up in one another though.

Joker and I stood by the island counter in the kitchen, each of us watching the women sitting there talking in his living room. “She looks like a natural.”

He didn’t need to say what I could already see. Gretchen was fawning over the tiny baby girl and cooing at her so sweetly. Once again, I felt my chest tightened uncomfortably as I thought about standing in a house of our own while watching my woman with our child. “I want that.” I hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but it happened anyway.

Joker clapped a hand down on my shoulder and turned me so that I was paying attention to him instead of the women and his daughter. “Have you thought about what you’ll do if that’s not possible?”

“What do you mean?”

He stared at me long and hard for a while. “The accident with T-Bone,” he stated as if that should mean something. Gretchen had already worked through her guilt and was moving on with me. We were happy. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing left to worry over. When I didn’t say anything, Joker sighed. “You know she lost her baby,” he whispered quietly, making sure not to be overheard. I nodded my head. “Has she mentioned whether there was any lasting damage from what happened to her? Physical damage on the inside that maybe you can’t see?” I turned my head quickly, taking in everything about the woman I was completely fucking lost for. I imagined, for just a moment, her telling me that she was no longer able to have kids. Even hearing her say that in my head didn’t factor in. I would still want her as mine. She was still my heart. There were other ways to make a family with her, and making it together in whatever way we needed to was good enough for me. I just needed Gretchen to be there by my side as we did that.

“It won’t matter,” I finally told Joker. “She’s everything. The rest will come in whatever way we need it to.”

Chapter 20

Always There

Gretchen

We had officially been together for seven months. Every single day, Kane and I found something new to enjoy, explore, or just appreciate. As corny as that sounded, it was true. He knew how I viewed life, and how quickly it could be gone, so he helped me embrace every moment we could. That was why, when he suggested taking a quick trip to Vegas, I didn’t bat an eyelash.

“Why would we spend a weekend in Vegas?”

“Life is nothing more than the stories we leave behind with someone else. We’re going to make the best stories, and have the absolute best start with ‘this one time in Vegas…”

I laughed at him. You watched those stupid movies with Joker again, didn’t you?”

“What movies?” He asked innocently as I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t until I turned around to face him that I realized what this had all really been about. Kane was before me, on bended freaking knee, while wearing nothing but a smile and holding a little black box out toward me. I sucked in an audible gasp just as the sparkling from the opened box caught my eye. “I lied a minute ago,” he told me as I stood there speechless, watching the man I loved as he awkwardly attempted to propose to me while we were both still very much without clothing. Yes, that was an important detail because one day, I’d have to tell this story to my grandkids. I would be absolutely scandalized, and yet that didn’t stop the elation I felt in my heart.

“The truth is, the very best stories start with, ‘And then we got married in Vegas!’” He grinned at me as I kneeled down in front of him and clasped both my hands around the one he had held out with the ring. “What do you say, Sweet G? Will you marry me in Vegas this weekend?”

“I do!” I shrieked out as Kane laughed at me.

“Babe, I think you’re jumping the gun a little there. That’s what you need to say in Vegas. Right now, I’m looking for one three-letter word.”

“Yes!” My hands trembled as he took the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. I don’t know how he managed, but it was a perfect fit. The platinum band felt as though it belonged on my finger from the start. A large marquise cut diamond sat pride of place in the middle of the ring with sapphires interspersed throughout an infinity vine pattern around the band. “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” I whispered, in awe of the perfect ring now adorning my finger.

“That’s a good thing, because you deserve nothing less.”

“Kane,” his name came out sounding like a prayer, but I didn’t manage to get anything beyond that because his lips came crashing down on mine, sealing our engagement with a kiss so hot, I damn near melted into a puddle right there on our bedroom floor. We had stopped using the apartment above the shop a couple months back. Instead, I had moved into Kane’s place. He had a slightly bigger apartment, which was good because when combining our things, the tiny space above the shop would have never worked out. We talked about having a house built eventually, but for now, we were happy. We were also getting married, that weekend apparently.

I scooted closer to him, moving across the floor on my knees. As I got close enough, I knocked Kane over so he was seated flat on his naked ass, then I proceeded to climb right on top of him. We had stopped using condoms months ago, though I was still on birth control. So, it didn’t phase either of us when I sank right down on his thick cock and enjoyed the slow burn that always came with him filling me up for the first time. Being one with this man was absolute heaven, and a promise he had kept to me for nearly as long as we’d been together. We woke every morning ready to enjoy each other before starting our day. Adding to our mourning ritual with a proposal was just icing on the cake for one more amazing day I got to spend in the arms of the man I loved with my whole heart.

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