Page 56 of Tripp

“He loves that little girl. They all do,” Adelaide revealed. “I just hope she doesn’t mind so much as she gets older.”

Tripp

“I never thought I’d see the day.” I held Riley close while her father fixed his tie.

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“I’m talkin’ about you in a monkey suit. What the hell’s gotten into you?” Riley grabbed my finger and tried to suck on it, but I pulled it away at the last second. “Where’s her sucky thing?”

“Her binky?”

“I don’t know what the hell it’s called.”

“It’s in the truck.” He opened the back door and rooted around for what felt like forever.

“If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna let her suck on my finger, and you probably know where that’s been.” I laughed at the words that came out of his mouth. I would’ve never done such a thing, but the fact that Stone thought I would, and how distressed he became, made me laugh harder.

Gently placing the binky in Riley’s mouth, he said, “I know where those hands have been. Keep them away from my daughter.”

“Oh relax.” Looking closely at him, I saw he was nervous. “What’s wrong with you? Seriously? Why so uptight?”

“No reason.” He shifted his attention away from me and onto his woman, who was chatting with Reece. “How’s that goin’?” He jerked his head toward the women. “Heard you had some issue with her husband. Not cool fuckin’ around with a married woman, by the way.” His dark eyes chastised me. He obviously didn’t know the full story.

“I’m not fuckin’ around with a married chick. Well, she’s technically married, but she doesn’t wanna be.” Stone stood there staring at me, waiting for the rest of the story. I didn’t want to bring it up, but I didn’t want him thinking badly of Reece either. “He beat and terrorized her for years. She finally got away, but he tracked her across the country. He found her at the club, and thank God we got to him before he dragged her out of there. He probably would’ve killed her this time.” I hadn’t realized how much the entire situation had affected me until I clutched my chest after speaking. The thought that Reece could’ve been ripped from my life gutted me.

“Fuck,” Stone replied. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know that.” He looked back toward Reece and Adelaide. “Is she okay now? And where is her hus . . . that bastard?”

“Ryder and Hawke broke his legs in warning never to come near her again. I would’ve done it, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop at just his legs.”

“Speak of the devil,” Stone interrupted as Ryder drew closer.

“I’m the devil? I think someone sold their soul for an Armani suit.” Ryder chuckled. “Why you all dressed up?”

“Will everyone get off my back already,” Stone sneered, shoving his hands in his pockets in another bout of nervousness. It was extremely odd to see our VP acting in such a way. It almost made me think something else was up with him. But he wouldn’t tell me even if I asked, so I let it go.

Cutter and Trigger joined us, coming out of the clubhouse and smelling like booze. Nothing too crazy, though.

A black sedan pulled up in front of the gates, the prospects inspecting the vehicle before allowing it to pass. As soon as the car came to stop, a priest stepped out and smiled at Stone. Adelaide appeared suddenly, stealing her daughter from my arms.

“Time to get things started,” I heard Stone shout as we all walked toward the back of the compound.

The ceremony was quick. Marek and Sully had been chosen as Riley’s godparents, and I had to admit that Stone and Addy had definitely chosen wisely. I saw the longing in Sully’s eyes when she held the little girl, and I only hoped they could have one of their own someday. Marek stood rigid beside her, although he relaxed some when she reached for his hand. I could sense they were still dealing with the strain of what’d happened, but there was a light back in Marek’s eyes that had been missing over more time than I cared to acknowledge.

We were an hour into the party when Stone stood, clearing his throat to gain everyone’s attention. Once all eyes were on him, including Adelaide’s, he finally spoke.

“Addy and I want to thank everyone for coming today to help us celebrate. And if Riley could talk, she’d say thank you too.” Everyone smiled, glancing at the baby girl before turning their gazes back to Stone. “You’re all aware of the difficulty Addy and I went through while she was pregnant with Riley, and it was by the grace of God that she was able to give me a healthy child. Now I’m not a religious guy at all.” He looked over at the priest. “Sorry, Father Houston, but it’s true.” The collared man simply nodded. “But I’d never prayed as much as I did during those months.”

A solemn look briefly passed over everyone present. We’d all been praying for not only Adelaide’s life but for the life of their daughter. She’d been dealt a tough hand, having been told she had ovarian cancerandthat she was pregnant. Thankfully everything turned out great, and Adelaide was in remission.

“After everything we’ve been through, baby, I don’t want another day to go by without the world knowing how much I love you.” Stone moved toward Adelaide, gently taking Riley from her arms and passing their daughter to Sully. Then he helped his woman to her feet and did something I never thought I’d see—he lowered himself to one knee and took her hand in his. Wide-eyed and astonished, Adelaide’s lower lip started to tremble. “I even asked your dad for permission, so that tells you how serious I am.” She laughed and looked across the table at an older man sitting next to Trigger. He looked back at her with such love there was no mistaking that he was her father.

“Baby . . . ever since I met you I’ve become a better man. I’ll admit there’ve been hurdles along the way, and I’m not sayin’ I won’t trip and fall on my face from time to time, but knowing you’re there to help me up and make me see the error of my ways means more to me than I can ever say.” We all laughed because we knew Stone had a temper which landed him in hot water with Adelaide sometimes. But he always came around, and my God did he love that woman.

He licked his lips and blew out a nervous breath. It was then that I understood his previous anxiety and the reason why he’d decided to don a suit. He wanted to put forth the effort Adelaide deserved. “Adelaide Reins . . . will you marry me?”

“Of course I will,” Adelaide proclaimed, tears streaming down her beautiful cheeks. She pulled him to his feet and threw her arms around his neck. Everyone clapped in celebration. Stone kept it clean, even though I knew damn well all he wanted to do was make a spectacle and kiss the hell out of her. But her father was present, and I knew even though his relationship with him had been rocky, he respected him enough not to openly defile the man’s daughter in front of him.

Tripp

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