Page 90 of Cage

Ember gasps and snaps her head to look at me. “What?”

I motion toward Declan, not sure what she’s so confused about. “He’s ordained. He can marry us right now.”

She opens her mouth and then closes it. She repeats this several times. Finally, she says, “We need a license, though. Don’t we?”

“No. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me you’re my wife. Though we will apply for a name change. Remember who you’re marrying, baby. I don’t exist on any database.

We stare at each other, and ever so slowly, the corners of her mouth stretch wide.

“You’re crazy,” she whispers.

I glance around the room and then back down at her, grinning. “Yeah, baby. So, are we doing this?”

She squeezes my hand. “Yeah, Daddy. Let’s get married!”

25

EMBER

Ican’t believe I’m married.

Tonight was a dream. Only Cage would have an ordained minister on hand to marry us on the spot. Most people would probably think it’s too soon. When you know, you know, I guess. He’s my soulmate. I’m not sure if I ever believed in such a thing before, but I have no doubt now. It’s a real thing.

“I have something else for you.”

Tearing my gaze away from the sparkling wedding band, I watch him carry a plate to the bed with him.

“You already gave me so much.”

He sits down and shows me the huge piece of chocolate cake he brought with him. The multi-layer fudgy goodness looks absolutely mouthwatering.

“Wedding cake?” I ask.

Using a fork, he scoops a bite and holds it to my mouth. “No. Graduation celebration. You never got to celebrate your degree. I know things have been a bit hectic, but I haven’t forgotten.”

I stare at him, swallowing thickly. He remembered. It was important to me, so he made it important to him. This is one ofmany reasons why I know I made the right choice in marrying him tonight.

As soon as my mouth closes around the cake, I hum and close my eyes. “Oh my God, that’s so good. It’s almost as good as sex.”

He laughs and takes a bite for himself. “Nah. Not even close, baby.”

It’s so rich and chocolatey that, by the fourth bite, I shake my head.

“I have one more thing for you. A wedding present.”

“I didn’t get you anything, though,” I say sadly.

Cage cups my chin and presses a kiss to my forehead. “You already gave me everything I could ever want.”

Then he pulls a long box from the nightstand and hands it to me. I stare at it for a second before I lift the lid and gasp, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“Daddy,” I whisper.

“It’s your mother’s charm bracelet. I had it cleaned and inspected then added some charms to it. I hope that’s okay.”

I touch the cold metal, running the tips of my fingers over it. Tears burn my eyes as I look at each charm. The original two that my mom had are still on there: A baby charm she got from her parents when I was born and a candy cane for Christmas because it was her favorite holiday. There are five new ones. I smile when I touch one that’s a dragon. Then, a firefly. A plane. A doll. And lastly, a black heart with a crack down the center, but it’s been made to look like it’s stitched back together.

“This…” I sniffle and try to blink back my tears. “This is the most thoughtful gift, Daddy.”

He smiles as he pulls the bracelet from the box and proceeds to put the it. “We’ll keep adding to it.”

I reach out to touch his face, my heart bursting. “I never knew life could be this good.”

“Oh, baby,” he whispers as he leans in to kiss me. “We’re just getting started. It’s about to get so much better.”

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