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Holt’s lips curled into a knowing smile, and then he leaned down, brushing a kiss against my forehead. “Love ya.”

“And I love you.”

He gave me a wink, then went back to flipping the burgers.

As I stood there, looking at the love of my life, I knew things weren’t always going to be wonderful. I knew we would fall on hard times, and there would be days when I doubted everything. There would be days when I loved him more than I could stand, and there would be times when I wanted to wring his neck. But I loved him, and he loved me.

And as long as we had each other, we could get through anything.

I was finally where I was meant to be.

EPILOGUE

THREE MONTHS LATER

“You sure about this?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

Ford was practically leaping out of his own skin as I strapped the helmet on and said, “You remember everything I told you?”

“Um-hmm.” His grin was wide, and his eyes were shining with the kind of joy only a kid could have. “I remember. Hold on tight and lean against the curve.”

“Alright, then. Let’s do this.” I chuckled and swung a leg over my bike, then patted the seat behind me. “Hop on.”

He scrambled up, and his small arms wrapped around my waist before I even had a chance to tell him to hold on. Seeing him so excited about his first ride did something to me, and I had to fight the urge to pull him in for a bear hug.

I’d never thought of myself as father material. Hell, I never even let myselfthinkabout having kids. That wasn’t my world. I was too hard, too deep in club life, and too damn selfish to be responsible for someone else.

But Ford made me rethink everything.

He looked at me like I hung the damn moon and trusted me like I’d been there since day one. I don’t know when it happened or how it happened, but I became the father I never thought I’d be. And now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him.

I won’t deny that it scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to screw it up or let him down. But when I saw the way his face would light up whenever I came around, I knew I’d do whatever it took to be the father he deserved.

I eased out of the driveway, and at first, I kept it slow.

I wanted him to get used to the feeling before I let loose. But once we hit the open road, I gave it a little more throttle. Not too much. Just enough to let him feel the wind and hint of freedom that came with riding. It was a feeling he would become accustomed to in the years to come.

I gave it a little more throttle, and I couldn’t help but smile when Ford let out a loudwhoop. The kid had a lot of his ol’ man in him. It was one of the many reasons things had been so easy with him. It was strange, but we justclicked.

The kid had been glued to my side since day one, and I hadn’t minded. Not even a little. We rode around for a bit before finally heading back home. The second we pulled into the driveway, Ford hopped off and removed his helmet. “That wasawesome! Can we go again?”

“Maybe later. We need to check in with your mom first. I’m sure dinner is almost ready.”

“Okay.” His grin didn’t falter. Instead, his eyes lit up with another idea. “Wanna playFortniteafter we eat?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll play a round with ya.”

“Awesome.” And with that, he bolted for the door and shouted, “Thanks, Dad!”

Tallie was back in the bedroom, reading on the Kindle. She barely looked up as I lay down next to her and started fiddling with my phone. “How’d it go?”

“Great. The kid’s a natural.”

“Did you go slow like you promised?”

“Of course.”

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