Page 88 of Havoc

We walked into the living room, which was painted a pale sage green, one of my favorite colors. Sunlight shined through the high windows. The hardwood floors were absolutely gorgeous. I walked over to the fireplace and ran my hand over the mantle. I’d always wanted a place with a fireplace. If Havoc weren’t breaking up with me, I could imagine us raising our kids here, them playing in front of the fireplace, happy and safe. That thought was enough to make me tear up.

When I turned to face Havoc, he looked nervous. Another strange thing about today. Havoc never looked nervous. I’ve seen him grumpy, angry, happy, aroused, and possessive, but never the kind of nervous he was right now.

“Please tell me what’s going on before I have a meltdown,” I say imploringly. “I can tell something is going on with you, but I don’t know what, and it’s scaring me.”

He’s still standing at the front door and reaches over to put one big hand on the banister leading upstairs. “This place belongs to my family. It’s the house I grew up in. I've been coming out here every week. Fixing it up. Thinking about… us.”

My heart sped up because this sounded promising. “What about us?”

He took a deep breath and explained. “I’ve been thinking that after all this shit with Slater was finished and he was either dead or in prison, we could think about what comes next. I don’t know about you, but after all the chaos, I want some normality in our life. You deserve some peace in your life. I want to be the man who gives that to you. I want us to have a place where we can raise our kids and grow old together.”

I walked over to stand in front of him. I had to tilt my head back to look him in the eyes, my heart almost hammering its way out of my chest. “You want us to live here together and raise our kids?”

He stared down at me, seriously focused. “Of fuckin’ course I want that. I understand that now that the danger has passed, I might not seem like the most appealing choice when it comes to men. But I do love you, Riley Dalton. So, I was thinking that maybe you could give me a chance at something more and see how it works. I promise to do right by you, be a good husband to you and father to our future kids.”

Hope surged in my chest, and I excitedly told him, “Go back to the part about you being my husband. I want to hear more about that.”

He raked his fingers through his hair, looking almost distressed. “This is the most important moment of my life, and I’m fuckin’ it up royally.” He muttered under his breath.

Words fly out of my mouth before my brain approves of the message. “The thought occurred to me that if you were anyone other than the man I know and love, being brought to an isolated spot might mean the end of the line for me, because, you know, I’ve been nothing but trouble for you.”

Luckily, he took it in the way I intended, which was a random, one-off thought, rather than a statement of his character. He just laughed and reached out to put his hands on my hips. Tugging me closer, he admitted, “And here I was, thinking that I might have outlived my usefulness in your world.”

I grin up at him, relieved that this was the thing making him seem off, the thing Storm told me he had planned for today. It all made so much sense to me now. “We’re both letting our insecurities get the better of us. If you have something to ask, just do it.”

One hand came up and pulled a ring out of his pocket. It was huge but also simple and elegant, something I would be proud to wear as a symbol of our love. I held my breath as he spoke.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you truths for a while now. The first one is that you became the center of my world so fast I didn’t even have time to fight it. It felt like I had been blindsided with love. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re it for me.”

Tears welled in my eyes again, because his words hit me hard, right in the feels.

“Please say yes. Let’s build something real and lasting together.”

I reached up, circled my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a hard kiss, the kind of kiss I knew he liked.

Then I choked out, “Yes. Of course I want to be your wife. I want it all with you, Havoc.” I paused for a moment, before looking at him, “You know you talked about our future kids… What if that happened sooner rather than later?”

His eyes widened as he looked me up and down, “You mean you’re pregnant?”

“I took a test last night. I thought I’d missed my period due to the stress of the court case, but when I missed another…”

“Fucking hell, I didn’t think I could be any happier, and now this!” His arms came up around me, and he lifted me off my feet. When he twirled my pregnant self around like a princess in a fairy tale, I started to believe in happily ever afters. Being in love with Havoc was magical. It wasn’t just about surviving as a single girl anymore. It was about living and loving together, being with the man who made my heart sing with joy. This house, with its empty rooms and sunlit walls, suddenly felt like the beginning of everything we were meant to have.

Epilogue

Six Months Later

Havoc

Iwoke up the morning of my wedding choked with emotion to the point that I almost couldn’t breathe properly. It was really happening. I was getting married to the best woman in the world, the one who respected me and looked at me like I hung the moon. Riley was always so sweet and loving. I never thought I’d find a woman who would wreck my world to the point that I couldn’t live without her.

I’d faced down gang members, rival bikers, and even dirty cops. In the military, I even took a bullet and kept right on moving. But this—making life’s biggest commitment and knowing my son or daughter would soon be crying to be in my arms—was a lot of responsibility. It had me pacing the floor, worrying my fucking head off. My cut hung on the back of a chair, and my tie was halfway around my neck. I’d already popped the collar button twice just trying to calm my hands long enough to get dressed.

Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. I glanced over to find Storm leaning against the door jamb. His arms were crossed, and he looked at me like maybe this wasn’t the first case of cold feet he’d run across.

“You gotta take some deep breaths and get oxygen to your brain. Otherwise, all those crazy thoughts running around in your head are gonna get the better of you,” he said, his voice calm and reassuring.

I stopped pacing and asked, “What am I going to do if she changes her mind? What if she looks at herself in that beautiful wedding gown she bought and realizes she can use it to get married to a lawyer or a banker? Someone who doesn’t try to hide his scars with cool tattoos?”

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