Chapter 28 BRYCE
brYCE
“Morning.” I shuffled into the kitchen in bare feet, wearing Dash’s sweatshirt. It enveloped me, hanging thick on my shoulders. The sleeves draped past my fingertips and the hood bunched at the nape of my neck. Wearing it was like having my own personal Dash cocoon.
I’d be taking it with me whenever I went home.
Not that we’d talked about me leaving. In the three days since Genevieve had moved into Isaiah’s apartment, I’d all but moved into Dash’s home.
“Hey, baby.” He crossed the kitchen from where he’d been standing next to the coffee pot. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I yawned as he tugged me into his chest. “Thanks for letting me sleep in. I needed it.”
“You were out.”
“I know. I didn’t even hear you snore last night.”
He chuckled. “Didn’t snore because I had my pillow.”
“You have a special non-snoring pillow?” I leaned away to look at his face.
“Not a non-snoring pillow, just a decent pillow.”
My eyes bulged. “You think my pillows are indecent?”
He grinned. “Admit it, my bed is better than yours.”
“I don’t want to.” I smiled and fell back into his chest.
It was Friday, Dash’s normal day off, but he planned to go to the garage later.
Even though he had a ton of work to do, I’d begged him for a lazy morning.
Some time to sleep in late and linger in the shower.
I wanted to enjoy a few quiet moments, like this one, when the unanswered questions from the past six weeks got pushed aside.
“This is nice,” I whispered.
He kissed my hair. “Agreed.”
We stood like that, leaning into one another, until my stomach growled and forced us apart.
“Breakfast?” He went to the fridge. “What will it be today? More cereal? Or I can make fried eggs and bacon.”
I scrunched up my nose. Just the thought of fried-egg-and-bacon-grease smell made my sensitive stomach turn. I needed bland. Carbs were my friends in the morning. “Cheerios, please.”
“Cheerios,” he grumbled but got out a bowl for me and one for himself.
We settled at a custom, farmhouse-style table in the dining room off the kitchen. It looked like a fancy picnic table with chairs instead of benches.
“Any word from your dad?” I asked.
He shook his head, swallowing a bite of cereal. “Nothing. But if something comes up, he’ll call.”
“Damn.” We’d tried so hard to prove Draven was innocent. Now it looked like whoever had orchestrated this whole thing would win.
I hated losing.
Dash did too.
“Did Genevieve text you back?” he asked.
“Nope.” I dropped my spoon into my cereal bowl. She was beginning to irritate me with her silence.
Whatever was going on between Isaiah and Genevieve, they weren’t talking. She’d moved into his apartment, and rumor had it, he’d spent a night or two in the motel.
He’d asked Dash if he could keep his job, apologizing for skipping out without a word.
Dash, of course, had cut him some slack and let him stay on because Isaiah was a good guy and a good mechanic.
I’d hoped that Dash would have more luck with Isaiah than I had with Genevieve, but Isaiah was arguably worse when it came to opening up.
He came to the garage every day, worked hard with as few words as possible, then left as soon as his shift was over.
Meanwhile, Genevieve was gone each morning when we got to the garage and didn’t return until after we’d left for the evening. She also wasn’t returning my calls or my texts.
I’d wear her down eventually. They couldn’t keep their secret forever, could they? At some point, they’d have to tell us what had happened on that mountain, right?
But for today, I was pushing it from my mind.
I finished my cereal, then turned my gaze to the enormous bay window that overlooked Dash’s backyard. The sun was shining. The grass was green. Under a bright blue sky, it was a peaceful corner of the world.
Dash had a sprawling deck with his hot tub off to one side. The lawn was wide and deep with a tall privacy fence to keep it cozy, even though he didn’t have neighbors. An open field sat behind his yard. There was a small creek flowing through the middle and one lush grove of trees.
“How many acres do you own?” I asked Dash.
“Twenty. I wanted some space from the neighbors.”
It was secluded but not remote. Close to town for convenience but away from the bustle. “Did you buy this house? Or have it built?”
“Had it built about three years ago.”
I stood from the table, taking my bowl to the kitchen sink, then slowly wandered down the hallway that ran in the opposite direction from his bedroom. I’d explored some while I’d been here, but today I wanted more than a superficial glance to get my bearings.
The hallways were wide, the doors clean and white. The floors were a dark wood with rugs in a few rooms to soften them up.
“It’s very . . . stylish,” I told Dash as I walked, him trailing close behind. “Not what I would have expected from you.”
“I shelled out a fucking fortune to get a designer in here to make it stylish. Mostly, I wanted nice shit that would last and was comfortable. Some of the stuff she picked I had to veto, but otherwise, it turned out just right.” He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.
I traced my fingers along a tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was the one tattoo I hadn’t asked about yet, a date blocked in black letters. “What’s this tattoo?”
“Mom’s birthday. It was my first tattoo. Got it when I turned eighteen. I celebrate on that day every year. Make a chocolate cake. Candles.”
“I bet she’d love that.”
“Yeah.” He pressed his cheek to the top of my head. “Glad you’re here.”
“Me too. I like your house.”
“Good.” He hugged me tighter, then let me go to turn me around. “Come check this out.”
We turned and retreated down the hallway, making our way toward his bedroom on the opposite end of the house. But instead of turning into his room like I’d expected, he opened a door to the office across the hall.
The desk in the corner was empty, nothing like the mess he had at the garage. The window on the side faced the front of the house. Outside the window was a bush full of white blooms.
Dash walked into the middle of the room. “How about this for a nursery?”
“Uh . . .” A nursery? Did I hear that right? I’d expected him to offer this room up for work, not a room for the baby.
We hadn’t talked about the baby all week. I hadn’t wanted to push it. I’d wanted to give him—both of us—some time for the concept to really sink deep. We had months to discuss a nursery. We didn’t even know if we were having a boy or girl yet.
“I’ll move the desk and stuff to one of the spare rooms. Or downstairs. I don’t use it much anyway. We can get a crib or bassinette or whatever you want. It’s right across the hall from our room. And—”
“Wait.” I put a hand on the wall as the room began to spin. “Nursery? Our room? You want me to live here?”
“We’re having a kid.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t dictate we move in together.”
“Then how about you move in because I love you.”
Seriously, my ears were not working right today. “You love me?”
“More every day.” He came over and took my face in his hands. “Think how crazy I’ll be about you when we’re ninety.”
A laugh escaped my lips. “Insane. I love you too.”
“Good. That’ll make it easier to be your roommate.”
I smiled wider. “We’re really doing this? Living together? Having a baby?”
“We’re really doing this. Living together. Having a baby. Getting married.”
“Married? Who are you and what have you done with Kingston Slater?” I’d gone to bed with Dash, a badass playboy, and woken up with a romantic. “Did you hit your head with a wrench yesterday? You’re aware that you’re asking me to marry you, right?”
“Well, yeah. You said you wanted to have a baby when you were married and settled. Way I see it, we’ve got about seven months to make that happen. Might as well get to it.”
Oh. My heart sank. Dash wasn’t doing this because he wanted to. He was doing it for me. “Dash, I appreciate it. But I don’t want to get married because you feel like it’s what I want.”
“Then how about because it’s what I want.” His voice was low, smooth and silky. “Trust me, babe. I want to do this with you. Every day. Here until the end.”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s the best idea I’ve had in my life.”
“Do you think we’ll kill each other?”
“Probably.” He dropped a kiss to my lips. “Is that a yes?”
I hesitated, making him sweat for it before I rescued him. “Yes.”
“Hell yes.” Dash tipped his head back and laughed. Then his hands fell from my face to wrap me in a hug. I giggled, clinging to him as he picked me up off my feet and spun me around the room.
For so long I’d wanted this. Never would I have imagined I’d find it, a home—love—with the man I’d set out to expose. The enemy. A criminal who’d stolen my heart.
All the foolish days and nights I’d spent wondering if I’d end up an old maid had been for nothing. The timing simply hadn’t come together.
I’d been waiting for my Steel King.
“What about the baby?” I asked. “You didn’t want kids.”
Dash’s smile softened but didn’t disappear. “I’m scared. Never saw myself with a kid, but if there is anyone in the world I’d want to raise a baby with, it’s you. Just keep me from fucking it up, okay?”
Oh, Dash. Why hadn’t I realized this before? He wasn’t scared of kids. He was scared of ruining his own. Again, timing was not on our side. Draven’s drama had probably reinforced Dash’s fears.
“I have faith in you. Blinding, unwavering faith. You’ll be an amazing dad, Dash.”
He dropped his forehead to mine. “Come on. I want to show you something else.”
Dash took my hand and led me out of the office. We walked past his bedroom and through the living room, then around the kitchen and down another spacious hallway.
“This is a family house,” I said. “If you didn’t want a family, why build such a big house?”
He shrugged. “For the space. Not to feel crowded. I spent a lot of nights at the clubhouse and I lived above the garage for a while. When I was finally ready to buy, I wanted space. A home gym so I didn’t have to go to town in the morning.
An office. A theater room in the basement.
Couldn’t find anything to buy so I had it built instead. ”
“A sanctuary.”
“Yeah, but there’s one thing I hate about it out here.” He shot me a heart-stopping smile over his shoulder. “It’s too quiet. Figure you and our baby can fix that for me.”
I laughed. Given his or her parents, there was no doubt our child would be loud and bold. “We’ll do our best.”
“Appreciated.” Dash led me to the garage. He let go of my hand as he walked to the large, green gun safe on the far wall, spinning the combination on the dial until the door clicked open.
“Holy shit.” My eyes widened at the small arsenal. “I guess we’ll be safe after the apocalypse.”
He took out a white envelope and shut the safe. The flap on the envelope wasn’t sealed and he flipped it open, pulling out something from the corner.
No, not something.
A ring.
“This was Mom’s.” He held the ring in one hand as he reached for my left.
“It’s beautiful.” The gold band was thin and delicate because the solitaire in the center was the showpiece. It was a square-cut diamond—simple and flawless. The entire piece was classic, something I would have picked for myself.
“Dad gave this to me a few years ago. He’d bought it for her on their tenth wedding anniversary but she didn’t wear it much.
She preferred the chip he’d bought her when they were just two dirt-poor kids.
He buried her with that one. Gave this to me since Nick was already married.
Told me one day, I could give this to my old lady. ”
I was dumbfounded. I’d asked for a morning to rest and he’d changed the rules. But even in my shock, I hadn’t missed those last two words.
“How about you never call me an old lady again?”
Dash laughed, the rich sound filling the garage. “Want me to get down on a knee? Do this right?”
“No.” I smiled up at him, wiggling my finger so he’d slide the ring into place. I didn’t need the bended knee, the fancy words. “You already nailed it.”
The moment the ring was settled onto my finger, Dash swooped down and captured me in a kiss.
His tongue dove inside, demanding and delicious.
Standing in a garage, the cement floor cool on my bare feet, we kissed until the heat was too much to stand.
Then Dash scooped me up and carried me inside to his bed.
Our bed.
I’d admit, it was better than mine. The sweatshirt was stripped off. My panties dragged down my bare legs. Dash’s jeans quickly disappeared along with the white T-shirt that stretched across his broad chest.
We moved together, my hips cradling his, like lovers who’d been together for years, not weeks. We came together, him bare and pulsing inside me, our hands linked and our mouths fused.
Together.
“I love you,” I whispered into his ear as we clung to one another.
“Love you, baby.” He leaned away, sweeping the hair from my forehead, and grinned. “Damn, but this life is going to be fun. And I promise, I’ll do right by you.”
He’d be the best husband and father I could have ever dreamed possible.
“You will.” I smiled. “And you’re right. This is going to be fun.”