Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
I Won, Love
Dean
I wake to the feel of my neck being nuzzled and something poking me in my butt. My head is pounding. I groan and wiggle my butt against the hardness stabbing at me.
“Good morning, gorgeous. I love ya,” Ronan whispers in my ear.
I turn my head and smile sleepily. He rubs his nose against mine. I reach to cup his face.
“I love you too.”
Once the words are out of my mouth, I fully wake and pop my eyes open. Ronan is smiling down at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I blink at him as my thoughts race.
“Ya might want to get up and call yer ma. Ya have a wedding to plan.”
I sit up and pull the sheet up over my breasts. I groan and palm my head. What the fuck happened last night?
How much did I drink? Wait, what the fuck did he just say? What wedding?
“I see yer confusion, but as ya said, a bet is a bet, and ya gave yer word we’d follow through if I won.”
“Ronan, my head feels like it’s going to explode. What are you talking about? What bet?”
He chuckles. “Ya bet me that I couldn’t get ya to repeat that ya love me. Ya had to say it last night and this morning. I won.”
“Huh?”
He leans into my ear. “Ya don’t remember? Ya didn’t just say it once. Ya said it repeatedly. I love ya too, baby.”
His words throw me back to last night. I’m breathless as memories of the night assault me. I lick my lips and close my eyes.
“I’ve told ya before, be careful what ya ask for,” he whispered in my ear as he rocked into my body from his sitting position on his knees beneath me. “Say it, Danika. Tell me how ya feel.”
“Oh my God, Ronan, please.”
“Please what, Danny? Are ya begging to be my wife or is there something else ya want?”
He wrapped his hand around my neck and reached between my legs to rub my pussy. He had set a slow pace that drove me crazy.
“Ya feel how deep I am inside ya. Say it.”
“Oh my God. I love you.”
I blink rapidly as I come back to the present. Oh, I said that shit. I screamed it, I cried it out. I whispered and whimpered it in his ear.
Ronan has never made love to me like he did last night. I was helpless against him. I also remember the bet I drunkenly made.
“Aye, ya remember now, don’t ya?”
I nod, not able to speak. Yesterday was so overwhelming, but I didn’t think one drunken night would end like this. I’m not going to go back on my word. Besides, I want to do this for my mom.
“We don’t have to do this,” Ronan says as he watches my face.
“No. I’m going to follow through. I’m just allowing it to sink in. Unless you changed your mind.”
He reaches for me and pulls me to him for a firm and demanding kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck. The minty taste of his mouth reminds me of my atrocious morning breath.
This man really loves my ass. I pull away before he can come to his senses or get sick to his stomach. I need to brush my teeth and pull my thoughts together. I’m getting married.
***
I’m in awe. Ronan had them send racks of dresses and trunks of shoes to my suite for me to look through so my mom could help me pick the perfect dress for our wedding. I wasn’t expecting this.
The smile on my mother’s face has made it all worth it. I knew the dress from the moment I saw it, but I still tried on a few before it. It’s perfect and fits like a glove.
The gorgeous V-neck empire dress has simple, clean lines. The subtle details are everything. The satin dress molds to my breasts and drapes over my hips like it was meant to be painted on me.
Tiny crystals run along the seams of the dress, taking the simplicity to a level of sophisticated elegance. The small train in the back pools behind me and has a smattering of tiny crystals. I love this dress so much.
My chest filled with so much joy as I looked at my reflection after putting it on. Now I’m getting my makeup done after a loc technician he hired for me finished weaving an intricate style in my hair. Even I can see I’m glowing.
“Ya look absolutely gorgeous.”
I turn around and gasp as Laoise McGowan stands in the doorway next to my mother. She has a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes. She looks pretty in the green dress she has on. It works with her skin and hair.
“You came?” I breathe.
“I would have been here for that little shit Braxton if he would have given me notice. Ronan knows I would have had his balls for making me wait all this time just for me to miss out on the ceremony. I was on the first thing smoking after he called me last night, I was. So it is,” she replies, getting choked up at the end.
“I’m so happy you could make it. Now I’m really nervous,” I laugh on a shaky breath.
“Don’t worry. If he tries to run, I’ll put a bullet in his backside meself. He’d have to be out of his mind to let ya slip away. Besides, it’s not every day ya get me over here to the States. We’re going to have ourselves a grand time.”
“Laoise and I are going to get to know each other while sipping this champagne over here,” my mother says, and she leads Ronan’s mother over to sit in the little area they set up for brunch for us.
I haven’t been able to eat a thing. This is really happening. I’m getting married.
* * *
Ronan
“I want ya to know I’m proud of ya. I know how hard things were for ya when … ya know. I wasn’t sure if it would break ya and leave ya broken.
“I figured in time ya would heal. That’s why I never got on yer back about finding someone and getting married. I wanted to give ya time.”
Da pauses and shrugs. “I would have let ya be if it never happened because I understood ya. As yer da, I’ve been hurting for twenty-four years because I couldn’t fix it for ya. Yer me last-born.
“The biggest of my lot, but my wee un. Don’t tell yer sister but I also think yer the strongest. Lesser men have crumbled under the weight of all ya’ve been through. I’m mighty proud of ya, Ronan.
“Seeing this smile on yer face does my heart grand. And now for the love of God I can get some peace and yer ma will shut her fucking gub about finding ya a wife,” he says with a huge smile.
I roar with laughter and tug him into a hug. He has no idea how much his words mean to me. I’ve been waiting all day for my past to creep in and smother me. However, the thought of my soon-to-be wife has kept me grounded.
Yes, I was in love with Sasha, but I was a young lad with little to no experience. I don’t know that I was ready to be a father. Sasha had been older than me and had experienced way more than I had.
Things are different with Danika. She is my now. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I wouldn’t recover as I did before.
“I love ya, son. Yer going to make a grand husband,” Da says in my ear and pats me on the back.
“Thanks, Da. I’m glad yer here.”
While I didn’t have time to round up my entire family, I’m happy Ma and Da could make it. In all honesty, I don’t think it’s wise to broadcast that Danika and I are getting married. I still have questions about what Freddie knew.
However, if I didn’t tell my ma, she would have killed me. I think my ears are still ringing from the call I made last night—or should I say early morning—after Danika fell asleep.
Ma screamed so loud with excitement; I was sure she was going to wake Danika through the phone. I had to climb out of bed and move into the common area to finish the call. From there, I began to make all the arrangements for our wedding this evening.
I had been confident I would get her to repeat the words this morning. When they slipped from her lips with ease, I was able to breathe and relax. Had I lost the bet, Ma would have killed me. I was ninety-nine percent sure I had nothing to worry about.
Da looks down at his watch. “Looks like it’s time.”
I turn for my clan ring and slip it on my pointer finger. For once, I’m placing it on for my good fortune. We all wear our rings for family weddings, christenings, and to honor the dead who have passed on into paradise.
Today, my father and I will bear our rings to welcome my wife into our lot. Danika will be a McGowan before the night is over. The thought brings a smile to my lips.
“Aye, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
***
How did I think I was going to have a wedding without my family? I don’t know why I was so surprised to walk into the room I booked for the ceremony to find not only my brothers, but their wives and sons. Cass and Joe were also among the bunch.
My sister has a scowl on her face as if she plans to batter me after the wedding is over. I’m happy to see her and wish her lads were here as well. It is as I stand here waiting for Danika to arrive that I realize how important this night is to me.
“Don’t worry, we’ll forgive ya,” Jonah says as he stands beside me.
“Speak for yourself,” Jack grumbles. “He was going to get married without us. I don’t know if I’m more hurt or surprised.”
“If ya knew all the details ye would all understand. I will tell ye all later, but I don’t think anyone outside of this room should know about us until I have some things figured out.”
“I told ya he had a reason,” Raymond says.
“Aye, well, I would like to hear it before I forgive him,” Jack says.
“And ya will. Now shut yer gub. Here comes the bride,” Jonah says.
I snap my head in the direction of the doors Danika just came through. I can’t breathe. She looks absolutely exquisite.
Her dress is simple yet elegant. The seams seem to shimmer and catch the light. The small detail highlights her figure and the fit of the gown. She looks like she’s glowing from the inside out.
I know right away this is the softer side of Danny. The side only I get to see. The part of her I plan to cherish for the rest of my life.
As if reading my mind, she locks eyes with me and her entire face lights up. I can’t help but return the smile. I didn’t think I could love this woman more than I already did, but the moment she smiles at me with excitement and hope in her eyes, I fall all over again.
She’s so complex and loving. Our talk last night revealed so much more to me. For every ounce of strength she possesses, she has an even amount of love and softness.
“Hi,” she breathes when she’s standing before me.
“Hello, love. Ya look beautiful,” I reply and wink at her.
“Um, where did all your family come from?”
“Ya know better than I. I guess Ma couldn’t help herself.”
She takes a deep, nervous breath. “Okay, well, Mr. McGowan. I think we’d better go on and get married before I run off on you or you change your mind.”
I place my hands on her waist and flex my fingers against the soft fabric of her dress. She looks up into my eyes and searches my gaze. It is then that I notice the small, clear gems in the corners of her eyes and in her lashes.
“Ya do know I would follow ya to the ends of the earth and all throughout hell if I had to. Lorg a h-uile duine leatha agus cùm i leat leat fhèin ,” I say.
“But am I worthy?”
“Aye, you are. I am the one who doesn’t deserve this second chance.”
She knits her brows and begins to search my eyes for answers. I turn and nod for the officiant to start. The past will not live in this moment. I’m moving forward.