13. Poppy
CHAPTER 13
POPPY
I thought we’d head straight to the hotel, but Crank pulled up onto the sidewalk and stopped right by the Bellagio fountains on the way. While the water jetted into the air and the lights sparkled, he got down on one knee.
“What are you doing?” I took his hands and tried to pull him back to his feet. Even though it was after one in the morning, the sidewalks were still crowded with people.
Crank smiled up at me, unruffled by the crowd around us. “We’ve been through a lot in the short amount of time we’ve been together. But I’ve known since the first time I saw you that we were meant for each other.”
My cheeks warmed. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Poppy, I know I’m not the man you hoped you’d spend the rest of your life with, but I’m willing to do everything to be the man you need. Will you marry me, angel?” He held out a gorgeous ring with a huge blue gemstone.
“Yes! Of course, yes!” My heart just about exploded out of my chest as he slid the ring onto my finger.
The people around us clapped and cheered, but I only had eyes for Crank. He stood and caught me up in a huge bear hug. “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
The ring caught the light as I tilted my hand. Now that we’d found each other, I didn’t want to wait another second to commit my heart and soul to this man. “I wish we could get married right now.”
His eyes danced. “Hell, Poppy, we’re in Vegas. We can get married in the next ten minutes if you want.”
The thought of tying myself to someone for the rest of my life used to scare me, but with Crank it felt like one more step toward a pre-destined future meant just for us.
“Let’s do it.” I held tight to his hand as we got back on the bike.
It took a lot longer than ten minutes to get a marriage license and head over to the cute, little white wedding chapel. Crank insisted on paying for the ultimate package that included a tux for him and a complete makeover and wedding dress for me. With the gorgeous veil covering my head, I felt beautiful even without my long, red hair.
The entire ceremony lasted five minutes. Crank held my hands and stared deeply into my eyes as he said his vows. I almost didn’t make it through mine since I was so choked up with emotion.
Finally, the officiant pronounced us man and wife. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
“Smith?” I let out a laugh. “How is it I had no idea what your last name was until tonight?”
“We’ve got the rest of our lives to learn everything about each other, baby.” Crank slipped his hand behind my back and dipped me low. Then my husband kissed me for the first time as his wife.
He’d booked us on a flight back to Whitefish around noon, which meant we had a little over eight hours before we had to board the plane. With the war against the Savage Bones waiting for us when we got back, I wanted to savor the little bit of time we had together in Vegas.
“Let’s go check in at the hotel. I can’t wait to get you out of that dress and consummate this marriage,” Crank said.
I gathered the full skirt of my wedding dress in my hands and climbed on the back of the bike. Before Crank could fire up the engine, his phone pinged with an incoming text.
“Oh, shit. You’re not going to believe what Eeek did while we were gone.” Crank held the phone up to show me the image on his screen.
Atlas, the president of the Mustang Mountain Riders, glared at the camera. Three red lines crossed his cheek. The skin around them looked puffy and raw, and his neck had swelled to twice its normal size.
“What happened?” I squinted at the image.
“I forgot to tell him Eeek was in his office. Guess the two of them had a little run-in and Atlas got the worst of it. Sounds like he caught a bad case of cat scratch fever.” Crank chuckled and tapped out a text before sliding his phone back into his pocket. “He’ll be fine, but Juice says it’s the first time Atlas hasn’t been able to have things his way with a piece of pussy.”
“He’s not going to hurt Eeek, is he?” I hadn’t even met her, but already the cat had earned a special place in my heart.
“Nope. Juice told him I got her as a wedding gift for you. She’s going to be just fine, but I probably ought to tell you one more thing I forgot to mention.” He twisted around and looked at me. “I’m pretty allergic to cats.”
“And yet you got one anyway just so you didn’t get caught in a lie? I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Crank.”
His smile worked its way past all the defenses I’d held in place for so long. I didn’t need them anymore. I could be myself with Crank. He loved me for who I was, not who he wanted me to be. For the very first time, I felt truly seen.
“I can think of a few things you can do with me, angel, though none of them involve sitting on this bike and wasting time when we have a perfectly good hotel room waiting for us a short ride away.” His grin widened, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to wait until we get to the hotel. Do you think your friends would be offended if we did it on the bike they loaned you?”
Crank’s brows lifted. “I hit the jackpot with you, didn’t I? They’ll never have to know. Hold on tight, angel. We’re about two minutes away from making one of my longest held fantasies come true.”
I laughed as he gave the bike some gas and we sped away from the glittering lights of the Vegas Strip. Tomorrow we’d be back in Mustang Mountain and preparing to fight for the town both of us loved.
But tonight… well, tonight the only problem we had to solve was how to get me out of this dress in the quickest way possible.