Chapter One #3
Emma lifts one hand from Cain’s and touches his face gently.
“You never had to deserve love, Cain,” she says softly.
“You just had to let someone give it to you.” Cain’s entire expression breaks open.
Not dramatically. Worse. Quietly. Like those words hit somewhere deep enough that he doesn’t know how to defend against them.
Emma smiles through tears. “You spent so long believing your worth only existed in what you could protect,” she continues.
“But the truth is, you’re worthy of love simply because you exist.”
Cain’s eyes shut briefly.
Emma steps closer. “You are the safest place I’ve ever known,” she whispers.
“Not because you’re gentle all the time.
Not because life with you is easy. But because you love with everything you have.
” Cain lets out a shaky breath. “You love our children like they hung the stars,” she says with a watery smile.
“You love me like losing me would destroy you.” Her fingers brush against his jaw.
“And I promise to spend the rest of my life loving you just as fiercely.”
Cain opens his eyes again. Completely wrecked.
Emma laughs softly through her tears. “You’re crying.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You absolutely are.”
Cain shakes his head once and pulls her closer without warning, pressing his forehead against hers. “I love you,” he says roughly. “So fucking much.”
Emma smiles. “I know.”
Twisted clears his throat. “Boy, if you don’t kiss your wife already—”
Cain doesn’t need to be told twice. Cutter wipes at his eye aggressively and pretends he isn’t.
Then Logan and Mac.
Mac looks entirely too pleased with herself. Which honestly tracks. She stands in front of Logan in a fitted white dress with Knox balanced on her hip for half a second before Nikki swoops in to steal him away because apparently even surprise weddings still require grandma intervention.
Logan watches all of it like he’s trying to process how his life became this. President of the Deathstalkers. Feared across half the state. Brought to his knees by one tiny blonde woman smiling at him like she already owns his soul.
Mac reaches for his hands and tilts her head slightly. “You look terrified.”
Logan exhales slowly. “I am terrified.”
“Good.”
The yard laughs.
Logan shakes his head under his breath, but there’s no missing the way his eyes soften when he looks at her. “You planned this whole thing behind my back?”
Mac shrugs. “What can I say? I’m organized.”
“You’re a menace.”
“And yet here you are.”
Logan steps closer anyway, hands settling automatically at her waist. “You know,” he says roughly, “most women get proposed to with less psychological warfare.”
Mac grins. “Weak women maybe.”
Whip nearly chokes laughing behind them.
Logan stares down at her for another second before his expression shifts.
Still Logan. Still hard. Still carrying the weight of everyone around him.
But softer where she’s concerned. “You’re my equal in every fucking way that matters,” he says quietly.
The teasing vanishes from Mac’s face immediately.
Logan’s thumbs brush lightly against her hips.
“When I met you, I thought I had to carry everything alone,” he admits.
“The club. The pressure. My family. Every goddamn problem.” His jaw flexes once.
“I thought leadership meant never bending.”
Mac’s eyes shine.
“But then you walked into my life and started carrying pieces of me I didn’t even realize were breaking.
” Emotion climbs slowly into his voice, roughening every word.
“You built a home around me when I only knew how to build walls.” Mac visibly swallows at that.
Logan keeps going anyway. “You made this place more than a clubhouse,” he says.
“You made it a family. You made it safe for our kids. For our women. For me.” The last two words come quieter.
More vulnerable. “And I swear to you,” he says, eyes locked on hers, “there will never come a day where you stand alone. Not while I’m breathing. ”
Mac lets out a shaky little laugh like she’s trying not to cry. Too late. She already is.
Logan immediately notices. “Don’t do that,” he mutters.
“Do what?”
“Cry while looking pretty. It feels manipulative.”
Mac laughs through tears. Then she steps closer until their bodies are nearly touching.
“When I found this club,” she says softly, “I thought I was stepping into someone else’s world.
” Her eyes move briefly toward the people gathered around them before returning to him.
“A world where I’d always have to fight to keep up.
Fight to be respected. Fight to matter.” Logan’s grip tightens slightly at her waist. “But you never asked me to become less in order to fit beside you.”
That lands hard enough Logan actually goes still.
Mac reaches up, fingers brushing lightly along his jaw.
“You gave me somewhere to belong without asking me to become smaller first.” The emotion on Logan’s face at that is almost painful to witness.
Mac smiles softly through her tears. “You never tried to silence me,” she whispers.
“Never tried to dim me down so you could shine brighter.” Her voice trembles slightly.
“You stood beside me and made room for all of me.” Logan closes his eyes briefly like he physically feels those words.
“And God, Logan,” she says with a watery laugh, “you love so fiercely. Your family. Your brothers. Me. Knox.” Her hand settles over his chest. “You carry everyone like their pain belongs to you too.”
“It does,” he says immediately.
“I know.”
Mac’s smile turns softer. “And I promise that no matter how heavy this life gets, you’ll never carry it alone again.”
Logan’s composure finally cracks a little at that. Not fully. Just enough. Enough for everyone who loves him to see it. He leans forward, forehead resting briefly against hers. “I fucking love you,” he says quietly.
Mac grins instantly. “I know. You’re obsessed with me.”
Logan huffs a laugh against her mouth. “Little bit.”
“A lot bit.”
“Yeah,” he admits, finally smiling fully. “A lot bit.”
Carter looks wrecked the second Brooke steps in front of him. Not nervous. Not unsure. Emotional in a way that hits harder because Carter Pearce is usually so controlled.
Brooke’s dress is simple compared to some of the others, soft lace and flowing fabric, but she looks at him like he hung the damn moon, and that alone is enough to undo him. He takes her hands carefully. Like he still can’t fully believe she’s real. Brooke smiles gently. “You okay?”
Carter lets out a breath that sounds suspiciously uneven. “Not really.”
That earns a quiet laugh from her. Around them, the yard settles into silence again. Twisted folds his arms, watching with a knowing look that probably means he’s about to emotionally spiral over his kids getting married. Nikki already is.
Carter stares at Brooke for a long moment before speaking.
“When I found you,” he says quietly, “you looked like someone waiting for the world to hurt you again.” Brooke’s breath catches.
“And maybe part of me recognized that,” he admits.
“Because I know what it’s like to survive something ugly long enough that it starts feeling normal.
” Emotion roughens his voice slightly. “But then you looked at me anyway.”
Brooke’s eyes immediately shine.
“You trusted me when you had every reason not to trust anybody,” Carter says.
“You let me stand beside you even when you were scared. Even when it was hard.” His grip tightens gently around her hands.
“And I swear to God, Brooke, you will never survive alone again.” His voice shakes slightly on the last part.
Enough that everyone hears it. Brooke visibly breaks at that.
Carter swallows hard and keeps going anyway.
“No more carrying everything by yourself. No more wondering if somebody’s coming for you.
” His eyes lock on hers. “I’m here. Every fucking time.
Every bad day. Every nightmare. Every piece of it. ”
Brooke’s tears spill over completely.
Carter immediately looks distressed by that. “Oh, baby…”
She laughs shakily, shaking her head. “You’re not helping.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know.” Brooke squeezes his hands tighter and takes a steadying breath.
“When I met you,” she says softly, “I thought strength meant surviving pain quietly.” Carter’s entire focus sharpens on her instantly.
“I thought softness was dangerous,” she admits.
“I thought needing people made you weak.” Emotion catches in her throat for a second before she forces herself through it.
“But you taught me softness wasn’t weakness. ”
Carter closes his eyes briefly like the words physically hit him.
Brooke steps closer. “You showed me that being cared for doesn’t make me fragile,” she whispers.
“That being loved doesn’t mean being controlled.
That safety can exist without fear attached to it.
” Carter’s breathing goes uneven at that.
“You never rushed me,” she says. “Never made me feel broken for needing time. You loved me patiently, even when I didn’t know how to love myself yet. ”
The yard is dead silent now.
Brooke reaches up carefully, touching Carter’s jaw.
“And somewhere along the way,” she says with a watery smile, “you became the safest place I’ve ever known.
” Carter fully loses composure for a second.
Not dramatically. Quietly. Like the emotion is simply too big to hide anymore.
“You gave me a future I never thought I deserved,” Brooke whispers.
“And I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life choosing you right back. ”
Carter lets out a shaky breath and pulls her closer immediately. “I love you so fucking much,” he says against her forehead.
Brooke smiles through tears. “I love you too.”
Then Carter kisses her like he’s been waiting his whole damn life to do it.