Chapter 38
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— Colt —
The clubhouse had been transformed. Fairy lights strung across the ceiling. Flowers on every table—daisies, because they were her favorite. The brothers in their cleanest jeans, on their best behavior.
I stood at the front of the room, Dutch beside me, trying not to fidget. I’d faced down Death’s Head without breaking a sweat, but waiting for Lilac to walk through those doors had my heart pounding.
“Breathe, brother.” Dutch’s voice was amused. “She already said yes.”
“I know. I just—” I shook my head. “I never thought I’d get this. A second wedding. A second chance.”
“Well, you got it. So try not to pass out before she gets here.”
The doors opened.
The boys came in together, side by side—Luca carrying a small pillow with Lilac’s cut and the leather bracelet, walking with the exaggerated seriousness of a six-year-old who’d been given an important job; Knox scattering flower petals from a basket with more enthusiasm than precision.
And then—Lilac.
She was radiant. The white dress floated around her as she walked, her dark hair loose over her shoulders, catching the light from the fairy lights above.
Her smile was bright enough to light up the whole damn room, but I could see the nervousness underneath—the slight tremor in her hands, the way she was breathing a little too fast. Betty walked beside her, proud as any mother of the bride, guiding her toward me.
I swear I forgot how to breathe.
“Hi.” She stopped in front of me.
“Hi.” My voice came out rough. I reached out without thinking, taking her trembling hands in mine to steady them. Her skin was cold. “You look—”
“If you say ‘good enough to eat,’ I’m walking out.”
I laughed, the tension breaking. “I was going to say beautiful. But now that you mention it…”
Dutch cleared his throat. “If you two are done, we’ve got a ceremony to conduct.”
Right. The ceremony.
I turned to face the room, Lilac beside me, our sons standing just behind us. Every brother was watching. Every old lady, every prospect, every person who mattered in our world.
“Brothers,” Dutch began, his voice carrying through the silence.
“Today we’re doing two things at once, because that’s how this family operates—efficient.
” A low ripple of laughter moved through the room.
“We’re here to witness the marriage of Colt and Lilac Spencer.
Again.” He let that land. “And we’re here to formally claim Lilac as one of our own. As Colt’s old lady.”
A murmur of approval rippled through the crowd.
“Colt.” Dutch turned to me. “You got something to say?”
I took Lilac’s hands in mine, still cold, still trembling.
I held them gently, trying to warm them, to steady them.
“The first time I married you, I promised to love you, protect you, be with you forever. And then I thought you were gone—not to death, but to a choice. I thought you’d left. I spent seven years believing that.”
My voice cracked. I blinked hard and kept going. “Finding you again—falling in love with you again—has been the greatest gift of my life. You gave me back my heart. You gave me our sons. You gave me a second chance I didn’t deserve.”
“Colt—” Lilac started, tears streaming down her face now, but I shook my head.
“Let me finish.” I squeezed her hands, my own shaking now too.
“This ceremony isn’t just about claiming you.
It’s about promising you—in front of my brothers, our sons, everyone who matters—that I will never stop earning you.
Every day for the rest of my life, I will prove that I’m worthy of your love, your trust, your life. ”
I released her hands and took the cut from the pillow Luca was solemnly holding out.
“This cut is yours.” I turned it so she could see the back: PROPERTY OF COLT, in bold letters.
“It means you’re protected. It means you belong to this family—to these brothers, to this life.
To me.” She turned without being asked, and I settled it over her shoulders, over the white dress.
When she faced me again I picked up the leather bracelet—woven leather with a small metal charm, the Venom Riders logo etched into it—and fastened it around her wrist myself. “Permanently.”
Lilac’s eyes were wet, but she was smiling. “Is it my turn now?”
“Yeah, baby. Your turn.”
She took a breath. “I don’t remember our first wedding. I don’t remember the vows we made or the promises we exchanged. But maybe that’s okay. Because the promises I’m making today—I’m making them with full knowledge of who you are and who I am now.
“I choose you, Colt Spencer. Not because I remember loving you before, but because I fell in love with you again. With the man who was patient when I was scared. Gentle when I was wary. Present when our sons needed a father. This is my promise: I will stand beside you through whatever comes. Good times and bad. Club business and family chaos. All of it.”
Dutch stepped forward. “Brothers, you’ve heard the vows. Anyone object to Colt and Lilac Spencer getting hitched again?”
Silence. Then Handful shouted “Hell no!” and the room erupted in cheers.
I pulled Lilac into my arms and kissed her—deep and thorough. Her hands fisted in my cut, pulling me closer, and her body pressed against mine like she was trying to crawl inside my skin.
Heat flooded through me—desire, yes, but mostly relief. She was mine. Officially, publicly, permanently mine. Again. But this time I was never letting her go.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, both trembling, Luca tugged on my sleeve.
“Dad?” His voice was small but steady. “Does this mean we’re a real family now?”
I crouched down so I was eye-level with both boys. “We were already a real family, buddy. This just makes it official.”
Luca considered that with the gravity of someone who’d been thinking about it for a while. “Are we all Spencers now?”
“Yeah. Glitch took care of it. It’s done. You’re Luca Spencer and Knox Spencer.”
Luca nodded slowly, satisfied. Knox processed this for approximately one second.
“Can we have cake now?”
I laughed, pulling both boys into a hug. “Yeah. We can have cake now.”
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The party went late into the night.
Brothers toasted to our future. Old ladies shared stories about MC life, giving Lilac tips and tricks for navigating the chaos. The boys ran wild with other kids from the club, hopped up on sugar and excitement.
At one point, I noticed Holden watching Bea across the room. She was chatting with Indira, laughing at something, completely at ease despite being surrounded by bikers. Holden’s expression was unguarded in a way I rarely saw—longing, and underneath it, frustration.
Lilac followed my gaze. “He’s still pining after her, isn’t he?”
“Has been for years. Keeps asking her out, keeps getting turned down.” I shook my head. “She says it’s about professional boundaries. He says she’s just scared.”
“Maybe they’re both right.” Lilac leaned into me. “She’s been good for the boys, though. I don’t know what she does in those sessions, but it’s working.”
I watched Holden finally look away from Bea, his jaw tight. “Maybe one day she’ll give him a chance.”
“Maybe.” Lilac waved at Bea, who waved back with a warm smile. “She’s becoming a real friend. Not just the boys’ therapist.”
“That’s the club, baby. Everyone gets tangled up eventually.”
“Happy?” I murmured against her hair as we swayed to a slow song, the party winding down around us.
My hands rested on the small of her back, and I could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin fabric of her dress.
She fit against me perfectly, her head tucked under my chin, her hands linked behind my neck.
“Happier than I ever remember being.” She looked up at me. “Is that crazy?”
“No.” I kissed her forehead, then her temple, breathing in the scent of her. “It’s not crazy.”
Her fingers toyed with the hair at the nape of my neck. I pulled her closer and rested my chin on top of her head. We didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything left to say.
And as the music played and our sons laughed and our brothers raised one final toast, I finally let myself believe it. I had Lilac back.