Epilogue - Clay
One year later
The ring has been burning a hole in my pocket for three weeks.
I bought it the day after Karina booked her thirtieth event. I walked into the jewelry store and pointed straight at the rose gold band with the diamonds. The saleswoman tried to show me other options, but I told her my woman likes pink. She stopped arguing.
Now I'm standing in the Hartford Community Center, watching Colt hang twinkle lights while Viper carefully arranges flowers like he's defusing a bomb.
“Little to the left,” I say.
Viper glares at me. “You want to do this yourself, Prez?”
“I’m making sure it's right.”
Colt climbs down from the ladder and surveys the room. “She's going to love it, bro. Relax.”
I don't know how to relax. I've faced down rival clubs and men twice my size without breaking a sweat, but the thought of getting down on one knee in front of Karina makes my palms damp.
What if she says no?
“Quit worrying,” Colt says.
“I’m not.”
“You're standing there with your jaw clenched, staring at nothing. You’re spiraling.”
I force myself to unclench my jaw. “I'm fine.”
“Sure you are.” He claps my shoulder. “She's going to say yes. That woman is crazy about you. Fuck knows why.”
“Thanks, Colt.”
“Anytime, brother.”
I pick Karina up at five. She's wearing a soft sweater dress that hugs her curves and makes me want to skip dinner entirely. Her hair falls in loose waves around her face, and she's smiling at me in a way that makes my heart beat faster.
“Where are we going?” she asks in the truck, Dolly sitting between us and begging for a treat. I give her one from the packet that I keep hidden in the pocket of my cut.
“It's a surprise.”
“I hate surprises.”
“Karina. You love surprises.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You're acting weird.”
“Nothing's wrong.” I reach over and take her hand, threading my fingers through hers. “Trust me.”
She softens. “I do.”
Karina’s face when she sees the community center is worth every minute of planning.
Her voice is barely a whisper. “Clay…you did all this?”
“Had some help.”
She takes in the lights, the flowers, and the table for two in the center of the room. Her eyes are shining, and she’s trying not to cry.
“This is where we met for the first time,” she says.
“It’s where you changed my life, cupcake.”
I lead her to the table and pop the champagne, as she looks around the room like she's memorizing every detail.
She's so damn beautiful. I don't deserve her. I know that. But I'm selfish enough to want her anyway.
We eat dinner. She tells me about her latest event booking and how her mother was bragging to her friends about her success. She talks with big gestures, laughing, stealing little bites off my plate.
I never knew I wanted this but now I can't imagine anything else.
Her phone buzzes. She glances at it and grins.
“Tania drama,” she says. “Her car died, and she has to share a ride with Mitchell.”
“Who's Mitchell?”
“Her brother Elijah's best friend. Grumpy ex-military type. Lives next door to her.” She's texting back, still grinning. “I told her it sounds like a romance story.”
“Poor bastard doesn't stand a chance.”
“Nope!” She puts the phone away and looks at me. “Sorry. You have my full attention.”
I take a deep breath and stand, walking around the table. Dolly’s ears perk up and she barks once. I pull the ring box from my pocket and Karina’s eyes widen.
“Just over a year ago,” I say, “you walked into this room and pitched a charity about hugs to a bunch of bikers.”
“Clay—”
“You were nervous and brave… wearing the sexiest little pink dress I'd ever seen.”
“It wasn’t that sexy…” she whispers, but there are tears sliding down her cheeks.
I drop to one knee. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“Right then, when you opened your arms and asked me to hug you, I knew you were going to ruin my life in the best possible way.”
She laughs through her tears. “You looked so grumpy.”
I open the box. The pink diamond sparkles in the light. “Every day, I wake up next to you and think, how did I get this lucky? How did a grumpy asshole like me end up with the most beautiful, kind, smart woman on the planet?”
“Clay…”
“I'm not good at soft words. But I love you, and I want to spend every day showing you that.” I hold up the ring. “Marry me, Karina. Let me be your grumpy hugging partner forever.”
She stares at me. Tears streaming down her face, she’s the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen.
“That's not a question,” she says.
I blink. “What?”
“You said 'marry me.’ That's a command, not a question.”
“Are you correcting my proposal right now?”
I stand up, haul her out of her chair, and kiss her. She melts into me, grabbing fistfuls of my shirt, kissing me back with everything she has.
“Is that a yes?” I ask against her lips.
“You bet it’s a yes!” She smiles up at me.
I slide the ring onto her finger. Karina wraps her arms around my neck. I pull her close, burying my face in her hair.
Then I kiss her again, soft and slow, while the fairy lights twinkle overhead and Dolly tries to eat a flower arrangement. She pulls back to look at me, her eyes bright and the pink diamond glinting on her finger.
“I love you. Happy Valentine's Day.”
“I love you too. Happy Valentine's Day, cupcake.”