Epilogue
Five months later
“Don’t get me wrong, this is awesome, but I don’t think you know how dates work.” Clover tightened her binoculars to get them in focus. “Wait, that’s Badger.” Seriously, what a ridiculous name.
She and Micah were hiding out in an unoccupied, empty floor of some four-story brick building across the street from a rowdy biker bar. The bar seemed out of place for the quiet street of businesses in the bustling downtown.
But Micah had told her the bar attracted the downtown business crowd during the day, then when all the nine-to-fivers went home, the biker bar shifted into something else. And he was not wrong.
“Are you kidding me? We have pizza, wine and entertainment. This is totally a date.”
She set down her binoculars and glanced over at him. They were both sitting on a couch, but unlike her, he wasn’t watching what was going on across the street. He was just watching her. “You don’t want to watch them?”
He shrugged and picked up his drink. He’d surprised her by being into white wines—and he was kind of a snob about them. Which was somehow adorable. Of course everything he did seemed to be adorable.
“I know what’s about to happen.” He grinned in a way she recognized—he’d done something and was very proud of himself.
“Oh my god, what did you do?” He’d dragged her an hour north of Sanctuary Falls with no explanation other than he was taking her on a hot date. Considering it was Friday night and she’d been working her ass off all week, she’d been expecting something more.
And now it was clear that he was about to give her the real present.
“Not what I did exactly…” He nodded toward the window. “You’re not going to want to miss this next bit.”
She turned with her binoculars in time to see one of the bikers suddenly pull a gun and a badge on Badger. Then a plethora of vehicles with flashing blue and red lights appeared out of nowhere.
“Oh my god, this is a bust!” Did she just squeal? So what, this was awesome. “How did you know about this?”
He snorted softly. “Please, I made this happen.”
Of course he had. The man was incredible.
“For the record, I didn’t plant anything, but I did send some very interesting pictures of Badger to a contact of mine and they’ve been investigating him ever since. I got a tip earlier this morning that the takedown would happen tonight. I thought you might want a front-row seat.”
“Well you thought right. This is definitely one of my favorite dates so far.”
“One of?”
“You just flew me to St. Lucia last month. That one was a smidge better than this. But just a smidge. Oh look at his face,” she practically cackled.
“And his dumbass friends. How long do you think they’ll do time?
Oh, and can I tell Nyla about this?” They’d been texting the last few months and had even hung out a few times.
While she wasn’t sure they’d ever be besties, Clover was pretty sure this might get her a spot closer.
When he didn’t respond, she turned to face him and saw…
“Oh my god,” she breathed out when she realized what he was holding. A cushion-cut pink sapphire surrounded by little diamonds. For a moment, she forgot to breathe. Or move. And maybe even blink.
“I knew you wouldn’t want an audience or any kind of show for this. And considering your need for Storm Justice I kinda figured you’d be riding a high tonight and it would increase my odds of you saying yes. Marry me, Clover?”
The sincere way he asked her, the thought he’d put into this whole night… He really did know her in a way no one else ever had. He saw her.
Because he was right, she would have hated an audience for this moment. This man saw her and loved every part of her.
Fighting happy tears, she nodded, held out her hand, realized she was trembling.
It was hard to believe she’d almost let her doubts and fears hold her back.
She would have missed out on the love of her life.
“Sometimes it’s scary how well you know me.
To be clear, I’d have said yes in St. Lucia too. Or anywhere else.”
He leaned forward, claiming her mouth as he slid the ring fully on her finger.
“I’ve also booked a bed-and-breakfast for us this weekend not far from here. I booked the entire place so it’s just you and me,” he whispered against her mouth. “I don’t plan on leaving the bedroom all weekend.”
It sounded amazing. “I think those guys are going to be a while… Want to start the fireworks now?”
“Like you even have to ask,” he growled.
No, she did not. She’d learned that it took nothing to get him in the mood. He wanted her with an intensity that mirrored her own hunger. To be loved and truly seen by someone was a drug all by itself.
And she was never letting go of this wonderful man. Nope, their adventure was just beginning.
Thank you so much for reading Knight's Obsession.