16. Soul
Soul
Emery’s face pales as I open the door, and she steps out of the truck.
“A wedding chapel?" The words are nearly a whisper.
She wets her lips, scanning the white brick building before us.
Maybe I’m being a little dramatic or should have warned her where we were going. But ever since she said this is all temporary, I haven't been able to quiet the beast clawing at the inside of my ribs.
My brain is incapable of processing what she said about leaving once Zane is dealt with.
Like she thinks I’ll let her. Like she thinks I’ll let my daughter live anywhere other than under my roof now that I’m in her life.
Like I haven’t been searching for her for the last ten months after she disappeared from my bed.
Emery can try and push me away, but I’m digging my heels in. If this is what it takes to make my point, then so be it.
“Who’s getting married?” Her nose scrunches as her gaze falls to her dress. “If I’d have known we were attending a wedding, I would have worn something fancier.”
“What you’re wearing is perfect.”
"It's a sundress." Her eyebrow hitches. "A tangerine sundress. You told me to wear something cute. You should have clarified that it also needed to be fancy.”
I snag her hand, pulling her closer. A strand of hair breezes over her cheek, so I reach up and tuck it behind her ear. It takes all my restraint to not kiss her perfect, puffy lips. To not brush my fingers over her beautiful freckles.
“Your dress is perfect, Emery. You don't need to be anything other than exactly who you are.” My words have her cheeks brightening, and it’s stunning. “As for who’s getting married—”
I drop to one knee on the cement, not thinking about the pain until it shoots through my leg. Emery’s eyes widen, and she tries to pull me up. I don’t budge, but it’s adorable that she tries.
“What are you doing, Hayes?” she whisper-yells, like that will stop anyone from noticing on a busy street in downtown Vegas.
“What's your middle name?” I ask instead of answering her.
“The fact that you don't know the answer to that question is proof you should not be on one knee right now.”
“Middle name, Emery,” I say again, firmer this time, and her cheeks turn rosy.
“Charlotte.” She nibbles her lower lip, and I realize that she named our daughter after her. “It was my mother's name.”
“It's a beautiful name.” I kiss the back of her hand.
She shivers the moment my lips brush her skin, and I love that I still have that effect on her. It’s been months, and I never once forgot how soft she is. How gentle. How perfect. All the time in the world couldn’t erase the effect she has on me.
Emery is the exact opposite of everything else in my life. I'm bullets and blades, while Emery is everything soft and sweet. I’m reckless, and she’s peace. I’m only half of myself without her.
“Emery Charlotte Zane.” My grin finally draws out her smile. “We do a lot of shit backward… fuck, I probably shouldn’t cuss for this.”
“Probably not.” She giggles.
It’s fucking adorable.
“I've never been good at doing things the right way,” I admit. “I’m better at messing things up. I’ve never been in a relationship or committed to anything but the patch on my chest. I don't know what a family is supposed to look like outside of the one I have with my club. But then you came along and surprised me.”
I kiss the back of her hand again because I can’t help it. One kiss, and I need another. One touch, and I want to never take my hands off her.
“Even before I found out about Charlie, you changed everything for me. One night, and I couldn’t get you out of my head.
So if you think this is just temporary—that I’m going to kick you out once your uncle is dealt with—you’re wrong.
You're not an obligation. You’re my reason for everything.
You’re—” I stop short of saying mine because I still don't know that that's what she wants to be yet.
“I don't know what we're doing,” I say. “But for you and Charlie, I want to try. The second I found out your uncle planned to marry you to another man, I pretty much lost my mind because if you’re going to marry anyone, it’s going to be me. I don’t know how or why we found each other, but we did for a reason, and I’m not letting you go. ”
Tears brim in the corner of her eyes. Hope and fear stir in her gaze, and I know I'm making a complete mess of this speech. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve never had a girlfriend, but I need Emery in my life more than I need my club.
This is sudden. It's reckless.
Steel’s probably going to be pissed because marrying Emery skips me getting approval to make her my old lady, but I don’t give a fuck.
"Will you marry me?"
Emery rolls her lips between her teeth, thinking that over. Her pause might as well be a lifetime. I’m on the edge waiting for her to give me the world or take it away. Her palm is sweaty, gripping mine, but I don’t mind. She’s perfect.
“You meant it—everything you said?”
“Until my dying breath.”
She smiles, but her eyes narrow. “Try not to make that too soon for our daughter’s sake.”
“I’ll try,” I promise.
“Then yes. I’ll marry you, Hayes.”
I shoot to my feet and grab the back of her neck, pressing my lips to hers. Kissing Emery is like coming home. It’s like running straight into the sun because I’m burning up. Her fingers grip my cut, and she pulls me closer, moaning when my tongue grazes her lower lip.
Around us, I hear clapping from those who must have watched us, but I don’t give a fuck whose around because Emery is in my arms.
When we pull apart, Emery’s cheeks are bright pink, and I can’t help but drag my thumb over her freckles. I’m about to kiss her again when the roar of engines cuts through the cheering.
I turn to see Chaos and Venom rolling to a stop behind my truck. It’s rare I drive a truck, but with Emery in a dress, I didn’t have much of a choice.
“Well shit.” Chaos helps Willa off the back of his bike. “Please let me be around when you tell Steel about this later.”
“Does that mean you'll be my best man?” I grin as he approaches.
Chaos smacks my hand and pulls me in for a hug. “Wouldn’t miss this for the whole damn world, brother.”
Venom claps me on the back next. “Congratulations, man.”
“She still has to say I do,” Willa jokes, walking straight past me to Emery.
They hug, whispering so we can’t overhear what they’re saying. By the time they pull apart, they’re both grinning.
“So this is why Tempe has Charlie at her house?” Willa’s gaze darts between us. “The girls are never going to forgive us for not inviting them to this.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” I remind her.
Chaos and Willa eloped while they were traveling the country, so I wasn’t there. I hate weddings, but Chaos is my closest friend, and I expected to be at his. Now, I understand that they had to do what they had to do when the time felt right for them.
“We’ll throw something formal at the clubhouse when the time is right.” I pull Emery to my side. “This is just taking care of business.”
Emery glances up at me, her smile faltering. Light dims in her eyes, but she quickly masks it.
Something I just said bothered her.
Should I have thrown her something more formal?
“You all right?” I ask, pulling her closer. “We can put this off if you want more people here.”
“No, it’s fine. Like you said, taking care of business.” Her smile is tight. “Ready when you are.”
Venom is the first to walk toward the chapel, tossing a coin in a wishing well that sits beside it. The bottom is covered in pennies, and maybe I should make a final wish myself. But what else do I need with Emery in my arms?
She’s no longer smiling as big as she was when I proposed, and I can't help but worry that I fucked something up just now. But she sticks to my side as we walk into the chapel, so I take it for what it is.
I’m making her mine.
We’ll deal with the consequences later.