I cupped his face in both hands. “Thank you for this. It means so much to me.”
“Anything for you, precious.” He lifted his gaze to the others behind me. “You, little one.” Nova came down the stairs. “Carry this for your cousin. It’s too heavy for her to lift.”
Nova took it and made a face. “It’s like five pounds, if that.”
“See? Much too heavy for her.” He kissed me one last time then slowly backed away. “I love you.”
I blew him a kiss and then climbed the steps with Nova, knowing he wasn’t going to leave until I was safely inside.
Chapter 24
Monroe
The five of us camped out in the living room in sleeping bags, watching movies and eating every kind of junk food known to man. It wasn’t a wild night, but it was fun, and I was spending it with some of my favorite people.
By midnight, everyone was asleep but Mila and me. My sister cuddled up with me on the couch as we munched on the pan of brownies Mom made us before going to bed because I’d been craving them like crazy. The others had already been passed out for an hour or more by that time.
The front door opened, and Maverick walked in, smelling like booze and perfume. I lifted my head, frowning at my brother. “Were you at Hannigans’?”
“Yeah.” He walked over and sat down between Mila and me. Taking Mila’s fork, he scooped up a large bite of brownie and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Why do you smell like cheap hookers?” Mila demanded, eyeing our brother suspiciously.
Maverick clenched his jaw and glanced at River, who was sound asleep in front of the TV beside Nova. “Some of the sheep showed up. They were all over your future brother-in-law, and since I was standing beside him and Lyric, they rubbed against me. I swear I didn’t touch anyone. And neither did Lyric or Gian.”
“I didn’t think G did,” I said, taking another bite of the best brownies in the world.
“I wasn’t worried about Lyric,” Mila grumbled. “Just wondering if I needed to put you in the witness protection program or something so River doesn’t murder your dumb ass.”
“Ha-fucking-ha. I would cut off my own cock if I ever did something like that to River.” He kissed my cheek and stood. “I need a shower. Don’t stay up too late. You don’t want to be zombies for your own wedding.”
We sat there quietly until we heard his bedroom door shut, then I felt my chin begin to tremble. “I’m really going to miss him.”
“Ah, Mon.” Mila wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You said you and Gian agreed to split your time between Italy and Creswell Springs. You’ll see him—and me—plenty.”
“I know, but I’m still going to miss you both so much.” I leaned into her, fighting the tears. If I started crying, I knew my eyes would be all bloodshot and swollen come morning, and I couldn’t marry Gian looking like that. Thanks to the makeup artist Aunt Emmie had coming in the next morning, the faint black eye I still had would be completely covered.
“We’re going to miss you too,” she murmured. “The whole point in you going to Rome for the summer was so you wouldn’t be so far away for college. Now you’re going to be halfway around the world for six months out of the year. What am I supposed to do without you, baby sis?”
I swallowed the lump clogging my throat and held on to her tightly without answering. The idea of living in Tuscany had been great until reality set in and I realized I was going to be without the rest of the people I loved so much. With everyone not making me choose between them and Gian, it made moving away more bitter than sweet. I got them both without having to sacrifice anyone, but I wasn’t so sure I wanted to live so far away.
“Come on,” Mila said a short time later. “Let’s go.”
I didn’t even question her as she linked our fingers, and we walked upstairs. Instead of going into either of our rooms, she walked into Maverick’s. He was already sprawled on the bed, his hair wet, dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers.
He lifted his head, already half asleep. “What’s wrong?”
“One last group cuddle,” Mila told him as she climbed into his bed on the left, and I took the right side.
He rolled onto his back, opening his arms for us, and we pillowed our heads on his shoulders. Maverick kissed each of our foreheads and then promptly fell asleep.
Laughing softly, we linked hands over our brother’s stomach and closed our eyes.
That was where Mom found us the next morning when she came to wake us up for breakfast. “I’m framing this picture and putting it on the wall in the living room,” she said in a voice that quivered as she snapped picture after picture of the three of us sleeping in Maverick’s bed.
“Ah, look at this cuteness,” River teased as she came into the room with a glass of orange juice in hand. “But I’m seriously pissed at you two. I have a stiff back and sore neck from sleeping on the floor, and you had a nice soft bed to rest in all night.”
“Sorry, not sorry,” Mila said with a grin as she sat up. Then she saw the clock and screamed. “Holy shit, I’m getting married in like four hours. I have to get ready. Shit, shit, shit.”
“Be careful,” Mom cautioned when Mila started to jump to her feet. “You have plenty of time. The makeup artist and the hairstylist Emmie hired for the day aren’t even supposed to be here for another two hours.”
“I feel so fat today,” Mila moaned as she touched her slightly distended stomach. She was two weeks further along than I was, but she was showing a hell of a lot more than I was already. “I’m never going to fit into that dress.”
“Yes, you will,” Mom soothed. “Come on. You just need some breakfast. Monroe, I want you to let Mav help you up. Okay? I don’t want you to fall.”
Downstairs, Nova, River, and Tavia were already gorging on homemade cinnamon rolls. Or at least, Nova was. Tavia was only picking at hers, looking at the delicious goodness with a green tinge to her face.
“You’re pregnant!” I exclaimed, and her cheeks turned pink as she nodded.
“We just found out last week,” she confessed with a smile. “I told Raven yesterday, and she was so happy.”
“Damn, all these chicks are preggos,” Maverick complained as he stole Tavia’s roll and destroyed it in two bites. His gray eyes went to River, and he shook his head. “These three better be the only ones.”
She rolled her eyes. “Forget to glove up again, and you’re going to be more than just Uncle Mav, dummy.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Mom muttered as she pulled another pan of cinnamon rolls from the oven. “Nope. Didn’t hear a single word. My son is a good boy. He doesn’t touch underage girls whose father will kill him and bury him in the woods.”
“I’ll be eighteen in a few more months,” River reminded her.
“But you will still have an overprotective daddy who will cut off Mav’s nuts for even looking at you,” Mom argued.
“Dad won’t hurt him. I’ll make sure of that.” River accepted another roll and cut into it with her fork. After chewing, she pointed her fork at her boyfriend. “Now, let’s talk about you coming in smelling like a cheap whore last night.”
“I thought you were asleep,” Maverick grumbled.
“The scent of Misty’s perfume could wake the dead. The entire downstairs still smells like it,” Mom muttered unhappily.
“She and about three other sheep were all over Luca all evening,” my brother explained again. “He was drinking pretty heavily, and Lyric was giving him stink eye all night, but the dude wasn’t really into them. Like, his body was there, but his mind was elsewhere. They were more or less humping his leg, and he just stood there as if he was in another world.”
Mila grimaced. “There may or may not be drama with him today. Lyric warned me that things can go from zero to sixty in a second flat when his brother is in the same room with Violet Stevenson these days.”
“Let’s not worry about other people’s drama today,” I suggested. “This is our day. We’re the stars.”
“Hell yeah, we are!” Mila said with a grin.
As the morning wore on and the house became more like a war zone with people running in and out, I tried to stay calm. But all I could think was that I just wanted Gian to wrap his arms around me and tell me how much he loved me. The whole waiting until the wedding to see each other seemed ridiculous the longer I had to spend away from him.
While Mila was getting her makeup done, another stylist was working on my hair, and I couldn’t wait another second. Lifting my phone, I called Gian.
“Precious?” he answered before the first ring finished. “What’s wrong?”
“I love you and I miss you and I just want a kiss so damn badly right now,” I rushed out.
“What about the whole not seeing each other until you’re walking down the aisle?”
“It’s mean of you to remind me of my stupidity,” I said with a pout and heard him laugh.
Fuck, but I loved his laugh.
“I love you, and I miss you too. And as soon as I see you, I’m going to kiss you breathless,” he promised. “It won’t be long now, my love. I’ll see you soon.”
“Please come and kiss me now,” I begged.
“I can’t, precious girl. I’m in the middle of something important.” I heard voices in the background, and I pulled my brows together when I heard my dad’s voice, as well as some of my uncles making a fuss. I hadn’t seen Daddy all day, and now I was wondering if he’d even come home the night before.
“Is everything okay? Do I need to send Mom to make Daddy be good?” Now, I was worried something was going on. Daddy wouldn’t really kill the father of his grandchildren on my wedding day…would he?
“Everything is perfect, Monroe,” he assured me. “Just putting the finishing touches on your wedding present.”
“You didn’t have to get me a present. I’m getting everything I ever wanted today. You. That’s all I will ever need.”
I heard his sharp inhale. “That is my line, baby. Now go get pampered while I finalize a few things. I’ll see you soon, I promise.”
“I love you,” I whispered.
“More today than yesterday?” he murmured, making my heart pound.
“And I already know I’ll love you more tomorrow than today.”
Chapter 25
Gian
“We’ll have the old house torn down this week,” Tanner Reid said as he went over the plans his son had already drawn up. “Won’t take more than a few days to have the mess cleaned up, and then we can pour the foundation and start on the house itself the following week.”
“The house should be done in six weeks. Two months, tops,” Reid, his oldest son, said when he paused.
I nodded my approval and signed the contract Jos Reid placed in front of me. I scrawled my name then punched the approval on my phone to transfer the funds to Barker and Reid Construction so they could get started on the home I was having built for Monroe so we could be closer to her family.
We’d agreed to split our time between Tuscany and Creswell Springs, but I knew my precious girl. She was going to want to be closer to them more often than not, especially with the babies coming. With Monroe’s and Mila’s due dates only two weeks apart, my precious girl was going to want to be here for the birth of her nieces or nephews and have our babies with her mom nearby.
Once everything was finalized, Masterson shook my hand. “I know you’re doing this for Monroe, but thank you for not taking her away from me.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I only nodded, and the enforcer’s lips tilted up with a ghost of a grin. “I have serious respect for you, boy. You keep taking care of my baby girl the way you always have, and we will be just fine.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He slapped me on the back. “Come on, let’s get you to the clubhouse and married.”
I only had Ugo as “family,” and he was acting as my best man, but my lack of family wasn’t an issue. Not when the entire Angel’s Halo MC clubhouse was already overflowing with people by the time we pulled into the compound parking lot.
There was so much family between the MC and the rockers, there was no room for chairs, and everyone had to stand. I passed men with ink so thick on their arms there was no skin showing, and I couldn’t tell if they were bikers or rock stars. It was weird that these two families were from different walks of life, yet weren’t so different after all.
It was almost time for the wedding to start, so I made my way to the front where a minster was standing with Lyric and his twin brother. It took me all of five seconds to determine who was who, and then I didn’t have to think about it anymore because I could easily tell which one was going to be my brother-in-law within the next hour.
“You nervous?” Lyric asked as I took my spot beside him, and Ugo drifted more into the shadows as always until it was time for him to play his part.
“Nope,” I answered honestly. “You.”
He shook his head. “Just ready to call Mila my wife.”
“Fuck,” his twin suddenly hissed and gripped Lyric’s arm. I looked at his face, saw the way his eyes had darkened, and then followed his gaze. Walking through the door were two blondes, one a good six inches taller than the other. The taller one had huge blue eyes and a dimpled cheek. She looked vaguely familiar to me, and then it clicked where I’d seen her.
Everywhere.
She was Shaw Cage, and her picture was literally everywhere. In every country. She was the face of some top cosmetics line and had recently been in a perfume ad back in Italy.
The girl at her side wasn’t familiar to me, but she was no less beautiful. Even with the distance I was from her, I could see how vivid her purple eyes were, and when she smiled, her entire face lit up. Dressed in a pastel purple dress that made her eyes stand out more and her hair flowing down her back, she was easily one of the prettiest women in the room.
And she was the one Luca Thornton’s eyes were trained on.
“Don’t cause drama today, man,” Lyric warned. “She told me to keep you away from her, or she won’t hesitate to junk-punch you.”
“I just want to talk to her. Five minutes,” Luca pleaded. “I haven’t been this close to her in for-fucking-ever.”
The minister cleared his throat loudly at the curse words, but Luca only shot the man a scathing look before returning his gaze back to the girl I remember Monroe said was Violet Stevenson.
“You take two steps in her direction, and I’m going to lay your ass out.” Lyric threatened. “You can watch me get married from the floor, and I’ll get Maverick to be my best man.”
“Goddamn it, Ric, I need to—”
“You need to shut the fuck up,” his brother cut him off. “Do what you want after the wedding, but you mess this up, and I’m going to put your ass in a hole somewhere.”
“Boys!”
Even I stood up straighter when I heard the redhead hiss at the twins.
“Aunt Emmie,” Luca began, but the look she gave him had him clamping his lips shut.
“The wedding starts in two minutes.” She was at least a foot shorter than the hulking pro footballer, but she pointed her finger at him, and he flinched as if expecting her to physically harm him. “And don’t forget that you’re leaving first tonight, Luca. Your boss still expects you at the game tomorrow night.”
“Yes, Aunt Em,” he muttered. Clenching his jaw, he thrust his hands into the pockets of his tux pants and turned his gaze back to the beautiful Violet.
Emmie followed his gaze for a moment, shook her head, and then focused one Lyric and me. “You two look great. And I just saw the brides.” She smiled, making her look as young as the woman who was standing five feet behind her with a redheaded little girl between her and the guy named Barrick who had come to Tuscany for Monroe. “Don’t let your jaws hit the ground too hard when you get a look at them.”
With a pat to Lyric’s arm, she left us standing there, and all I could do was wish time would hurry the fuck up
so I could see Monroe.
Several more minutes passed before the music started and the crowd parted to make an aisle. The MC and rockers blended together, no one seeming to care which side they stood on. The little redheaded girl who looked just like Emmie started down the aisle next to an older girl with the curliest hair I’d ever seen and the most dazzling aquamarine eyes, both of them tossing flowers on the floor. A little boy with the same dark curls and eyes followed them, holding a pillow with four rings tied on top.
“Look, Papa,” the little redheaded angel called out, and a guy to my left put his finger to his lips, trying to quiet her. “Look! Am I doing this shit right?”
“Emerson!” her mother scolded, while everyone else fought in vain not to laugh outright.
“Well, am I?” she sassed, and I had to bite my lips together to keep from laughing.
Lyric bent as she reached us. “You did great, Little Em,” he praised and fist-bumped her.
Her emerald eyes lifted to me, a brow raised as if asking my opinion as well. “Great job, kid,” I told her and held out my own fist for her to pound hers against.
“I knew I nailed this shit,” she said as she bounced over to the side where the two other kids were.
“Who taught her that word?” I thought I heard her mother demanding, her gaze on Emerson’s Papa, who shrugged innocently.
“Not me, baby girl.”
“Right,” Barrick chuckled. “It’s never him.”
All my amusement at the moment faded the second the music changed and I saw movement at the back of the crowd. My breath became trapped in my chest when I saw Monroe for the first time. Her hair was hanging in long ringlets over one shoulder, and her dress fit her like a second skin. The tiny baby bump was barely noticeable but I could easily see it, and it only made it that much harder to take my next breath.
This beautiful, sweet, precious girl was mine. She loved me. Had given me her heart and her body and trusted me to always take care of her. I had all the money in the world, but not a single cent of it held any value without her there to give meaning to my life.
Surviving His Scars (Angels Halo MC Next Gen Book 4) Page 14