“Since the moment I had you to dance with.” He presses his forehead to mine. “By the way, I came really close to singing this song to you the other night. If you would’ve pushed me away, you would’ve heard it.”
A song comes on that I immediately recognize from the playlist he made me before he left. Mercy by Brett Young. My heart instantly aches when he begins singing the lyrics in my ear, holding me tighter against him.
“I would’ve definitely caved,” I whisper, his deep voice melting me on the spot.
“Is that right?” He laughs against my ear. “Because of my really good singing voice or because you’ve loved me your whole life?”
“Both.” My gaze meets his when he backs up a little, giving us room to look each other in the eyes. “I’ve always loved you singing to me.”
“I know.” He brushes his lips over mine. “It’s why I did it so often. I loved how happy it made you. It made me happy too.”
“You two are killing me,” Hope says from a nearby table. “My heart is seriously going to explode if I keep watching you two be so cute.”
“Have you been standing there listening the entire time? Don’t you have something better to do?” I narrow my eyes at Hope, and she shrugs, before turning and walking away in a hurry.
Easton laughs at Hope, before grabbing my hand and pulling me back over to the bar to grab our beers.
Not long after that, Roman clocks out and the five of us spend the rest of the night shooting pool, drinking, and talking about Stiles and all the funny stuff he did growing up. He was always the life of the party.
His absence is going to take some time getting used to, but being here with our friends and family—laughing and talking about our lives—is the final piece I need to feel whole again.
Our circle is once again a little bit smaller. All we can do is take it one day at a time. No one can tell us what the future holds, but I can without a doubt say that I want it to be with Easton. Just like in this very moment.
Dakota
SIX MONTHS LATER…
After leaving the shop an hour ago, I hopped in my truck and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things for Roman’s party tonight. Easton drove separately, telling me he needed to run a couple of errands and would meet me back home in time for us to head to the party together.
I figured with the way him and Talon were talking all day during work about cutting loose and having fun tonight, that he’s probably off buying a whole store of liquor or something. I asked Hope to meet me at my house in a bit so she can help me make the buffalo chicken dip and some dessert for a late-night snack.
I’m not surprised when I pull into the driveway to find her already sitting on my porch, looking impatient. Of course, she’s already here, we’re seeing my brother soon.
“I told you to meet me around eight. It’s barely past seven-thirty,” I say, shutting the driver’s door and digging into the back for the two grocery bags. “How long have you been sitting on my porch?”
She grins and snatches the bags from me. “Not long. I figured we could get a head start and head out a little earlier than planned.”
I roll my eyes and unlock the door. Hope is quick to rush inside and head for the kitchen. After tossing my keys aside, I head there as well and begin pulling out the stuff I need to make the dip. “We’re not going early, Hope. Roman doesn’t even get off until nine.”
“Get off?” Hope whispers, turning red. “Don’t say those words when speaking of your brother. You know what that does to me.”
“That’s disgusting and totally not what I meant.” I point to the drawer closest to her. “Put yourself to use and hand me the can opener.”
“So, where’s the boyfriend?” she asks, smiling as she hands the can opener to me. “I swear you two are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen. I never knew Easton was so sweet before. Not to mention so alpha and protective when it comes to you. Total relationship goals there.”
I smile, unable to hold back. “Stop being cheesy. He’s out running errands and should be back soon.”
“So, when’s the wedding?”
I was just about to swallow water from the bottle and end up choking on it instead. “Hope…” I manage after a few seconds of struggling. “Don’t you dare start again. That shit was embarrassing last time.”
She shrugs. “What? He was into the idea of you being Mrs. Crews and you know it. Did you see the way he looked at you when I asked when he was going to make you his wife?”
“No.” It’s a lie. The look in his eyes was the only thing I thought about that entire night. In fact, it kept me awake. “We’ve only been together for six months. I’m sure that’s the last thing he’s thinking about right now.”
“If you say so.” She scoops her finger into the dip and sucks it off. “What’s that sound?” she questions when a motorcycle pulls into the driveway. “That’s definitely not the sound of Easton’s Ducati.”
I listen carefully, my heartbeat speeding up once I think I have it figured out. “He didn’t…”
Wiping my messy hands off on my jeans, I hurry through the house, my heart stopping when I step outside to see Easton on his old bike. The one he passed down to me that’s been sitting in the garage for years.
He pulls his helmet off and smiles, before killing the engine and climbing off. “Looks like you were wrong about this baby never driving again.” His amber eyes lock on mine as he comes at me and pulls me to him, placing a firm kiss on my lips, before smiling against them. “I think we should take it for a ride, for old times’ sake.”
“Wow. I’m speechless right now. I can’t believe you’ve been working on this behind my back.” Excitement courses through me as he hands me the spare helmet. “Hope is inside though. I should tell her—”
“She already knows,” he says against my lips, before kissing me again. “Now. Hop. On.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
I can’t keep the smile off my face as I hop on behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. Being on this bike with him takes me right back to the night he taught me how to ride this thing. It has so many emotions arising, good ones and bad ones, but I do my best to keep them pushed down as I lean in close and press my cheek against his back.
We ride around for a while, enjoying the old bike together, before he pulls up at Myers’ Speedway and parks. It’s dark and empty—the perfect time to be here, and I love that he knows that.
When he cuts the engine, I expect him to get off, but instead, he turns around to face me, lifting my legs so they’re on top of his. My pulse quickens when he leans in close and brushes his lips over mine. “I still remember the night I taught you how to ride this bike. I wanted to kiss you badly knowing that Justin was your first kiss. I wanted to erase the feel of his lips from yours.”
“I wanted you to,” I admit, gripping onto his hair as I look him in the eyes. “When he kissed me, I kept wondering what it would’ve felt like if it were your lips instead. I wondered if I would’ve felt something. Like a spark of electricity, or something far greater than what I got when kissing him.”
His thumb moves across my lips, before he kisses the bottom one, and then he kisses the top. “There definitely would’ve been sparks.” He moves his fingers along my skin, causing goose bumps to arise. “I felt them every time you touched me… or I touched you. I still do.” He pauses to brush my hair from my face. “You know I love you more than anything in this world, right? I always have.”
“Yes,” I whisper, when his hands move to wrap into my hair, his grip tender yet possessive.
“Good.” He tugs my hair tighter, pulling back a little so that our eyes meet. “I told you I was never going to leave again, and I meant it. My life is here with you. That will never change. I’ve lived in this world without you twice already and I refuse to do it again. Do you understand that?”
I nod, keeping my eyes on his. “I do too. I can’t do it—”
“Be my wife, Kota. Marry me.”
The hard pounding of my heart is all I can focus on, everything around me disappearing as I try to process what he just said. “Did you just…”
“Yes, and I’ll ask you over and over again until you say yes. No is not an option for me. You’re the only option. You are mine. Us. Together forever. That’s the only life I want.” He reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a princess cut diamond ring, before reaching for my left hand. “Say yes, Kota. I need to hear you say yes.” He whispers out the last part, wiping his finger under my eye to wipe away the tear that just fell.
I’m so overwhelmed with emotions that it takes a moment before I can finally speak. There’s only one answer. There can’t be any other. Not when it comes to Easton Crews. “Yes, Easton. I’ll marry you.”
He grabs the back of my head and kisses me long and hard on the lips, not pulling away until we’re both struggling to breathe. With his eyes on mine, and his hand tangled in the back of my hair, he slides the ring on my finger. “Kota Crews. You have no idea how many times I’ve said that in my head. I can’t even begin to explain the feeling of saying it out loud.”
I wrap my legs and arms around Easton and squeeze him hard, needing to be as close as humanly possible to him in this moment. “I love the sound of it. I might’ve said it out loud to myself over the years more times than I can count. But I’m not going to lie…” I move in to speak against his lips, my heart racing. “It sounds so much better coming from you. Say it again,” I whisper.
“Kota Crews.” He smiles and runs his fingers through my hair. “I could say it all night. Don’t test me.”
“I just might. So, don’t test me.” I look down at my hand and he does too, emotion filling his eyes as he examines the ring on my hand. “Are you going to cry on me now.”
“Would it make me less of a man if I did?”
I shake my head. “Nothing could ever make you less of a man to me, Easton.”
“Fuck, I love you.” He grips the back of my head and crushes his lips against mine, kissing me so hard that it takes my breath away. “I can’t wait to tell everyone you’re mine. You ready to see everyone?”
“You have no idea.”
He turns around and I hold on tighter than usual, feeling a bit dizzy and overwhelmed from the fact that Easton just proposed to me.
I’ve been in love with Easton Crews for eighteen years, and now, he’s not going to just be the boy I’ve loved practically my entire life, he’s going to be the man I’ll love for the rest of it.
Easton
I’ve never been more terrified of anything in my life than I was just minutes ago when I asked Dakota to be my wife. The fear of her saying no had my chest feeling heavy the entire day. If it hadn’t been for Talon distracting me at the shop to keep my head straight, I might’ve freaked out and destroyed everything in my path today. That’s how on edge with nerves I was.
Yes coming out of her mouth made that simple word the most powerful one ever spoken. I thought I was going to die with her right there in my arms. It took all my strength to keep from breaking down and falling to my knees at her feet. I’ve never wanted anything more than to hear her say she’ll be my wife. My fucking wife.
Minutes later, we pull up at Roman’s, and the moment we’re both off the bike, I yank her to me and kiss her again. I kiss her long and hard, my arms trembling as I hold her to me.
“Holy fuck, she said yes!”
Dakota smiles against my lips when Hope’s excited voice rings through the air. “Did you have any doubt that I would?” she questions over my shoulder.
“Not for a second,” Roman says, watching us with his arms crossed. “I’m surprised you two didn’t get married the day Easton returned six months ago. You guys are slackers if you ask me.” He smiles and rushes over to pull Dakota into his arms. “Congratulations, baby sis. You deserve all the happiness in the world and more. Might as well be with this guy.”
“Hell yeah, it might as well be.” I hug Roman back and slap him on the back. “You’ve always been my family. Now it’ll be official.”
“I’m happy, brother,” he says, a softness in his eyes as he pulls away. “Now, let’s get this celebration started!”
“Shots! Because that’s what Stiles would say if he were here today.” Talon hands out shots. “Congrats to two of the best fucking people I know.”
“I second that,” Hope adds, holding her glass up. “I love you both more than you could ever know.”
“To my best friend—my brother from the first day we met—and my sister who I love more than life. You two are what love is about. If any two people deserve to get married, have a family, and spend the rest of their lives happy, it’s the two of you. That’s the truth.”
“Damn, you guys are trying to make me cry, aren’t you?” Dakota holds her glass up and I pull her against me and hold mine up too.
“Cheers.”
Once everyone downs their shot, Hope grabs Dakota’s hand, her eyes widening when she sees the ring. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
“Me too,” Dakota says, looking down at it. “Wow. I can’t believe this is happening. Did I really just get engaged?”
I move in behind her, pressing my lips against her neck. “Yes, and you can’t take it back now.”
“I don’t want to.” She turns around and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’d marry you tomorrow if you asked me to.”
“Don’t tempt me…”.”
“Why not?” she questions, as if challenging me.
I wrap my hands into the back of her hair and speak against her lips. “Because you might just end up being my wife before the night is over.” I tease.
“All right you two! Stop with the lovey-dovey stuff for now and let’s have some drinks by the fire,” Hope says, practically pulling Dakota away.
We ring in the night drinking beers around the fire. All I can think about is how lucky I am to not only have Dakota as my future wife, but also having a great group of friends that are more a family than anything else.
If I had to do everything all over again and live through the pain and heartache of it all, knowing that it’d still lead me right here to this moment, I’d live through it again in a heartbeat. I’d take the soul-crushing ache, lonely nights, and fractured heart if it meant I’d have Dakota as my wife. She’s worth it all.
Dakota
TEN YEARS LATER…
I’m in the office going over invoices when I hear Scout and Kason arguing over the skateboard their uncle Roman left for them at the shop last week. They’ve been going up and down the hallway for the past hour, surprisingly taking turns like good siblings, until now that is. I should’ve known the peace wouldn’t last too long.
After stacking up the papers and shoving them into the top drawer, I grab my leather jacket and slip it on, before walking to stand in the doorway to watch my twins.
“No. You just had a turn, Kason. It’s my turn now.” Scout crosses her arms and stomps her little foot as her brother flies by on the skateboard. “Stop riding back and forth and get off. I mean it!”
“I’m not done yet.” Kason attempts a trick that his uncle taught him last week, almost landing it, but not quite. “Dang it, Scout. You’re messing up my concentration. Stop whining. I’m trying to do something.”
“Kason Stiles, how about you give me the board and you both go see if your daddy needs any help cleaning up.” I hold my hand out for the board and they both grumble. “Problem solved.”
“Come on, Mom. I was so close to landing that ollie. Did you see it? It was so cool,” Kason says, looking up at me with big amber eyes as he hands me the skateboard.
“I did see it. I also saw and heard you and your sister arguing over whose turn it is. That’s not how we play, so I’m confiscating the skateboard until tomorrow when you can try this all over again. Got it?”
“Yes, mother,” they both say in unison.
“Good. Now
go into the shop and check on your daddy.” Scout takes off running, and I smile at Kason as he walks beside me, still upset over not being able to skate. “There was a pretty girl in the waiting room with her daddy a bit ago… said her name is Monroe and she’s in your class. She’s got the whitest hair I’ve ever seen. Is she a friend of yours?”
His head shoots up, a huge smile taking over his handsome face, but he tries to play it cool by crossing his arms. “Monroe Dixon?”
“That would be her.”
“Really!” He pulls his iPod from his pocket and untangles the headphones. “Can I hang out in the waiting room with her? There’s a song I want Monroe to listen to. Please.”
“Go ahead. You’ve got about twenty minutes before her dad’s motorcycle is ready.”
“Yes!” He turns around in a hurry and takes off into the waiting room as if he can’t get to Monroe fast enough.
Laughing, I make my way down the hallway and stand in the doorway, watching as Scout hands Easton a clean rag and sits down to watch him work. Reminds me too much of when I was a kid watching him. She’s so into everything her daddy does.
Easton keeps stopping occasionally to smile over at her, once he notices just how interested she seems in what he’s doing. I love how much he loves spending time with the twins.
“Come here, princess. Let me show you something.”
Scout stands up excitedly and walks over to join her daddy as he points at something and begins explaining how it works.
“Do you think I can learn like Mommy did? The stupid boys at school always laugh when I tell them Mommy works on bikes. They say that girls can’t be mechanics.”
“Girls can do anything a boy can do, Scout. Don’t believe what others tell you.” My heart melts at hearing him tell our daughter the same thing he once told me when we were kids. In fact, I was only a year older than the twins are right now when Easton first taught me.
“Are you sure, Daddy?” She crosses her arms and lifts a brow. “I don’t know why boys keep saying that then. Are they just stupid?”
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