“Daria, mind out of the gutter for a minute. I meant words.” I chuckle.
“You still want to marry me? Even if I am a little insane?”
“Baby, you're not insane. You're perfectly imperfect and my missing piece.” I kiss her lightly on the lips. “You’re my phoenix.”
“Dance with me?” She looks up at me, her eyes glittering with happiness.
“There’s no music.” I raise an eyebrow at her. “Plus, I don’t dance.”
“You have to practice for our first dance.” She giggles and stands up, holding out her hand. I stay sitting. She tilts her head, smirking. “You know you’ll have to practice sooner or later, so why not now?”
“Because I have the blood of an asshole all over my shirt.” I motion towards my bloodstained shirt.
“Easy fix for that.” She grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it off, throwing it to the side. “Now, we dance.” She grins, taking my hand and trying to pull me up. I’m four times the size she is, so I decide to help her out by pushing myself up.
I look down at her, and she’s gazing at my chest. Her fingers trace the new tattoo I got a little over three weeks ago—a phoenix with a D in its claws.
“This is beautiful,”
“You’re beautiful.” I move a piece of hair that’s come loose from her ponytail.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Xanders.” She giggles, looking up at me. “Now, stop trying to distract me from getting you to dance.”
“Damn.” I sigh. She takes my right hand, placing it on her hip. The temptation to slide it round to her ass is appealing, but I restrain myself.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“What?”
“Touching my ass.” She laughs.
“Didn’t even enter my mind. I’m hurt you would think that of me, Mrs. Xanders.” Her muscles quiver under my hand.
“Shh.” She places her hand on my shoulder and takes my other hand in hers, stepping closer. My hand moves to the small of her back. She lays her head on my chest as we sway to nothing. “Thank God I’ll have heels on at our wedding.” She giggles, and I laugh with her. My six-foot-seven against her five-foot-six height. It seems to be a running joke with everyone.
“I can fit you in my pocket.” I chuckle when she smacks my arm.
“I found my dress today,” she whispers after a beat.
“Already? I thought it took weeks to find the perfect dress?” I only know this because Emily makes me watch those shows where women go around trying to find the perfect dress for their big day.
“Jess took months to find hers. But the first one I tried on… I knew it was the one.”
“I can’t wait to tear it off you.”
“You’re like a moth to me, Striker.” Daria sighs as we dance around our living room. “No matter how many times I try to push you away, you keep coming for me and letting me know you’re there.” She lifts her head from my chest, looking up at me, tears filling her eyes. “You’re the moth, and I’m the flame.”
“I’ll always be there for you, baby. I’ll continue coming back as long as I’m alive.”
EPILOGUE
Daria
Two Years Later…
“Oh my God.” I sit up quickly and throw the covers off me, running down to my mom and dad’s kitchen like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Morning, pumpkin.” Dad smiles, drinking his coffee like it’s a normal day. “Anything planned for today?”
“Not much. Just marrying the love of my life.” I grin at him.
“Is that today? I hadn’t realized.” He eyes all the flowers covering the dining table.
“Get me to the church on time.” Jess wanders in, singing. Our eyes meet, and we squeal loudly, jumping up and down.
“That’s my cue to leave.” Dad grabs his coffee, kisses my cheek, then Jess’, before making his escape.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” She beams at me, taking my hands in hers.
“It almost didn’t. I’m glad he’s a persistent asshole and didn’t give up on me.”
“You weren’t giving up on him either. I know I hated him in the beginning. He put his hands on you in a way a man should never put his hands on a woman. But he’s actually a really nice guy under that hard exterior; he was just a hard nut to crack.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that.” I giggle, thinking of Striker saying he’s anything but nice, and that he has a rep to uphold.
“Nico called me last night saying Striker was drunk, way worse than he’s ever seen him, and he actually cried.” My heart sinks to my stomach. “He can’t believe he’s marrying you, and that he could have missed out on this had he killed you that day you went to pick up your car.”
“Oh, God.” Tears prick the back of my eyes. “Why is he bringing up the past?”
“He was drunk, Dar. He still hates himself for the way he acted towards you.”
“Well, I don’t hate him. Without him being an absolute dick to me, we probably would never have gotten to this stage.” Just thinking about never being with Striker causes my heart to stop. I can’t think of my life without him now.
“You two belong together.” Jess smiles.
“Come on, girls. Get changed. We need to be at the church in half an hour.” Mom walks in with Emily and Blue. Evan is with Striker and the boys.
Jess and I look at each other again and scream, holding each other’s hands.
This is what it was supposed to be like—my best friend, my mom, and my little girl by my side.
Time to become Mrs. Daria Xanders.
***
“Here.” Mom hands me a black velvet box. My eyes widen a fraction, and my mouth pops open in complete awe of how beautiful this gift is. “It was your grandma’s. I wore it to my wedding to your dad. It can be your something blue.”
I trace my fingers over the delicate hair comb, across the diamonds and sapphires, and my vision blurs.
“Oh, baby, don't cry. I don't want you ruining your make-up.” She dabs her tissue under my eyes. “My mom told me before she died that true love is knowing someone's weaknesses and not preying on them. Love is seeing their flaws and loving them no matter what.” Taking the comb and turning me towards the mirror, she slides it in then turns me back to face her, smiling. “I'm so proud of you—you and Striker. I've watched you both grow together as a couple and as two young adults finding yourselves in this crazy-ass world we live in. I can't tell you how glad I am that we found each other again.”
“Mom, stop, or I'm going to cry even more.”
She laughs through her tears. Pulling her to me, I hug her hard.
“Okay, I’d better let your father in. He's itching to see your dress.” She cradles my face in her hands. “You look sensational. Striker will have a heart attack when he sees you.”
“It's a good thing Jess is a nurse then.”
She kisses my cheek and leaves.
I take in a deep, cleansing breath, looking in the mirror. I smooth down my dress, stopping at the jewel design on my hip. My lips lift, remembering what happened after the whole Dr. Fitzpatrick thing.
“Striker?” I call out, walking into the house. I just dropped Emily and Evan off at Mom and Dad's after he told me last night about Nico killing Dr. Fitzpatrick. He suggested we have a night alone to talk about everything and reconnect.
The house is in silence. I walk farther in the house to the kitchen and see a note sitting on the worktop.
Meet me at the lake.
S xxx
I smile and walk back out to my car and drive towards the lake.
My breath catches in the back of my throat at the scene before me.
Striker is standing in front of the lake, dressed in a suit, much like the one he wore at my birthday party. The sun is setting behind him, making him look like a silhouette.
I wander farther down and see he's standing in the middle of my favorite flowers and candles.
I'm directly in front of him now,
my eyes burning with tears.
“Daria, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. You changed my life for the better, and I will forever be grateful for you steamrolling back into my life.” He falls down to one knee, taking my hand in his. “You're a royal pain in my ass. The one woman who can bring me to my knees with just a glance. You don't take any of my shit, and you call me out when I'm an asshole.” I sniff and giggle, still speechless. “You've been through so much in your life, and you still love without cause and help others no matter how much you're hurting yourself. No matter what life throws at you, you rise up and take on the world with a new fight in you. You're like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” I sob out my answer. I said yes before, and I will keep saying yes until the day I die.
“Wow. Pumpkin, you look...” I see Dad through the mirror stop and stare at me, bringing me out of my memory.
“Does my dress look okay?” I twirl for him.
“You look beautiful.” He wipes his eyes and walks towards me. I look down, my face flushing. He places two of his fingers under my chin to make me look at him. “You sure you want to marry him? That he’s the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?”
“It’s always been him, Dad.” My smile broadens, thinking about becoming Mrs. Daria Xanders. “My heart only beats for him. Has done since the moment I laid eyes on him.”
“I’m proud of you.” He places his hand on my cheek as teardrops fall from his chin.
“Daddy, don’t cry. You’ll start me off, and Mom will kill you if I look like a panda walking down the aisle.”
He wipes his eyes, chortling.
“Do you remember what you used to tell me when I was younger?” I grin at the memory. “Love yourself even more than he does. I don’t think I could love myself more than Striker loves me. The sacrifices he’s made for me. I can’t thank him enough for it all.”
“I also remember saying that bad boys cannot be changed.”
“But they can, Dad. Striker is a prime example of that.”
“I know.”
“Look, I know you don’t like him.”
“It’s not that I don’t like him. I just don’t like that he kills for a living, and he got you pregnant at seventeen. Plus, he reminds me of the years I lost with you and Emily.”
“He was in the same boat, Dad. He lost all those years with Emily too. Him getting me pregnant at seventeen… that was consensual. I wanted it as much as he did.”
“I just miss my little girl.”
“I love you, Dad. I’m still here.”
“I love you too, pumpkin.” He pulls me to him and kisses my forehead. “Seeing you this happy and so radiant, it’s an experience I will never forget. I’m a little sad because it’s right now that it’s hitting me that you’re growing up.”
“I have two kids. Can’t get any more grown-up than that.” I laugh.
“You’ll always be my little girl. My pumpkin pie.”
“Time for the bride.” The wedding planner walks in, smiling. I thank God it’s not the same redhead that Jess had.
I take a deep breath and smile at my dad. “Time to give me away.”
“Let’s go get you hitched.” He winks, holding out his arm for me to link.
I can’t wait for Striker to be my husband.
***
I stand in front of my mom, my dad, Barron, and all of our loved ones witnessing us finally marrying each other. I try to catch my breath to believe this is real, that I’m marrying my true love and my best friend.
Slipping the black wedding band on his finger, I begin my vows after taking a deep breath.
“I knew I loved you from the moment we met. Even after all the bumps in the road we’ve been given, we’ve come out the other side together, stronger than ever.” He grins down at me. “I promise to always be true to you, to cherish you, and love you. I give you my heart and my soul for the rest of my life. I will always love you.”
A tear rolls down his face as I look into his glistening blues.
***
Striker
“Man, I never thought I would see the day you were getting married.” Nico laughs.
“I can’t believe it either.” I try to sort out my tie. “I fucking hate these monkey suits.”
“The things we do for our women, right?” He grins at me. “I really am happy for you guys. It’s certainly been a rough ride to get to this point.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Almost murdering her, finding out she’s my sister, the on and off tension you guys have. The jealous outbursts, that fucking quack, her killing Brad. She really has kept our lives exciting in the past three years.”
“I love her so much, Nico. I’m still petrified she’s going to leave me one day. I don’t think I can go through her spiraling again. My heart won’t take it.”
“Striker, she’s in a good place now. Mentally and physically. She has the business, the kids, and she has you. Is this your way of trying to get out of marrying her? Because if it is, I will kill you.”
“No, Nico. I just don’t want to miss the signs again.”
“We know the signs now, Striker. We can deal with it when we even get a glimpse of her starting to go off the rails. Even Jess didn’t catch the signs, and she’s known her most of her life.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think I need to give you the big brother talk anymore; you know what I’ll do for Daria if you even think of cheating or treating her like shit.”
“Yeah, I’ve got a scar to remind me. But you have nothing to worry about, Nico. She’s my number one woman. No-one compares to her.”
“Good. I’m going to see how she is. See if she’s freaking out about being tied to your crazy ass for the rest of her life.”
“Can you give this to her?” I hand him a small gift bag. I went out and bought her a present yesterday. She saw it a few weeks ago while we were out shopping for her dad’s birthday present. A phoenix hanging on a charm on a thin piece of rope. I know it’s not extravagant, but she’s my phoenix.
“Such a crawling asshole. You’re going to get your dick wet with or without this, you know?”
“You realize that’s your sister, and you didn’t cringe about me fucking her.” I laugh at him.
“I think I’m making peace with the fact you two are constantly screwing.” He shakes his head and walks out.
“How are you feeling, son?” Dad comes in after Nico left to see Daria.
“I'm good.” I nod, rubbing my sweaty palms down my pants legs as he sits beside me. “I'm good.”
“Son, it's okay to be nervous.” Dad chuckles. “I was nervous as hell when I was marrying your mom.” His smile disappears when he mentions her. “She was so beautiful. Long raven hair, the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen.” A little smile appears on his lips again. “I thought I was the luckiest son of a bitch having her on my arm. I thought nothing could ever come between us; we were solid. You came along. You were the best thing to happen to me, son. To both of us.” He looks at me with tears in his eyes. “Your mom had this idea in her head that I was out doing God knows what with every woman out there. She said I was screwing all the whores. She even accused me of fucking Fran.” Laughing a little, he shakes his head. “Fran's like my sister. I would never touch her like that. She started on the drugs. No matter what I tried to do or say, it was never good enough to get her to stop.”
“Dad, did you cheat on Mom? Ever?”
“Striker, I can say with my hand on my heart, I never cheated on your mom. I had been tempted, but I loved your mom more than anything in this entire world. She just couldn't handle this life.” He sighs, turning to look at me, clasping his hand on the back of my neck. “I just wish she was here to see you now. She would have loved Daria and the kids. Emily reminds me so much of her.” He offers me a sad smile. “I'm so damn proud of you, son.” Kissing my forehead, he brings me into a hug. �
��I love you.”
“I love you, too, Pop.” I swallow. “Pop?”
“Yeah, son?”
“Do you think Daria is cut out for this life?” I don't want history repeating itself. Daria has already had a few suicide attempts, and accused me of sleeping around.
He sighs, cradling my face with both hands. “Yes, I believe she can handle anything life throws at her. She has had a hard few years, but she's stronger for it. You know why?” I shake my head. “She has you, son. You helped her through all those hard times. Even when you guys weren't together, you were her rock. Someone she could rely on to help her, even if she didn't ask or want your help.”
There’s a knock at the door, and Nico peers in. “You ready?”
I look to Dad who fixes my tie and smiles with pride.
“Yeah, let's get me married.” Dad beams at me.
Dad and I walk to the front of the aisle and wait for Daria.
I watch Nico and Jess walking down; Jess is crying already, along with all the females in the congregation. I glance down at Dad and Chucky, who are in the front. They both wipe their eyes. Emily looks beautiful in her royal blue floor-length dress, walking down with Blair, and Evan dressed in a little suit similar to mine. He reaches for Dad when he sees him. Dad takes Evan from Blair when he starts fussing against him. He lets out an almighty squeal when he spots me in front of him.
“DADDY!” He claps his little hands and gives me a beaming smile, looking just like his mom.
“Striker, face me. I’ll tell you when to turn,” Father John instructs me. I turn my back to everyone as the music changes, and I hear Nico gasp.
“Turn around and see your bride.” Taking a deep breath, I turn, and I swear I almost pass out at the sight of her.
She blurs as tears fill my eyes at just how beautiful she is in that dress. The right amount of sexy without being sleazy. Just like Daria. Understated sexy.
She walks up the stairs towards me; I get a flash of her bare leg. Fuck. My pants get tighter and I swallow, trying my best to think of something, anything to get rid of the image of her naked with me, pounding into her here in a church. I close my eyes, and when I open them again, Daria is in front of me, giving me a watery smile.
Nothing Else Matters (Demons Disciples MC Book 2) Page 30