AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cam… Sweet Cam would fuss over me in the morning when he saw the tiredness under my eyes. He’d ask if everything was okay; Lucian would give him an abridged version, and then I’d have Cam waiting on me. Food, cuddles, coffee, sweet whispers.
I thought back on what Kingsley had told me about resetting a fractured bone that had healed wrong, and that was Noa. He had no problems getting his hands dirty. He dug right in there and repaired the damage. More than that, he forced me to see that I’d accomplished a lot on my own. He made me feel stronger. And he made me laugh. He could lift my entire soul out of the grave.
Cam was a Band-Aid and a nurse wrapped up in one. He never failed to make me feel ten feet tall.
Then there was Lucian.
I watched our hands and our intertwined fingers. One of them had a gold band now, and it looked ridiculously right.
He popped open his soda and took a swig.
Lucian couldn’t fix me, but he’d been there every step of the way. He’d been the best crutch a man could ask for. He still was. He’d held my hand, he’d comforted me, he’d guided me. He’d pushed me when I’d needed it. He’d been my family for almost thirty years.
I knew I’d promised him that he could handle whatever symbol we would wear for each other, and I wasn’t sure I could keep my word. It didn’t have to be now; it could be in a few weeks or several months, but one of these days, I wanted something like that. Like a ring or?—
“We should be engaged,” I blurted out as I thought of it. “The law can’t stop us there.”
Apparently that wasn’t a romantic idea, because Lucian frowned at me.
Fuck.
I shifted in my seat and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Maybe not should…” I muttered. “We could. It was just an idea. I’d obviously run it by Cam first.”
“Just an idea,” he grumbled under his breath. He put out his smoke in an old cup, then stood up. “Wait here. Motherfucker.”
What the fuck?
What’d happened? He’d just left me out here? And called me a motherfucker.
Thanks, asshole.
Romance in a traditional sense wasn’t really my jam. I was way more creative for a mindfuck scene or a punishment, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like it. So…couldn’t we go with, it’s the thought that counts?
The door opened again, and Lucian was back.
“What—”
“Oh, shut up,” he said. “You ruined a perfectly lovely occasion, but…” He sighed and walked over to me. “I suppose it’s one of the reasons I love you. Because around you, I can’t predict a damn thing.” He sat down next to me again and moved the chair to face me better. “When we get to the private island on Thursday, we’re still going to enjoy our day in a cabana while the boys go snorkeling with Colt, Ash, and Kit. What won’t happen…is me going down on one knee and asking you to be engaged to me for the rest of our lives.”
Fuck me.
He opened his hand to reveal… I had to lean closer, because it was dark—holy fuck. Two rings.
“You’re going to have to suffer my traditionalist ways, I’m afraid.” He gathered my left hand in both his and kissed my knuckles. I felt myself grin, and I couldn’t fucking believe him. He’d planned this for Thursday? And I’d clumsily wrecked it. “KC Hayles, my infuriating best friend, my family, and my love—will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
Fucking hell, he knew how to shatter me in the best ways.
I exhaled a laugh and felt new emotions stir in my chest, expanding with each breath. “You fucking know I will, baby.” I leaned forward and kissed him hard, needing it. Needing the closeness. “For the record, I love your traditionalist ways. Sometimes. Now, anyway.”
“Yeah? Good.” He smiled and showed me the ring. “Perhaps this was the perfect route if we consider your nightmare.”
I felt my forehead crease. “I wouldn’t call this a nightmare.”
He chuckled. “Right, but you’ve told me the memory you relive—and I remember what I told you that day.”
I was still confused, so he told me to read the inscription.
