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“I thought…” I paused to clear my throat, trying to stay calm. “I thought you were putting that behind us.”
“I thought so too. Then Jos showed up, and I realized that any number of women could show up out of the blue with a kid, saying you were a daddy.”
“Fuck,” I laughed, so relieved, I nearly fell on my ass. “Is that what you’re so worried about, girl?” She glared at me, and I could only laugh again. I dropped to my knees between her legs, my hands sliding around her waist and locking at the small of her back. “I can tell you right now, that isn’t going to happen, Rory. Other than that bitch Steph, I didn’t fuck anyone else while you were gone.”
“Don’t lie to me,” she cried, trying to push me back.
I leaned in, kissing the corner of her mouth. “I wouldn’t lie to you. Not ever. I felt dirty after Steph. I fucking hated myself, baby. We weren’t technically together, but I felt like I’d cheated on you, and it was hard to face myself in the mirror after that.” She began to relax, her lips opening slightly to give me access to her mouth.
I kissed her slowly, taking my time, savoring the taste of her on my tongue. When I pulled back, I pressed a kiss to the center of her forehead. “I love you. I fucked up once, but I couldn’t do it again. Please believe me.”
“I-I do.” She melted into me, her head landing on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m going a little crazy. Ever since Jos came, I’ve been all over the place.”
One of my hands cupped her stomach. “I think we know why now, huh?” She laughed softly, nodding against my arm. I sighed contently. “Does this mean you’re going to marry me now?”
Her head snapped up so fast, it was a wonder she didn’t have whiplash. “What did you say?”
My brows lifted at the surprise on her face. “Ah, come on, girl. Marriage was always on the table. I was just waiting on you to get used to me a little more.”
“You still have to ask me, mister,” she growled, crossing her arms over her breasts as she leaned back and glared at me.
“Asking means I don’t know your answer. But I already do, so there’s no reason to ask.”
She slapped my chest. “Don’t pull that alpha shit with me today, Matthew Reid. I will seriously kick your ass right now.”
“Girl, you already have me on my knees, isn’t that enough?” Her bottom lip pouted out, and I knew I couldn’t tease her anymore. I clasped her left hand, lifted it to my lips, and kissed her ring finger. “Rory, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ll love and cherish you until the day I die. Please, baby, please marry me.”
I expected her to give me that smile that lit me on fire from the inside out, but a sob escaped her instead. Her tears flooded down her cheeks, and she shook her head. My confidence in her answer nose-dived, and my heart stopped for the second time that day. I tightened my hold on her hand without realizing it. “Rory, please,” I whispered in desperation.
“Yes!” she screamed, a laugh escaping her even as she sobbed again. “Of course, I’ll marry you, dummy.”
A relieved breath whooshed out of me, and I enfolded her in my arms, my heart finally kick-starting once again.
Chapter 15
Jos
The ortho surgeon was able to fix both breaks in Tanner’s arm with one surgery, which was great because then he wouldn’t have to go through it again. I waited with the others until Tanner was put in ICU again once he was finished in the recovery unit. Everyone thought it would be best for him to spend at least one night in intensive care, just to be on the safe side considering everything his body had been through over the last month.
He was doing great, though, something I put down to the stubbornness of all the Reid men, my son included.
When I was finally allowed to see him, he was sound asleep, and I didn’t want to bother him. Hawk and Gracie drove me back to the clubhouse so I could get some sleep somewhere other than in a hospital bed for once. The thought of sleeping snuggled up to my son for the first time in over a week sounded like bliss.
It was dinnertime when I got back, and Reid was sitting in his high chair beside his cousin. They were eating baked chicken chopped up with mac and cheese, peas, and mashed potatoes. The smell was so good, I moaned as soon as I walked into the kitchen.
“Fix yourself a plate,” Aggie instructed me. “You look like you need some extra meat today, girly.”
Piling my plate full, I sat down at the kitchen table where Willa, Raven, and Flick were already seated. I tore off a piece of my roll, scooping up a little of the mashed potatoes with it, and popped it into my mouth. As I chewed, Raven handed over a key to me.
“What’s this?” I said, talking around the food in my mouth.
“The key to Tanner’s room. We cleaned it up, changed the sheets, and scrubbed the bathroom. We figured that when Tanner is released from the hospital, he’s not going to want you to be too far away, and really, I should have given you that room when you first got here. Sorry about that. Things have just been kind of crazy.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I rushed to assure her. “Reid and I are okay on the mat in the main room.”
“Don’t argue,” Flick instructed. “The room wasn’t being used anyway. Raven’s right. We should have cleaned it out before now, but no one wanted to touch any of his stuff because…” She sighed heavily and shrugged. “It was hard when we thought he was gone, you know?”
I swallowed thickly, because I understood just how hard it had been, thinking I was never going to see Tanner again. I picked up my water glass, trying to get the food I’d just eaten dislodged from my throat because just the thought of Tanner dying was enough to make it close up.
