AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ace sighed as he sat back down in the chair he’d been in all night—that was, when he wasn’t pacing. He didn’t want to tower over her.
“I’m CIA,” he told her honestly. “I finished a case, and one of the members of the family is seeking revenge. Dakota got caught up in the crossfire.”
He felt so much shame as he told her family that it was indeed his fault she was lying in a hospital bed and had been fighting for her life all night. They should kick him out of her life and take her far, far away. The thought of that had his heart burning in pain.
“My daughter never has been one to run from a fight,” Juliana said, surprising him when she chuckled. “It seems like you might just be strong enough for her.”
Ace didn’t know what in the world to think about Juliana’s words. It appeared to him as if the woman was giving him her blessing. That didn’t make sense at all. Not when they were having this conversation across a hospital bed.
“You will marry her,” Kian growled.
Ace’s glance flew up to Dakota’s brother. He hadn’t even thought about marriage. But she was carrying his child. Of course, he had to marry her. The thought of marriage had filled him with dread for so many years, he was shocked that it didn’t scare him now.
“Of course I will,” Ace said.
He hadn’t expected those words to escape his parched throat, but now that it was out there in the open, he knew that’s just what he was going to do. He couldn’t leave this woman carrying his child. Even if she hadn’t been pregnant, he knew he wouldn’t be able to walk away from her. She meant too much to him. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“Good,” Lucian said. He’d been quiet during the entire exchange.
“I’m sorry we’re meeting like this,” Ace told them.
“She’s alive. That’s all that matters right now,” Lucian told him.
“Maybe we should just bring the preacher in here and get the ceremony done now so this fool doesn’t change his mind and try to run away,” Kian said. Her other brothers were oddly quiet, and that worried Ace a little bit. He couldn’t judge what they were thinking if he couldn’t hear their voices.
“I might have a problem with that.”
Everyone went silent as Dakota spoke while slowly opening her eyes. Her brothers moved forward, surrounding her, probably making her a little claustrophobic.
“I’m glad you’re all here,” she said, her voice weak. “But you aren’t trying to give me a shotgun wedding, are you?”
She smiled a little. Ace didn’t understand how she could be making a joke, even a small one, after what she’d been through.
“Did you hear what the doctor said?” Ace asked, forgetting about her family being in the room.
“No. I began coming to a couple minutes ago. I heard you bickering with my family. I felt right at home,” she told him. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as her open eyes.
“We’re pregnant,” he said softly, his hand caressing her cool head. Her eyes widened as she gazed at him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Then she gave him another soft smile.
“So my family is demanding a wedding?” she said.
“Of course we’ll marry,” he told her.
“I might not be old-fashioned, Ace Armstrong, but I do have a romantic side,” she told him. “And no one tells me what to do.”
“I know that,” he said. It was only one of the many things he loved about her.
“So we have a baby together; that doesn’t mean we get married. If I accept a proposal, it will be because I am so in love I can’t imagine my life going on without the guy.”
“I do love you,” he told her.
“And we’ve also been on one long roller-coaster ride. Let’s see how you feel when it stops,” she said.
“But . . .” He was at a loss for words.
“Don’t argue with me. I’m weak and pathetic right now,” she told him.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
