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‘Nothing,’ Tati said. ‘I’ve got something to give you.’
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box.
‘What’s this?’ Wolf asked, opening it up. As soon as he saw what was inside, his heart almost stopped.
‘It’s him,’ she said. ‘My portion of his ashes. I got it made into this. For you.’
Wolf picked up the bright, silver engagement ring. The stone was small but beautiful. His mind was racing.
‘How did you know?’
‘At the wake,’ Tati said. ‘The way you were talking about Sophia, I knew.’
He thought back to that night. Yeah, he had been pretty damn open about his overwhelming feelings for his Little girl, but he didn’t expect Tati to guess that he was planning to propose.
‘Marcus said you were like a son to him. So consider this to be him, passing down a gift to you.’
Wolf held Tati’s hand, and felt emotions swell in him. Right now, Sophia was visiting her dad. Soon, he’d go to pick her up. He’d been planning to propose in a couple of weeks, but right now it felt like there was no time to wait.
He had to grab life and live it.
CHAPTER 24
When she left the prison, he was waiting for her. Of course he was waiting for her. Wolf had never let her down, and she knew he never would.
‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘No,’ she said. ‘But I’m getting there. One day at a time.’
Sophia was getting used to the rumble of the bike underneath her, but she still wasn’t quite used to being so close to him physically. His back was so broad and strong, it felt like she was resting against an oak barrel.
Above the growl of the engine and the rumble of the bike, she felt his breathing — always a little faster while he was driving, always a little more excited — as they cut through the city.
Back at the Den, a couple new hires were working the bar. It was an adjustment, to live above a bar that seemed to always be open and buzzing. The place had gotten significant attention from the local press after Wolf had entered a national mixology competition. The finals were still a couple months off, but legend of the grumpy biker who served exclusively non-alcoholic cocktails had spread far and wide.
There were always guaranteed to be at least a table full of Drifters in the bar, but anyone was welcome, and Wolf seemed to have opened his heart to the idea of students, locals, businesspeople, and — OMG — even drinkers who were into bikes thatweren’tHarleys.
They parked up and walked through the bar, keeping their heads down. Sophia still got a kick out of being able to access the staff-only parts of the bar.
As soon as they closed the door behind them and they were in a private space, Wolf took her in his arms and held her close.
‘Must have been a hard morning,’ he said.
She kissed his throat, feeling his stubbly skin under her lips. ‘It was okay,’ she said, ‘But I just imagined you were with me, and that helped me say what I needed to say.’
‘You kept what serves you?’
‘Yep. And he doesn’t serve me.’
‘You feel like it was worth going?’ he asked.
‘I think if I hadn’t, I’d have replayed what I needed to say to him in my head for the rest of my life. This way, I faced up to it. I said it. Now, I can let it go.’
‘Proud of you, babygirl,’ he said. His eyes were warm and kind, his body was hard. For the millionth time, she struggled to understand how the two of them had ended up together.
‘You always exceed my expectations,’ he told her. ‘Every single time.’
That was how.
