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I led her to the center of the room. If I was gonna do this in front of everyone, I might as well give them all a good view. Hopefully not for my humiliation, though.
Tripp happened to catch my eye, his brows drawing together when I briefly widened mine. Then I gave him a curt nod, a gesture he returned before leaning down to say something in Reece’s ear. There’d been plenty of times in our lives where we’d communicated without words, using simple gestures. This time being a prime example.
The chatter from earlier had died down some, everyone stuffed from indulging for hours. Some of the guys lounged by the bar while others leaned against one of the walls. Most people were gathered in small groups. The women were spread out at the tables, tending to some of the younger ones while the other kids were on the sofa.
One by one, I saw them turn in our direction. Marek and Sully grinned at me, as did my brother and sister-in-law, while others looked confused.
Thankfully, Edana still had no clue what was about to happen, continuing to walk toward one of the dinner tables. Until I pulled her back a step, so she’d stop.
“What are you doin’?” she asked, her brows tugging together when I didn’t answer right away. “Are you all right?” She stepped into me; her eyes locked with mine.
When she placed her hand on my chest, the thrum of my heart quickened. My thoughts chased in circles, my mind doing a shit job of trying to process a coherent sentence. I’d practiced what I wanted to say to her when this time came. Again.
But every word evaporated, and I was left standing there in front of her, in front of everyone, trying to summon the courage as well as the words.
Here goes nothin’.
“Edana.”
Her name floated from my mouth on a whisper so low I barely heard it. I internally laughed at myself. Here I was, a big, bad biker, a man who’d killed for his club and for his woman, more times than I could count, and I was a fucking mess. Nervous to voice my feelings to the one person who’d stood by me through it all. The one woman I’d die for. Over and over again without question.
The muscle in my chest felt like it was gonna bust open my rib cage and claw its way out, but I cleared my throat and tried once more, this time speaking louder.
“Edana,” I repeated, “I know you said you don’t want our lives to change, but I disagree.”
I released one breath after another, silently counting to ten. And when I needed more time, I added in two additional counts. Whenever she’d had a panic attack or was anxious, I repeatedly told her to count to ten, then to twelve for an extra boost of calm. Most times, it worked, and I prayed it relieved some of my nerves for me now.
After one final release of the air in my lungs, I lowered to one knee, my eyes pinned to hers the entire time. I wished I’d asked someone to film this moment because her face was priceless. Her eyes widened larger than I’d ever seen before, and while she didn’t speak, her mouth opened and closed several times.
I refused to focus on anyone but her, even though I heard some of the women gasp, and some of the guys mumble to each other.
“I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, and I can’t imagine my life without you. We’ve been through hell and back, and we’re still here. And if I’ve learned anything along the way, it’s that life is too fuckin’ short, and I don’t want to waste one more second of it.” I wasn’t one for speeches, for fancy words, which this occasion definitely called for, but I spoke from my heart. The bonus this time around, what made this proposal different from the other two, was that I was on one knee, and I wasn’t blurting out “Wanna get hitched?” and nothing more. Hopefully, the third time was the charm I needed for her to finally accept. “Will you marry me?” I was close to adding “please” but refrained.
A beat of silence hung in the air before she answered.
11
“What took you so long?”
A tear fell from the corner of her eye, followed by another, the smile on her face getting bigger as I registered her question. The only thing I could do was stare at her, my response resting on the tip of my tongue in shock. I repeated her question to myself four times before drawing breath to speak.
“What?” was all I could muster, still surprised by what she asked.
“Why did you wait so long to ask me again?”
“Because you shot me down twice. I was afraid you’d say no a third time.” A twinge of pain shot through my knee, and when she noticed the grimace on my face, she helped me to my feet, clutching onto my hands as I found my footing again. “Why didn’t you ever bring it up again?”
“Because I thought I’d blown my chance. Or chances.”
“Never.” My smile mirrored hers. “I’m assuming by your response you’re not saying no.” The inflection in my voice rose as I elongated the last word.
“I’m saying yes.” Another tear fell. “Yes,” she said louder. “I’ll marry you.”
An eruption of noise followed an outpouring of applause as Edana threw herself into my arms. I hugged her so tight I thought I might suffocate her if I didn’t let her go soon. Taking a step back, I wiped away the onslaught of tears trickling down her beautiful face, smothering her mouth with mine as I poured my love into a kiss that wasn’t fit for an audience. I didn’t care there were kids present. I didn’t care if my brothers ribbed on me later. I didn’t care about anyone right then except my woman.
My fiancée.
My future wife.
