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As always, I enjoy seeing Declan’s softer side. He’s a formidable leader for his family, but he’s a most thoughtful and gentle partner.
In the weeks after we agreed to elope, he continually reminded me that there was no need to rush things between us. He told me we could take all the time I needed before getting married. He said he’d wait for me for however long I wanted.
I appreciated his consideration, but I wasn’t interested in waiting to get married.
During the weeks when I didn’t know if Declan had murdered my oldest brother, I’d been at constant war with how I felt about him. I didn’t know what our future would hold if he’d actually been responsible for Antony’s death.
And while I still mourn Antony and the loss of the man I believed him to be, I was so relieved to learn Declan wasn’t responsible. In fact, the man I planned to marry had been working with police to dismantle a human trafficking ring for years.
Declan may be the next leader of a prominent criminal family, but he has morals. He’s a good person. And the moment he said we no longer had to get married for our families’ alliance, I knew there was nothing else I wanted.
So, despite Declan’s concern that I would change my mind, I pressed forward and half-dragged him to that courthouse. We got married in front of a judge and two court-appointed witnesses we didn’t know. And seeing the love and affection in Declan’s eyes when he heard me say “I do” was the most romantic moment of my life.
“I love you, too.” I reach out and grab his hand. “So much.”
“Which makes me the luckiest Irish bastard in the world.” He squeezes my fingers and brings them to his lips for a chaste kiss.
I grin like a fool.
Though life has given me some heavy blows this past year, I am the happiest I’ve ever been. And it’s all thanks to the man sitting next to me. He treats me as his equal, and he loves me for the person I am.
I never expected my epic love story to begin in a dimly lit speakeasy in a Manhattan nightclub, but when I think about it, it seems like just the sort of meet-cute I’d read about in a romance novel.
I guess the hopeless romantic in me turned out not to be so hopeless after all…
