Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
And on her left hand? The ring catches the light every time she gestures.
My chest tightens in that way I’m getting used to. Not pain. Not fear.
Something better.
This is real. She’s real. We made it.
Chux steps up beside me, beer in hand.
“Never thought I’d see it,” he says.
“What?” I grunt.
He lifts his chin toward Kelly. “You. Smilin’ like that. Without blood involved.”
I snort. “Shut up.”
He clinks his bottle lightly against mine. “I mean it. You and her? You earned this.”
I watch her cross the yard. She glances over, catches me staring, and her face softens in that way that still knocks me sideways.
She excuses herself from the group and walks toward me. Every step she takes, I feel it.
My future. My peace. My second chance.
“Hey, fiancé,” she teases, slipping under my arm so naturally it’s like she’s always belonged there.
“Hey, almost-wife,” I rumble, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She holds up her hand, letting the ring sparkle in the sun. “Still not tired of lookin’ at it.”
“Better not be,” I state. “Sunshine, it ain’t comin’ off. You got a lifetime of wearing that thing. I’ll bleed before you aren’t wearing my ring and having my name.”
She laughs, bumping my hip. “Drama.”
I take her hand and turn the ring once between my fingers, just to feel it. Just to remind myself it’s not a dream.
In a couple months, she’ll stand in front of me in a white dress, and I’ll put a matching band next to it. I’ll promise her in front of God and the Kings and and whoever else shows up that I’m hers.
And I’ll give her that lifetime.
“You happy?” I ask quietly.
She looks up at me, eyes bright. “Yes,” she says simply. “Are you?”
I scan the compound, Stunt arguing with Nitro over grill technique. Shaft teaching a kid how to sit on a bike without tipping it over. Gainz laughing too loud. Mellow watching everyone at all times.
“Yeah,” I say. “For the first time in a long damn time, yeah.”
She smiles. “Riot?” she asks.
“Yeah, sunshine?”
“Thank you for not listening when I told you not to fall in love with me.”
I huff a rough laugh. “Couldn’t have stopped it if I tried.”
She reaches up, palms my jaw, and kisses me in front of everyone. Catcalls. Whistles.
Someone yells, “Get a room!”
I flip them off without breaking the kiss.
When we finally pull apart, she rests her forehead against mine.
“We good?” she whispers.
“We’re better than good,” I murmur. “We’re forever.”
She blushes, and I swear my heart actually hurts from how much I love her.
The sun dips lower over Freedom Falls. Bikes shine under the glow. The club hums around us, loud, chaotic, loyal.
My past is handled. The ghosts are quiet. The enemies are gone.
And the woman I love is wearing my ring.
I slide my hand down her back, pull her closer, and breathe her in.
I used to think my life was just one long ride from fight to fight.
Now? It’s a road I get to travel with her on the back of my bike, my ring on her finger, and her laughter in my ear.
Whatever comes next, we face it together.
And for the first time in my life, that doesn’t scare me at all.