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“No. I…I guess I just need to know you want me.” “I want you.”
His fingers stroke my cheek. Toying with my hair. I love how he always needs to be touching me, even though he plays it off cool. Nonchalant.
My hand drifts up his chest and I can feel him trembling. I bring my palm to his left pec, press it against his heart, and instantly it starts beating faster. “You feel this too, don’t you?” His eyes are on mine. Dark blue and bottomless. “Yeah. I feel it.”
I’m all in on Luke Ryder, of all people.
Gigi takes my hand. She tugs on it, and I follow her instinctively. I’m so crazy gone for this woman that not following her isn’t even an option.
She peers up at me with the most beautiful smile, and I’m dumbstruck again because she’s so gorgeous I don’t even know how to function in the face of that smile.
I’m momentarily floored myself because I can’t believe it’s been three months. It simultaneously feels like I just met her yesterday and like I’ve known her forever.
“You love my daughter.” My head jerks toward her in surprise. She sips her whiskey, looking amused. “You’ve figured that out, right?” I gulp my own drink. “It’s still…early.” “So? When you know, you know.” Her lips twitch as she examines my face. “Got it. We’re still fighting it. Don’t worry, Luke—we’ll save this for another time.” She laughs softly. “Give your head some time to catch up to your heart.”
I have successfully managed to turn Briar’s grumpy, bad boy hockey co-captain into a hold-my-purse boyfriend. I’ve won the world.
“I’m not good enough for you,” I whisper against her lips. Alarm fills her eyes. “Ryder—” “I don’t know if I’ll ever be. But I want to try.” And I do. I mean that. I know I have my flaws. But I need to level up to be with this woman. She forces me to be better. I want to be better for her. I want to be her hero.
“I love you.” Her breath hitches. I’ve never said those words before. But I mean them with every fiber of my being. She’s the one. She’s the only one.
“Say it again.” “I love you, Gigi.” A brilliant smile fills her face. “I love you too, Luke.” That does something to me. The name I’ve loathed for so long, the name I’ve recoiled from, leaving her lips. Hearing it now, coming from that sweet voice and gorgeous face, accompanied by those three words, well, I guess I don’t mind being Luke. I’ll be whoever she wants me to be.
“You should be prepared,” Owen eventually says, glancing over to grin at me. “For what?” “You’re gonna marry that girl.”
“I don’t want anybody else. You know that, right?” Gigi blinks. “Where did that come from?” “I don’t know. I just need you to know I don’t want to be with anyone else. Ever.” A soft smile tugs on her lips. “Me too.” She reaches up to touch my face, rubbing the stubble on my jaw. “This is it, Luke. I think we both know that.”
“Like hell I can’t,” I growl. And then I give him another firm shove, forcibly moving him out of my way. “That’s my wife out there.”
um.......????
“So. Um. Yeah. We got married.”
...
I touch his cheek in reassurance, and the moment my fingers connect with his skin, the anxiety leaves his eyes. I have that power over him, and he has the same power over me.
I don’t even remember which one of us suggested we tie the knot. I think it might have been me? I just remember walking hand in hand down the Strip that first night in Vegas and thinking there’s nobody else I want to hold hands with for the rest of my life. And for some inexplicable reason, Gigi agreed.
Life is…good. That’s not a sentiment I’m used to expressing. Or experiencing. But it is. I’ve got my health, my friends, my brother. My wife. Neither of us have any idea what the future holds. Nobody does. But I can’t imagine any future with Gigi not being bright.
