Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 50311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 201(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
“You okay?” I ask, quiet.
He nods. “I’m okay. Ain’t perfect, but I’m gettin’ there.”
There’s more behind that, I know, but he isn’t ready to spill it yet. He glances over at Cambria, where she’s talking to Laura and Yesnia, looking right at home. Dia approaches the girls and I watch the change in Toon.
I drop my voice low. “Does Dia know?”
He shakes his head, “I’ll never tell her why I came back. And I’m definitely not about to tell her how life is gonna take me away from her.” He looks away, jaw tight. “Tripp called me back for her. Can you believe that shit? Thought she needed me to help her. Got here and she doesn’t need me, never did. Which is good, ‘cause I don’t know how much life I got left to live.”
That bitterness stings, and I don’t like his headspace. I know Toon’s taken hits I can’t see, battles he won’t talk about, but I want to shake him, remind him there’s more than scars and regret.
He gives me a shoulder slap, forcing a grin. “Cambria has embraced this world.”
I smile. “Yeah, she has.”
He looks away, and I can tell he’s giving himself a second to gather up the pieces before he breaks. Instead of taking him back to the hard places, we catch up. It’s easy, natural, the kind of friendship you don’t have to force or fix. We talk about everything and nothing, picking up right where we left off.
As the sun slides behind the trees, the fire burns higher, and the whole world feels suspended between one moment and the next. Rex is leaning against a truck with Tripp, the two of them close as ever—cousins raised like brothers, partners in everything that ever mattered to the club. Axel’s got Yesnia in his lap, her drink sloshing as she laughs at something Laura says. The kids are playing tag in the field, and I watch Shooter actually smiling, his arm slung over Mom’s shoulders, both of them looking years younger in the golden light.
I catch myself thinking that maybe this is what we’ve been fighting for all along. Not power, not reputation. Just a night like this, where everyone’s safe, everyone’s fed, everyone’s got someone who loves them.
Cambria curls up next to me on the bench, her head on my shoulder, my arm draped over her waist. She fits there perfectly, like she was always meant to.
“You ever think about what your life would’ve been like if we never met in that parking lot?” she asks, voice a secret between us and the dusk.
“All the time,” I admit.
“What do you see?”
I turn my head, kiss her temple. “Nothing. I see nothin’ ‘cause none of it would’ve mattered.”
She pulls my hand to her lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. There’s a fragility in her smile, something I know she’s still learning to let go of. “I used to think I wasn’t allowed to want more. That wantin’ it was greedy.”
“Baby, you deserve the whole damn world.”
She laughs, and it’s shy, a sound that breaks me open every time. “Then ask me.”
My stomach knots, just like it did the first time I saw her, hesitant, but still hopeful. “You heard that?”
She nods. “Back at the trailer. Before Toon left. You said you wanted to make it real at the barbecue.”
“Planned to ask you at this barbecue. Didn’t think you’d beat me to it.”
“Well, I’m askin’ now.”
For a second, the whole world goes still. My hand slips into my cut, fingers closing around the little velvet box I’ve carried for three months—waiting, never quite brave enough to pull the trigger. Her eyes go wide as I open it, moonlight catching on the twisted gold band and single black diamond.
I clear my throat, heart pounding. “You’ve already ridden out a lifetime of pain with me. I want to spend the rest of our days giving you the ride of your life. I want to feel you hold tight to me as we make all our dreams come true. You ready to make it real?” My voice shakes, but my eyes dance with love. “You ready to take my last name?”
She nods, tears shining. “Hell yes.”
I slide the ring onto her finger, and the entire yard erupts—cheers, whistles, catcalls. Toon shouts loudest, “Finally, he put a ring on it. She’s been his wife a damn year with no ring!” Which is funny because none of them know it was all a ruse to make sure she was accepted in my world no matter the outcome between us in the beginning.
My mom’s voice drifts across the fire, gentle but eager, “Does this mean we can have a wedding celebration?”
“If that’s what Cambria wants,” I say, my heart thudding in my chest, not giving away the real truth: that our “wedding” was never real, and they didn’t miss a damn thing except a lie.