“I guess I am.” I laughed, tears blurring my vision as I hugged her. “I’m so glad you were here when it happened.”
She reached out to trace the edge of the leather vest. “This is so weird. I’m trying to wrap my head around it.”
Taking a step back, she looked me over with a twinkle in her eye. Rebel stood behind her, and she bumped into him. He grabbed her arms to steady her, and she turned around with a bright smile.
“Oops! Sorry about that.” Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of him.
He just nodded, a brooding scowl on his face as his gaze swept over her. Then he muttered what sounded like, “Fucking hell.”
Clara frowned and turned to face me again, rolling her eyes. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to belong to one of these guys.”
“You’ll know soon enough,” Rebel growled, sounding almost annoyed.
He took a step closer and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes locked intensely on my best friend.
Clara turned to look at him, her hands planted on her curvy hips and her brow raised. Her voice was full of her usual sass as she asked, “Pardon?”
He didn’t reply, but his gaze darted to King, who started laughing, shocking us all.
“I’ll take care of it,” King murmured with a final chuckle.
Flint, who was standing beside him, sighed and shook his head. “And I’ll order more tests.”
Rebel jerked his chin up at them, then gave Clara another heated look. “We’ll talk later.”
As he stalked out of the room, I turned back to Colter, intending to give him a meaningful look and make sure he was seeing the sparks flying off our friends too. But he wasn’t standing next to me anymore.
Instead, he was on one knee. And he held a small jewelry box in his palm. The lid was open so I could see the ring nestled inside the velvet—a giant green sapphire surrounded by smaller diamonds on a platinum band.
“Oh my gosh,” I breathed.
His lips curved into that smirk that got me every time. “Poppy, I knew you were it for me from the day we met. The woman I’d burn the world down for. The one I’d build a life with. Put my patch on your back, my ring on your finger, and my kid in your belly.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks. “Well, you’ve already done two of the three.”
“Gonna have it all, baby.” His eyes burned into mine. “I love you. Need you to be my wife, too. Marry me. Be my old lady in every way that matters. Forever.”
I could barely breathe, let alone speak. I nodded and sniffled back the tears so I could whisper, “Yes.”
He surged to his feet, slid the ring onto my finger, and kissed me. The cheers around us were louder this time, but I didn’t pay attention. I was too wrapped up in the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
When our kiss finally ended, he caught my hand and brought it to his lips.
“Mine,” he murmured against my knuckles.
I smiled through happy tears. “Yours.”
Surrounded by his club, my best friend, and the family we were building—I finally felt like I was exactly where I belonged.
EPILOGUE
ACE
Iparked the SUV outside the community center and shot a glance at Poppy sitting beside me, her hands nervously twisting together over her rounded belly. She was nearing six months pregnant, glowing and so damn beautiful that it was almost painful to look at her without dragging her back home and into bed. Again.
“Do we really have to do this?” I asked. “I mean, breathing is something humans have managed pretty well for thousands of years. I’m pretty sure you don’t need a class for it.”
Poppy rolled her eyes, giving me a playful swat on my arm. “It’s not just about breathing, Colter. It’s about preparing for childbirth and being supportive.”
