Liam scrambles over, and I hand him the ring box. He holds it like it's made of glass, his little face serious with concentration.
Ruby's hand flies to her mouth. "Oh my God."
"Ruby Watson," I say, my voice shaking now. "Will you marry me?"
For a second, she doesn't answer. Just stares at me with those hazel eyes swimming in tears. And panic starts creeping in because what if she says no? What if she's not ready? What if—
"Yes." The word comes out as a sob. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"
Relief crashes through me so hard I almost fall over. "Yeah?"
"Yes!" She's laughing and crying at the same time. "Of course yes, you idiot! I've been waiting for you to ask for months!"
"You have?"
"Everyone has!" She gestures around. "Luna kept hinting. Amelia straight-up asked me when you were going to propose. Even Mrs. Henderson said something last week about how 'that young man of yours better make an honest woman of you soon.'"
I laugh, the sound shaky with emotion. "I wanted it to be perfect. Wanted to wait until I got my patch, which I did last month, thank fuck. Wanted to make sure we were stable and settled and—"
"And you were overthinking it," Ruby interrupts, cupping my face in her hands. "Just like you're overthinking this moment right now. Yes, Chaos. I'll marry you. I want to be your wife."
Wife. Holy shit. Ruby's going to be my wife.
"Ring!" Liam announces, shoving the box toward Ruby. "Give Mama the ring!"
Ruby takes the box with shaking hands and looks at the ring. Fresh tears spill down her cheeks. "It's beautiful."
"You like it?" I'm still nervous. Still terrified she'll change her mind.
"I love it." She pulls the ring out and hands it to me. "Put it on me?"
I take her left hand and slide the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly, thank God, because I had to guess her size. She holds her hand up, admiring how the diamond catches the light.
"I can't believe I'm engaged," she whispers.
"Believe it." I pull her forward and kiss her, gentle and sweet. "You're stuck with me now."
"Good." She kisses me back. "Because I'm not going anywhere."
Liam makes a disgusted sound. "Yucky! Kissing is yucky!"
We break apart, both laughing. Ruby pulls Liam into her lap, or as much as she can with the baby bump in the way.
"Kissing won't be yucky when you're older," she tells him.
"Nuh-uh." He shakes his head firmly. "Always yucky."
"We'll see about that," I say, ruffling his hair. "Give it fifteen years."
Ruby leans against me, her head on my shoulder, Liam in her lap. We sit there surrounded by flowers, and I feel something I never thought I'd feel.
Complete peace.
I spent my whole life thinking I was broken. That the sick kid I used to be, the angry young man I became, the violent biker I turned into, that was all I'd ever be. That I wasn't capable of love or family or any of the soft things other people seemed to have naturally.
But Ruby proved me wrong. She saw past the violence and the anger to the man underneath who just wanted to belong somewhere. Who wanted to protect something worth protecting. Who wanted to love and be loved in return.
"What are you thinking about?" Ruby asks softly.
