Page 24 of Devil's Luck

“Of course not. I just found out we’re having a boy. That’s the second best news I’ve ever heard.”

“What was the first?” she asks as her smile gets bigger.

“The day you said yes to marrying me.”

“Even though I’m making us wait until after our little guy gets here?”

I tug her in for a quick kiss, then rest my hands on the sides of her belly as she grabs hold of my shoulders. “I waited this long to make you mine, a few more months won’t be the end of the world.”

Back in April, the day I proposed to her up in that hayloft, we conceived out son. My original plan was to go on a horsebackride to a small creek that her dad told me about on their property, the same place he proposed to her Mama. But those plans changed after the abduction because even though she insisted to me that she wasn’t sore, I didn’t want to jostle her too much.

This bump is also why we’re delaying getting married for a few months. While I would’ve brought in a preacher the day the stick showed two lines and made her my wife right then and there in our bathroom, Nola wants a big, lavish, fairytale wedding. When I tried to insist we get married right away, because I wanted her to have my last name before the baby is born, Nola burst into tears and told me that it was a dream ever since she was a little girl, to have her special day with all the bells and whistles. She wants the pretty white dress, the flowers, the cake, and everything that comes with it. I couldn’t, and still can’t deny her anything. So yes, our baby will be born before we tie the knot, but that’s okay. I don’t need a piece of paper to know that our love is real.

“How did I get so lucky to find you?”

“You snuck into my hotel room.” Nola taps my nose like I’m a naughty child.

“I did not sneak.” I pretend to be offended.

“You told the front desk you were my fiancé!”

I sure did. “That’s not a lie anymore.”

“It was then.”

“That’s semantics.”

“If you say so.”

“Speaking of that day,” I start to ask her about something I’ve been wanting to know for seven months, “what were you thinking when you saw me in your room that day?”

“I saw you in a way I’d never seen you before.” Nola rests her hands on my chest and we lock gazes. “Ever since we’d met two years before, I had only seen you as an amazing and supportive older brother, or a boss and friend to your men, or a fun and goofy uncle to little Máire, but that night was different. That night was the first time I’d seen you look like I imagine your enemies see you. The look in your eyes was dark, almost dangerous and lethal.”

“And that didn’t scare you?”

“No. It was the exact opposite actually.” She shakes her head once. “It was like everything fell into place in my mind. When you told me you were feeling the same way I was inside, the real me broke free and I saw our future. I didn’t care that what you do is dangerous. I wasn’t afraid to admit that the feelings I’d had for you were a little crazy.”

“You made me wait two years to have you.”

“That was both of us being stubborn.”

“That we are, mo fhíorghra.”

“While I’ve wanted you since day one, neither of us were ready. We both needed the time to get to know each other without risking what could’ve gone wrong had we not worked out.”

“You could’ve tried to make a move sooner, ya know.” I can’t help but give her a little bit of a hard time, but my smile shows her that I’m kidding. This isn’t the first time we’ve joked about how long we both waited to make a move.

“Did you ever doubt us?” Nola asks with a soft smile.

“Never. Not one single day.”

“Me neither.”

“Nola?” I lean in slowly.

“Yea?” She brings her lips close to mine.

“You are my forever.” I press my hands lightly into her belly and feel what I’m guessing is a foot kick out at me. “I can’t wait to meet our son.”

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