Page 62 of Until Ireland

I laughed. “Marry me, Ireland. I don’t have to make some silly speech about our life together. We’re it for each other. Period.”

“You captured my style.” She furrowed her brows. “I also pictured being proposed to on a beach at sunset...”

“Overrated,” I whispered.

“You have a point.” She stared at that ring for so long she had me in knots.

“Woman...” I warned.

When Ireland finally laughed, holy fuck, it was like she ripped open my chest and shoved rainbows and unicorns inside of me. The bubbly excitement was almost too much to bear. “Yes. I’ll marry you, Mackinley Redman. However, we need to work on your panache. For being so suave, you suck at proposals.”

Ouch. My wounded pride. “Noted.” I snatched the ring from the bed of the box then took her hand in mine to slip the jewel onto her finger.

“Holy shit,” she murmured. “I’m getting married.”

I chuckled softly at her stunned reaction. Her gaze stayed on the ring encircling her finger, her eyes still round with surprise, and her lips parted. By saying yes, she’d made me the luckiest man in the world. I’d spend the rest of my life proving as much too.

“Yes, we are.”

A couple of weeks went by before the call came in from Cobi. They were ready to infiltrate the auto auction. In the interim, Ireland and her brothers had celebrated our engagement by themselves and with my family. This was a big deal for them, hell for all of us, but most especially the Banks family, since they were all each other had. Since I knew this phone call would be coming, I wanted our families to spend as much time together as they could. Once the day arrived when we’d be taking down the theft ring, anything could happen. I should’ve been afraid or nervous, but all I felt was resolve. I wanted to put this in the past so we could move on with our future.

I knew going into this that Ireland wouldn’t let me do it alone, but I didn’t want her there. However, after we talked about it, she had a point. She knew where everything was located. If we wanted to gather as much evidence as possible, we’d need her. Not that the idea didn’t grate my ass, because it did. Trust me.

So, the plan was simple. While I was waiting to bid on one of the stolen vehicles, she and two detectives Cobi brought in to help out would be going through the cars, finding those that were stolen. It wasn’t the best strategy, but it would work in a pinch, because once I bid on the vehicle and paid for it, the business would be surrounded, and Edgar would be off to jail.

A part of me wished we could have done this sting sooner. Unfortunately, we couldn’t. Cobi wanted to make sure Edgar was there when we went in. Without catching him, all we’d have were his lackeys and his business. A man like Edgar had ties and ways of hiding his money. In a couple of months, he’d pop up somewhere else and start all over again like nothing ever happened.

As I pulled up to the shop, I noticed a few new arrivals, along with the Aston Martin. I was grateful Cobi was able to get the vehicle processed and photographed so quickly. I’d talked to Marcus a few times while we’d been waiting, along with my client who’d wanted the car. Thankfully, there’d been no hard feelings all around.

Officially, I was back on the lookout for a 1965 DB5 Aston Martin while also arranging transportation for Marcus’ vehicle back to the East Coast. As much as the old man wanted to fly out and drive it back, his doctor had other plans for him. Getting old was hard as fuck for active people.

Sliding out of the car, I spotted Ireland under the hood of an old Oldsmobile. The Cutlass had its wheels off as well. I glanced at the ground and found the same drop cloth she’d used for the Aston was now covered in parts from the beast she’d been taming. She reached deeper under the hood, giving me the perfect view of her round ass, and I bit my knuckle to keep from groaning out loud. Didn’t need her hitting her head. When she eased back, she had a part in her hand, grease and burned bits hanging from it.

“I’ve got you now, you stubborn son of a bitch,” she muttered, placing the piece on the ground.

“Looks like you caught a big one,” I teased.

She glanced up and grinned. “This is the water pump. The stupid owner drove it until it melted to the block. They’re lucky I can fix this, or else all new motors would be coming up.”

“How bad?” I stepped closer to her now that I’d gotten her attention.

“Half the block needs to be rebored. New water pump, new hoses, new gaskets and pullies. It’ll take a little bit of time to fix, but when she’s done, she’ll purr again.” Grease marks streaked across her cheeks, and her hands were covered in gunk. The whole front of her bibs were blackened from the motor as well. She was, in a word, perfect.

“Sounds like a pain in the ass,” I said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You got a second to talk?”

“I do. With the pump out, I can do the rest of the heavy lifting later.” She started for the office. “Let me get cleaned up. Have you had lunch yet?”

“That’s my line,” I replied. “And, no. It’s on my list of things to do though.”

“You can eat with us.” We stepped into the office. “Hunter, you still here?”

Her eldest brother poked his head out of his office. “Just moving out now. What’s up?”

“Make sure you get enough for Mack,” Ireland yelled while cleaning up her hands.

“Got it.” Hunter shut off the light in his office then started for the exit, the keys to his bike spinning around his finger. “I’ll be back shortly.” I enjoyed having her brothers as part of my family. They were good guys doing whatever it took to keep their sister safe and I’d be eternally grateful to them.

“So, what brings you to Banks Automotive today, sir?” Ireland gave me a seductive little smile as she put an extra swing in her hips.

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