Cassie threw back her head and laughed at Willow’s story. She was recounting her morning and how her daughter had tricked her dad into eating a teaspoon of salt.
They stood around a tall table at Tucker’s Bar. All the women were here—Grace, Courtney, Willow and Carina, while all eight men sat at a long table near the back. She’d looked their way countless times. Had she not known them, they’d be an intimidating sight. All big and muscled and… Had she said big?
Every time Cassie looked over, Aidan’s eyes were on her. It left her feeling hot and tingly. She almost wanted to squirm.
This was her first night out since the kidnapping a week ago. It felt amazing. She thought she’d be nervous. Maybe end up looking over her shoulder the entire evening. She wasn’t. It was impossible not to feel safe with all the guys watching over them.
Grace nudged her shoulder. “You doing okay?”
She turned to the woman and smiled. “I’m doing so good. Aidan’s been…” She smiled. “I can’t even explain. Incredible.”
“He hasn’t been treating you like you’re fragile?” Courtney asked, leaning across the table, cocktail in hand.
Cassie laughed. “Oh, he’s definitely been doing that. But I kind of love it.” Actually, there was no “kind of” about it. “After years of taking care of myself while trying to shut down a crazy cult, it feels good to have someone looking after me for a change.”
Not someone. Aidan. The man she loved. The man she’d always loved.
“How are you feeling about Mia?” Willow asked quietly.
There was a little pang to her heart at the mention of her sister. “I’m glad she got a job and an apartment. And she’s only a couple of towns away, so still within driving distance.”
Mia was working in a coffee shop. It was a start. There was still a lot of friction between them, and she didn’t know when or if things would get better. For Cassie, it would take a while for trust to build.
Grace touched her hand. “It sounds hard.”
She traced her finger along the rim of her glass of OJ. “We’re both trying to find our way back to each other. She blames herself for everything that happened to me, and, while I don’t blame her for anything Elijah did, there’s still a lot of hurt that she couldn’t trust me.”
“Family can be complicated,” Carina said gently.
Cassie gave her a small smile. She wasn’t wrong. But that didn’t make any of it easier to accept. She didn’t know if the hurt and betrayal she felt for Mia choosing Elijah would ever fully disappear. But…Mia was her sister. The only blood relation she had left. So she was choosing to work on her feelings.
“I’m just glad Elijah’s gone and everyone who played a part is in jail.”
By the time Elijah had been pulled from the water, it was too late. The knife wound and blood loss had made him weak. He was unable to reach the surface on his own. He drowned in the very waters he’d attempted to use for Cassie’s death.
Everyone at the waterfall who wasn’t dead had been arrested, and those who hadn’t been there were shocked to learn what had transpired. They had no desire to go back to that life. The cult was officially dead.
“You’ll always have us,” Grace said.
“And the guys,” Courtney added. “Aidan may be your guy, but every one of them would stand in front of a bullet for you. They’re basically the big protective brothers you never asked for.”
Her heart warmed. For so long, she’d lived in a community with people she felt no connection to. She’d lived with a husband she loved as a friend but nothing more. For years, she’d felt alone, but she hadn’t dared admit that to herself because it would have made everything ten times harder.
Now, she had it all. Love. Beautiful women she got to call friends. People looking out for her.
Carina smiled at her. “I heard a rumor that you might be taking over the reception at Blue Halo.”
Cassie chuckled. “That rumor is correct. I was an executive assistant before I went back to Paragons of Hope, and, although working admin and front desk at a security company won’t be quite the same, it will be a good entry back into the workforce. Aidan’s excited because he thinks he’s going to get to boss me around all day.”
The women all laughed.
“Bet you told him what you thought of that.” Carina chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I told him exactly who’s in charge, his business or not.”
Willow took a sip of wine. “Thank the Lord. I’ve been on the boys’ backs for a while to hire someone for that job. Whenever Blake has admin duties, he’s in a bad mood for a week.”
“You should see Logan.” Grace shook her head. “It’s like he’s been asked to work night shift in a morgue.”
“Yeah, the boys are definitely built for action, not desk jobs,” Carina agreed.
“Lucky for them, I love admin,” Cassie added.
Willow’s voice softened. “How’s Damien doing?”
Her heart lifted. “Amazing. We signed the marital separation agreement and because the divorce is uncontested, it should be quick and easy. We’re just waiting for the judge to sign off on it. Oh, and he moved in with Dean.”
Seeing those two together… God, it was everything. She’d been Skype calling them at least once a day. Damien smiled more during those Skype calls than he had in the last thirty years of his life. He could finally be himself.
When Aidan rose from the table, her heart sped up. He wore a tight white T-shirt that pulled across his chest and thick biceps. And when he walked, his blue jeans hugged his powerful thighs. Women around the room stared as he passed, but he only had eyes for her.
“You can’t take your damn eyes off her.”
Aidan couldn’t even argue with Liam. “Nope. I came too close to losing her again. I won’t be taking my eyes off her for a long time.”
Fuck. He hated even thinking about it. Those two minutes she’d been unconscious had been the worst of his life.
“How’s she doing?” Blake asked.
Aidan lifted a shoulder. “Highs and lows. Things with Mia are complicated. But she’s relieved the cult’s dead and Damien’s healthy and happy. The divorce is going to be finalized soon.”
Cassie’s gaze met his for a second, and her eyes heated.
God, he loved her. It was a can’t-get-her-out-of-his-head-or-breathe-without-her kind of love. It was annihilating, but also exhilarating.
“Looks like we’re the last three standing,” Callum said, looking across to Tyler and Liam.
Liam scoffed. “I haven’t come close yet. Can’t see it happening anytime soon.”
Tyler barely seemed to be listening. Instead, he was looking toward the bar. Again.
Aidan followed his gaze to take in the woman sitting there. She looked to be mid-to-late thirties. She wore tight jeans with rips in the knees, paired with high heels. Her snug black top had long sleeves, and the glints of red in her brown hair shone in the lights behind the bar.
Aidan looked back to his friend and raised a brow. “Someone caught your eye?”
Tyler looked back at him. “No.”
Liar. He’d had been looking at her all night.
Aidan pushed to his feet. “All right, I’m going to see my woman.”
“Whipped,” Liam coughed under his breath.
Aidan thumped him on the shoulder and moved across the room. When he reached Cassie, he slid his arms around her waist and tugged her against him. “You shouldn’t be on your feet for too long.”
She turned in his arms and wrapped her hands around his neck. “I’m okay, but if you want to hold me up for a while, I wouldn’t complain.”
He kissed her, then whispered into her ear. “I’ll hold you for a lifetime, Cass.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath.
“Dance with me,” he whispered.
“Always.”
Her one word hit him right in the chest. He tugged her away from the women, but he didn’t go to the dance floor. Instead, he led her outside to the empty deck and pulled her into his arms. They could still hear the music through the door, but they also had privacy.
“I want you alone for a couple of minutes,” he whispered at her raised brows. “But if you get too cold, let me know and we’ll go back inside.”
“Mm. Being cold is a small price to pay for alone time with you.” Her arms wrapped around his waist, and she lay her head on his chest, right over his heart.
“Are you feeling okay?”
She hummed. “Amazing. I haven’t felt this happy since before.”
Before. As in, before he was taken. Before they were torn apart, and they’d had to fight to get back to each other.
He pressed his mouth to her hair. “Me too, honey.”
For a couple of minutes, Aidan just held her as they swayed to the music. This was his peace. His sanctuary. When he held her, everything in the world felt right.
“When I lost you, a lot of the world stopped making sense,” he said quietly. Her head rose, and she looked at him. “Nowhere felt like home anymore. Nowhere felt happy and familiar and comfortable.”
“Aidan…” She pressed a hand to his chest.
“I lived for the memories of us. The moments in my head. But there were so many things I regretted. I regretted not telling you I loved you every day. I regretted taking our time together for granted because I thought I’d always have you.”
She shook her head. “You told me you loved me all the time.”
“Not enough.” But then, no amount would ever be enough. “And something I really regretted was not asking you a question.”
Her voice quieted. “What question?”
“I know your divorce isn’t finalized, but I can’t wait any longer.” He’d already waited long enough.
He took a small step back and slipped a hand into his pocket before pulling out a velvet box. She gasped softly and he heard her heart speed up. He knelt in front of her, and her breath caught.
“Cassie. You’re my entire world, and you have all of me. My heart. My soul. The little fragments that only pull together when you’re close by. I love you. And I want you to marry me.” He opened the box to reveal a diamond ring. It was one he’d had his eyes on for a while. One that made him think of her every time he saw it.
Tears welled in her eyes, and for a moment there was silence. Then the words he’d waited three long years to hear came out.
“Yes. Yes, Aidan Pratt. I’ll marry you!”
He took her hand and slid the diamond onto her finger. Then he rose and pulled her off her feet and into his arms and kissed her.
His. The woman was his. Forever.
“One more thing,” he said when they finally parted.
“What on earth else could there be?” she asked with a watery laugh.
He lowered her and slid a hand into his other pocket…
And tugged out her necklace. The one he’d given her years ago.
She gasped. “How did you…”
“A few of the guys and I walked the road Elijah took.” He slid it around her neck and fastened the clasp before lifting her hair over the delicate chain. “It wasn’t too hard, since you told me the approximate area where it was taken from you.”
She held his face in her hands. “You are my everything, Aidan. I love you so much.”
He kissed her again. “You have no idea how deep my love for you goes.”
He’d just tugged the woman into his arms again when he heard the quiet murmur of familiar voices. He looked to the side to see all of their friends a few feet away, standing in the open door, watching. There were tears in the women’s eyes, and the guys wore knowing smiles.
He grinned and motioned his head toward Cassie. “Okay, come on.”
The women ran forward, tugging Cassie from his arms into theirs. The guys did the same to him.
Yep. Everything was as good as it could get.
