Loan Shark Love

My dad stares between the two of us and seems to come to some sort of decision. I wonder what he’s thinking as he steps forward toward the two of us.

Is he going to deck Grey in the face again, maybe?

He reaches out a hand for Grey to shake, holding his chin up as he does.

“You kept her safe,” my dad says, looking at me affectionately.

“I’ll always keep her safe,” Grey tells him with a nod. My head tilts onto his shoulder, resting my weight there. “I would give my life to save hers if I had to.”

“I believe you, Grey,” my dad says, letting out a long sigh. “I guess I can be okay with this as long as you always promise to always put my daughter first.”

Grey nods and my dad shakes his hand again before he sits on the sand.

“I love you,” Grey tells me, keeping his voice soft and his lips on my ear.

“I love you so much,” I answer, and my eyes burn with happy tears.

Behind us, I can hear Natalie calling nine-one-one from the boat, still holding Anderson in her arms, and I wonder how long it will take them to get to the house.

“What about the bodies?” I ask Grey as I sit down heavily in the sand, putting my head on my dad’s shoulder. “Won’t the cops blame us and arrest you too?”

Grey shakes his head, glancing over at the bodies down at the water’s edge. I don’t want to look at them, lifeless and sallow in the sand. The only body I’ve ever seen was my mother’s in the hospital after her accident, and I have no need to see anything else that might traumatize me even more.

“They cause a lot of trouble with the police department,” Dad answers. “If we’re lucky, they’ll be grateful and just cover it up. Stuff like that happens all the time.”

Grey looks at my dad in surprise, just like I do, and he stares back.

“What?” he asks, shrugging. “I might not be in the business, but I still keep up.”

Grey nods, looking impressed. The cop cars and ambulances wail in the distance, and Natalie makes a sound of triumph from the boat, still holding her man.

“Let me tell you something, Grey,” Dad snaps, pointing at him from where we sit on the sand. “I don’t want to be a part of this life. I don’t want her to be a part of this. If you want to be with my daughter, you have to promise to leave all of this bullshit behind you. And move houses too, because the Godwins know where you live now.”

“They won’t come after us,” Grey says confidently. “They’ll be too afraid.”

My dad nods, and I watch Grey kneel down in the sand in front of me.

“Well, what do you think, Rosie?” he asks, smiling at me. “Will you marry me?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

SIX MONTHS LATER

Grey

The pale ships sway peacefully in the harbor as they move across the water, their sails white and frothing against the pull of the wind. The water glistens, shifting and splashing over the edge of the castle’s walls that lead down into the turquoise ocean.

The towers and turrets rise up behind me, casting the dark flicker of their shadows down over the span of the wedding party below.

There’s a glass of whiskey in my hand as I stand at the edge of what feels like forever, taking in the ocean breeze that rises up to waft across the green grass toward the courtyard of the castle. Italy has never looked so beautiful as it does today. Today, I’m a married man. Today, my beautiful Rosie is now my wife.

“You look like a man who’s gotten everything he ever wanted,” a voice says from behind me. I recognize it instantly and smile ruefully, taking a drink.

“Sam,” I answer, nodding. “I’m a man who knows how lucky he is to be here.”

“You’re not the man I wanted for my Rose,” Sam says, letting out a breath as he leans on the rough stone wall beside me. “You’re not who I hoped for, Grey.”

He doesn’t mean it spitefully, and I understand what he’s trying to say.

“I’ll keep her safe and happy,” I tell my former business partner. “If I can’t even do that, I’m not much of a man anyway, am I?”

“She loves you,” Sam answers me, taking a long swig of his beer.

“I can guarantee that it’s not as much as I love her,” I tell him seriously.

My love for Rose is all-consuming, and I don’t want anything that might distract me from her. I want to be everything Rosie needs, and I will be.

“I think you’re a good man,” Sam tells me thoughtfully, and it surprises me. The six months that Rose and I spent together before getting married were full of mistrust and annoyance from Sam. “I know ending the business was a big step for you, and I want you to know that I think better of you for it.”