“I’ve been telling you this for weeks and I don’t think you’ve truly listened, Ellie.”
“Liam—”
“So, I’m going to tell you again. We have problems, but we are going to work them out. We’re going to learn to come to each other and talk, not run away, or in my case, ignore it until it’s convenient. We’re going to make this marriage work.”
“We’re not married,” I point out, still afraid to believe him.
“That’s a minor point, Ice. We’re getting married this week.”
“Oh no, we’re not,” I argue, my eyes going round with shock. I think he might be insane.
“We most certainly are,” he says, coming over to the bed and going down on his knees, so that we are closer to eye level. “I almost lost you, Ellie. I’ve never been that scared in my life. I won’t stay away from you. You’re not moving out and that’s the end of it.” As he talks his finger brushes back and forth against my cheek and I close my eyes rapidly to stop the tears from falling. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat right now.
“Liam, I know you said we would put everything behind us and start fresh…”
“I was wrong,” he says, causing me to frown in confusion.
“You were?” I ask.
“Yeah, honey. I don’t want to put the past behind us. I don’t want to forget one moment of our lives together. What I want is for us both to learn that we’re stronger together and that’s how we need to tackle everything.”
“I…”
“Ellie,” he says tenderly.
“I’m scared, Liam.”
“I know, baby. But, you’re going to beat this thing and I’m going to be right by your side.”
“No, I mean, okay, I am scared about that, but I’m more worried about you feeling as if you’re forced to be with me.”
“Ellie, if anyone is being forced here, it’s you. I practically had to kidnap you from the hospital to get you here.”
“I fucked up, Liam.”
“You did.” I close my eyes as his forehead drops down to touch mine. “Ice, look at me.” I slowly do as he asks. He pulls away far enough away so I can focus on him. “You fucked up, but I did, too. I should have stayed and talked things through with you all those years ago.”
“You were under club orders, Liam.”
“I fucking love my brothers, Ellie. I love this club, it’s home, baby.”
“I know…”
“But, Ellie, you’re my world. I didn’t show that to you back then. I even made it worse by letting you leave and not coming after you. I fucked up.”
“I love you,” I whisper, unsure of what else to say.
“And I love you. This is it, Ellie. Most people don’t get a second chance. To my way of thinking, this is probably our third or fourth chance. We need to grab it with both hands and not let go.”
“Together,” I murmur.
“Definitely together, Ellie.”
“You’re not signing on to anything great, Liam. I look like something out of a Stephen King novel and you heard what the doctor said about—”
I stop when he puts his fingers against my lips.
“We fight like hell, together, Ice. You’ll beat this because we have our whole lives in front of us. I want children with you. I want to grow old with you.”
“I might not ever be able to have children, Liam, and with all of this…”
“Look at Dani and Crusher, Ellie. Do you think they look at that brood they have as anything less than theirs?”
“No,” I admit.
“Let’s take all of this one step at a time. Okay, baby?”
“One step at a time,” I repeat.
“Hand in hand,” he adds, his fingers brushing across my knuckles.
“Hand in hand. I’ll never let you down again, Liam.”
“We might let each other down, Ice. That’s part of being human, but we’ll work it out. Won’t we?”
“We’re still not getting married,” I warn him.
“We are. The preacher is coming out to the club in two days. You are most definitely marrying me.”
“Liam, I can’t. I refuse to marry you looking like this.”
“You’re gorgeous,” he argues, causing me to roll my eyes—even if it’s painful.
“Will you be serious?” I huff.
“I am. I’m marrying you in two days, Ice. If you want a big wedding after your hair grows out, then we will do that. I’ll do anything you want, but whatever happens, you are marrying me in two days.”
“You’re so damn bossy, Liam.”
“Shut up and kiss me, Ice.”
I finally just give up arguing. I guess I’m getting married looking like the bride of Frankenstein. I want to look beautiful for Liam, but we’re together and he loves me. That is more than enough. So, I kiss him and send up a prayer of thanks. Somehow through everything we’ve faced, all of the wrong turns we’ve made, we ended up here…together.Epilogue OneFuryTwo Months Later* * *