The Boy Who Has No Redemption (Soulless 8)

“Derek…” I cupped his face and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He pulled me close and hugged me, held me against his warm body in an affectionate squeeze.

“Well, it’s late… We should probably get some sleep before the party tomorrow.” I pulled away and looked over his shoulder to the clock on the nightstand, seeing that it was 3:52 in the morning. Now I knew why I was so tired.

He stared at me like he wasn’t tired at all. “If you think I’m going to let you sleep, you don’t know me very well…”

At midday, people started to file in.

First, it was Cleo, Deacon, and Daisy, and they were so excited to celebrate with me. Cleo immediately looked at the ring on my left hand. “Oh my god, it’s so beautiful. Perfect for a beautiful woman.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Welcome to the family, Mrs. Hamilton.”

“Thank you.” I smiled softly, loving the way that name fit me so well.

Deacon hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek too. “Thank you for not giving up on my son.”

“I never will.”

He smiled before he patted me on the shoulder and joined Cleo in greeting Derek.

Daisy came next. “I bet you he ran off to get that ring after he saw you in that dress.” She smiled before she gave me a strong hug. “Because, girl, you looked like fire.”

“Thanks, Daisy.”

She winked before she walked farther into the house.

I turned to look at Derek with his family.

Deacon embraced his son tightly and cupped the back of his head. “Proud of you, little man.”

Cleo hugged him and didn’t let go. “I love you, honey. So happy for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Lizzie walked up. “Hey, what about me?”

Deacon chuckled then turned around to greet her. “There she is. Lizzie, congrats on graduation.” He hugged her then patted her on the back. “You’ve already grown into such a wonderful young lady.”

“A beautiful young lady.” Cleo hugged her tightly. “We’ve got a lot of presents for you.”

“Yes!” Lizzie hugged her before she stepped back. “Derek and my mom are getting married!”

“Yes.” Cleo smiled. “We heard.”

“That means you guys are like my grandparents, right?” Lizzie asked.

Deacon and Cleo both smiled so brightly, as if nothing made them happier than having their first grandchild, even if she wasn’t Derek’s.

“Yes.” Cleo hugged her, and so did Deacon. “We are.”

My parents came in next, and I was so happy to see how excited my mom was. She threw her purse on the table and dashed in to grab my left hand. “Emmy, it’s gorgeous. Look at that thing!” She turned my wrist to watch it reflect the light. “Hon, look at this ring.”

Dad came over and whistled. “That wasn’t cheap. Looks like this guy likes you a lot, Emmy.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I think he does.”

Ryan and Camille came in afterward. Ryan moved to me and wrapped his arms around me. “Hey, looks like you’re gonna be my best-friend-in-law. That’s a thing, right?”

Camille hugged me. “She’s one of us now. I think you’re so great for Derek. It’s nice to see him happy.”

“And it’s really nice to see him pull his head out of his ass,” Ryan said. “Really nice.”

I chuckled. “How was Italy?”

“Oh, it was so great,” Camille said. “We went to the Vatican and went to a couple wineries—”

“We did it everywhere,” Ryan said. “We got it on, Italian-style.”

Camille rolled her eyes. “We did sight-seeing and stuff too—”

“But we mainly did it,” Ryan said. “Like, all the time.”

“Would you shut up?” she snapped. “She doesn’t want to hear about us having sex on our honeymoon.”

“Why not?” Ryan asked. “She’s going to have sex on her honeymoon.”

Camille looked at me and shook her head. “I’m sorry that my husband has no manners.”

“You like that I don’t have manners.” He reached down and grabbed her ass and made her jump.

She slapped his wrist. “There’s a kid here.”

“So?” He grabbed her boob next. “She’s not looking.”

Camille grabbed Ryan by the wrist and tugged him aside. “Congratulations, Emerson. On Derek and your daughter.” She pulled him over to Derek, and they embraced him.

I liked Ryan and Camille a lot. They were fun and good friends to Derek. I was happy that I would see them a lot more often now.

The next person who walked in the door was Dex. He had a bag over his shoulder like he’d just gotten into town. He was in jeans and a shirt, having broad shoulders and the same stature as his older brother. He dropped his bag on the table in the entryway and approached me. “Hey, it’s my favorite person in the world.”

“Your favorite?” I asked in surprise.

“Yeah. You made my brother happy.” He nodded toward Derek then turned to me. “So, you made me happy.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a one-armed hug. “It says a lot about you that you were able to forgive Derek for all that… You’re great for him.”