My arms were around him in the next moment holding him tight as I buried my face in his chest. “I love how excited you are, how happy, Cole.”
“You were crying when you heard the heartbeat,” he said, clearly happy that I was as excited as he was.
“Happy tears,” I said, a giggle escaping me.
He grinned and wrapped his arm around me as we walked down the hallway and into the open concept room, the living room and kitchen on full display. To our right was a hallway that led to a bathroom and three rooms. There was a set of stairs over by the kitchen that led down to a finished basement that had a large master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and another big room that we’d planned on turning into a playroom for the baby.
The place was brand-new, the first-floor rooms freshly painted a sleek gray, the basement a nice pastel green. The kitchen appliances were modern stainless steel, the countertops black marble. The yard was landscaped already with ample room, a high fence that afforded privacy. Although, it was basically overkill because the house was at the edge of town, set back from everything and everyone, no neighbors around.
It was the first house we’d seen today and this was our second look at it.
“This is the one, Cole.”
He smirked. “I know.”
“Really?”
“I know you. I know your tastes, what you like and don’t like. I had your list of criteria too. So, I figured this would be your favorite.”
I smiled happily.
He grinned back at me, then started to take a closer look at things, getting into the inspection of it, mumbling some things of note to himself as he went.
I left him to it and headed down the hallway to the corner room next door to the first-floor bathroom. I took in the space, the closet, the beautiful bay windows, the overall size. “Perfect,” I murmured to myself.
“Perfect for what?” Cole’s voice came from behind me at the door.
I turned to him. “The nursery.”
“I like it. Good idea.”
“I’m going to call the realtor,” I told him, delving into the pocket of my wool coat for my phone.
Cole’s hand clamped down on my wrist, stopping me. “Wait.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “For what? You want more time to think about it?”
He shook his head, then stepped back. I tensed as his jovial attitude disappeared, his expression turning serious and intense.
“Cole, what’s wrong? Is—”
My words caught in my throat as he dropped to one knee in front of me.
Oh. My. God.
He reached into his leather jacket pocket and pulled out a little black box.
I gasped as he flipped it open.
A gorgeous white-gold diamond encrusted engagement ring shone back at me.
“Cole,” I breathed.
He gently grasped my left hand, softly stroking my fingers as he beamed up at me. “For way too long we didn’t believe we could have a future, that we could truly be together. But, no matter how hard the world tried to keep us apart, it failed. We kept coming back to each other. We belong to each other. I love you for everything that you are and you do the same for me, even loving the darkest parts of me. I don’t want to spend another moment of my life without you beside me. So, Natasha Ireland, will you be my wife?”
Those tears of happiness from earlier struck again. His beautiful speech had them pouring down my face, choking me up so much that I could barely breathe, let alone speak.
Seeing my predicament, he chuckled and rose up. He wiped away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. “It’s okay, baby,” he soothed.
Stroking my hair to calm me, he laughed, “You’re so fucking cute, Tasha.”
“Shut it,” I choked out, giving his chest a playful slap.
“So, that’s your answer?” he teased.
“No,” I cried. I grasped his jacket and jerked him into me. “The answer is yes. It’s always been yes. I’d love nothing more than to be your wife, my sexy hard-ass biker.”
Smiling, he pulled the ring from the box and carefully slid it onto my finger. “Mine,” he said, kissing my hand.
“Yours,” I confirmed. “Finally.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “Finally.”
22
~Natasha~
PANIC GRIPPED ME.
An awful, unsettling feeling gurgled in the pit of my stomach. And it wasn’t morning sickness.
Frantic with it, I struggled to turn over in our bed, my belly now big enough to make a once very easy task, difficult.
“Cole!” I hissed through his dark room. “I feel like something’s—”
My words caught in my throat when I laid my eyes on his side of the bed only to find that he wasn’t there.
My panic surging, I struggled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. The light wasn’t on so it was a long shot that he was in there, but I flipped it on anyway just to be sure.
Nothing.
No sign of him.
Walking back to the bed, I snatched my phone off my bedside table intending to call.
But as soon as I swiped it open, I saw a text message from the Houndini-esq man in question.
I’m good. Sit tight. This shit’s ending ASAP. Love you.
“Cole, you fool, what have you done?” I hissed under my breath.
After everything we’d talked about, all the promises we’d made to each other, had he seriously gone off half-cocked like his past self, that frigging reckless maniac that he had been?
Shit.
Maybe finding out about the plan Slade had roped me into on the downlow had pushed him over the edge, pushing him to do something so awfully desperate.
I started pacing back and forth trying to figure things out.
No. He wouldn’t go alone. He had to be with the club. They must’ve just brought their mission forward without telling me. Purposely not telling me.
The plan had been to have me close by if Nik freaked out when he realized he’d been double-crossed. If worst came to worst, I was to be a distraction
