We were fated.
When the trial was over, we didn’t celebrate. Tye and his friends were going to jail for a very, very long time, and that was enough. Attempted murder, attempted rape, kidnapping, and a slew of other charges thanks to the information Rico’s acquaintances had dug up. His parents paid out an insane amount of money for my ‘pain and suffering’ as a part of the settlement, and I’d filed a civil suit on top of the criminal one.
No way I’d touch that money. I donated every penny to a local domestic violence shelter, and I really hoped it made a difference in someone else’s life. We had Rico’s trust fund if we ever needed it, anyway. I did consider, however, looking for my new apprentice there. Maybe I could give another woman the same opportunity I was given to grow and put herself back together.
Independence could go a long way in bolstering one’s confidence, and maybe that was all they needed to get started.
Rico hadn’t left my side since the kidnapping. We’d done everything together pretty much all the time. Our time being joined at the hip was coming to a close, though, because he had two classes on some computer… something or other coming up this week. I was so proud of him for following through with his new dreams and couldn’t wait to see what he did with them.
When my dad found out what happened, he insisted I start coming over for more self-defense lessons. Rico was all for it, and I loved the time it gave me with the old man. Plus, after what I went through, I wanted all the self-defense training I could get. When you’re put in a situation where you have to fight for your life, there is never too much training.
Rico was at the kitchen table when I walked in, his head buried in his laptop. He’d spent a lot of time like that since deciding to go into the security business. Even though he was going to take some classes, he said he’d learned so much watching videos online, he wasn’t sure classes would be necessary.
I’d encouraged him to take them anyway.
He paused his video as I walked by. I popped a kiss on top of his head and opened the fridge. “Need anything? A bottle of water?”
As soon as I turned back toward the table from the fridge, I realized something was weird. He was gone. On his laptop was a note.
Bedroom.
I walked into the bedroom to find rose petals and candles everywhere. Rico sat on one knee in the middle of the room. In his hand was a black velvet ring box. “I saved every penny that I made doing real work and used it to buy this,” he said. His face was full of hope and happiness. And through the bond, love poured toward me like gasoline fueling a flame. My head felt light as I stepped into the room.
He didn’t have to say the words.
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “I’ll marry you. I’ll marry you right now!”
He surged forward and took me into his arms, and finally, for the first time in my life, I felt whole.
24
Kara
It was the biggest wedding Black Claw had ever seen. We’d transformed the front yard of the Kingston manor and invited half the town.
Once Rico had asked me to marry him, the other couples had gotten some sort of bug about it, and the next thing I knew, we were all engaged.
I’d always thought I’d have a big wedding, always dreamed about it. I never thought it would be like this.
And there had been quite a few bumps along the way. With four couples getting married, the brides had several arguments. But somehow, it always worked out. We figured it out.
Harley was irrationally fanatic about the flowers. They had to be perfect. I would’ve thought she’d be all about the hair, but she didn’t care so much about that. That was Abby. She’d insisted we all have completely different hairstyles and veils.
That had worked itself out just fine, too, as we all wanted different things.
Our dresses were totally different as well. The guys’ tuxes, though, we’d agreed they should match.
Picking colors had been another nightmare. We finally narrowed it down to three that we all were happy with, then drew straws.
Teal and lighter teal had won. It was my first pick, so I tried to hide my gloat.
The last argument had been about how to do the service. Four different services were a long time for everyone to sit in the uncomfortable chairs in the grass. Especially as we’d chosen to get married in the summer.
In the end, we did one service, with each of us writing our own vows. The order went by age of couple.
Stefan and Harley went first, with Harley in a short dress with a flared skirt. Next, Jury and Abby. Abby wore a Cinderella gown with long, lace sleeves and a flowing train. It wasn’t a dress I would’ve chosen in a million years, but on her it was perfection.
I dabbed at my eyes as my best friend married her mate. Maddox and Bethany made a gorgeous couple, and Bethany looked perfect in her close-fitting dress with a mermaid skirt. She had a long veil and the dress was covered in beads.
And then it was my turn. After glancing down to make sure my dress—a filmy, body -hugging dress with a slit all the way up to my thigh—looked
