He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls something out. He holds whatever it is between his hands so I can’t see it.
“Ever since you brought up that bit about Sean buying that ring, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. We didn’t start this right, and I want to fix it.”
I gasp as Deklan moves one hand and opens a small, blue box containing a platinum and diamond ring. It looks nothing like the one Sean picked out. It is absolutely beautiful.
“I want a real Catholic wedding in a church with a priest. I want you to wear the ring I picked out for you. I want to marry you because I love you, and I want you to agree because you love me and because you want it, not because you are forced into it. I want to put how all of this started behind us and begin all over again.”
“No more secrets. No more lies. We work together—always.” I look at him as I repeat what has become our mantra.
Deklan stands up from the table and moves in front of me. He drops down on one knee and holds the box out as he squares his shoulders. He reaches for my hand, and for a moment, he stares down at my wrist as he rubs his thumb against it.
“Will you marry me again, Kera?” Deklan looks up at me in earnest. “Please?”
My eyes burn as I reach out and touch his hand. By the time I answer, tears are streaming down my face.
“Yes, Deklan. I will most certainly marry you again.”
He slips the other ring off my finger and replaces it with the one he bought. I can’t stop crying as I wrap my arms around his neck, and he nearly pulls me out of my chair as he returns the embrace.
Everyone in the restaurant begins to cheer.
Epilogue
“I’m fat.” I turn back and forth, gazing at myself in the mirror. The bulge in my midsection isn’t huge, but I can definitely tell the difference.
“You’re pregnant.” Teagan reaches up and adjusts the tiara on my head.
I’m not sure where the tiara fits in the list of old, new, borrowed, or blue, but I’m wearing it anyway. It makes me feel like Kathy is here with me and that she approves.
“People will know.”
“All the people who care already know.”
“They know I’m fat?”
“Ugh!” Teagan smacks my shoulder and then moves to straighten out the train of the dress. “Just shut it. It’s about that time.”
A knock takes my attention from my bulging stomach, and Teagan goes to open the door.
“You ready, kid?” Brian grins from the doorway. “If we don’t go soon, I think Deklan might take off for the bar. I’m never seen him so nervous!”
“What’s he got to be nervous about?” Teagan asks with a snort. “It’s not like he hasn’t already done this once.”
“I don’t think it’s quite the same for him,” Brian says. “He’s all about being in God’s house and all that. This one means a lot to him.”
“It does.” I smile at Brian as I take his arm, and he leads me to the doors of the sanctuary. Teagan sneaks around to the side door, and a couple of minutes later, the “Wedding March” begins to play.
“I think that’s our cue,” Brian says quietly.
He pushes open the door, and I stare down the long, candlelit aisle of the church.
A church. We’re getting married in an actual church, and there’s a priest standing at the altar, wearing a long robe and a purple sash. I can’t help but compare everything around me to our first wedding, held in an office with a madman at Deklan’s side.
Most of the guests are the same ones who were at the first wedding, minus my late father, of course, and the addition of Brian’s wife, Lauren. The biggest difference is that my mom is in the front row, smiling instead of bawling. We haven’t actually reconnected since the last ceremony, but I want to try. With my father gone, she is going to need me.
Teagan stands as my maid of honor—again—and Mac is standing up for Deklan since Brian offered to give me away.
Deklan.
As I walk down the aisle getting closer and closer to him, I see him in such a remarkably different light. I feel no fear, only hope for what the future might bring to us and our growing family. I’m captivated by the love in his eyes as Brian puts my hand in Deklan’s, and the priest starts speaking.
Much like the first time, I barely hear any of the words, but for a much difference reason. All my focus is on the man next to me.
When he held my hand the first time, I was terrified of the huge, imposing figure I was about to marry. I was sure my wedding night was going to end in blood and that I was being given to my executioner.
Now, I know who Deklan really is. Strong, without a doubt, but also the gentlest and kindest man I have ever known. He’s thoughtful, caring, and willing to take my feelings into consideration despite his own propensity for stubbornness.
And he loves me.
We say traditional Catholic vows, exchange rings, and listen to the priest as he reads scripture, and we hold hands and stare at each other as if there is no one else in the room. When we’re pronounced husband and wife and told to kiss, Deklan places his hand on the back of my head, and I stand up on my toes so I can reach him better.
His lips are warm and soft against mine. I close my eyes, and my skin tingles down to my toes. As we part, he grins and hugs me to his chest.
“I’m going to take care of you,” Deklan whispers in my ear, and my heart swells at the words and the true meaning behind them.
“I’ll take care of you, too,” I whisper back as our lips meet again. “Always.”
“Always,” he repeats. “Forever. I love you, Kera.”
“I love you too, Deklan.”
As we turn to face the small gathering, everyone begins to cheer. When I glance at Teagan, I swear her usually expressionless eyes look a little misty. Rice is thrown at us as we exit the church, and a limo waits outside to take us to the reception at the restaurant where Deklan proposed to me.
Inside the back of the limo, Deklan hugs me against his side and places his hand against my stomach.
“How are ya, little guy?” he asks. “Did you like the ceremony?”
“You don’t know if it’s a he yet.” I tilt my head to the side and smile. Deklan started talking to my belly a week ago, and now he’s acting like a junkie getting a fix.
“Just a guess.” He strokes the fabric covering my stomach. “I got a fifty percent chance of being right. That’s better odds than Brian gets in Vegas.”
He finally looks up from my stomach and kisses me again.
“Thank you for indulging me in all this.” Deklan blinks a couple times and swallows hard. “It really meant a lot to me.”
“I’m glad we did it.” I touch the side of his face, kiss him again, and let myself get lost in the sensation of his lips on mine.
This is the way it was meant to be, with smiles, happy tears, and an unstoppable love.
~~THE END~~
Author’s Notes
This book has taken longer to write than any other book I’ve released since I started doing this fulltime author gig. Thanks so much for being patient with me, and I hope getting to know Deklan and Kera is worth the wait! If you are an Evan Arden fan, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into his dealings outside of Chicago. If you don’t know him and want to delve into the mind of a hitman, check out Evan’s six-book series! Links in the next section!
I definitely have more books planned for the rest of the year, so make sure you are following me on social media so you know what’s coming up next!
Until then, keep reading!
Shay Savage
More Books by Shay Savage
Evan Arden Series:
Otherwise Alone
Former Marine Lieutenant Evan Arden sits in a shack in the middle of nowhere, waiting for orders that will send him back home—if he ever gets them. Other than his loyal Great Pyrenees, there's no one around to break up the monotony. The heat is unbearable, but he makes do with the little he has. He’s accus
tomed to harsh conditions and simply exists as best he can. The tedium is excruciating, but it is suddenly interrupted when a young woman stumbles up his path.
She’s lost; she’s cute, and he can’t resist the temptation of luring her into his bed. Why not? It’s been ages, and he is Otherwise Alone.
Otherwise Occupied
Evan Arden is a hit man for a Chicago mob boss and moves through life with darkness in his soul and a gun in his hand. Those who know him for what he is fear him, and those who find out the hard way never get a chance to tell anyone else. The few people who get a glimpse inside his head wish they never had. A merciless killer, his only loyalty resides with his employer, the man who calls the shots that rain from Evan’s weapon.
As a POW of the Gulf War, Evan spent months in captivity, and the memories of his confinement combine with thoughts of the woman he left in Arizona. He lives his life day-to-day with little more than the company of his dog, Odin. As insomnia overtakes him, he seeks comfort from an unlikely source, but will confiding in her be his undoing?
He’s struggling to forget his past and to keep himself Otherwise Occupied.
Otherwise Unharmed
After Evan Arden was imprisoned by the enemy for a year and a half, he returned from the desert as a military hero. He’d suffered some minor injuries during his captivity, was discharged from the Marines with a touch of shellshock, but was considered otherwise unharmed. Now he wonders how he ended up where he is—incarcerated in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for using his sharpshooting expertise to take out the neighborhood park with a high-powered sniper rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition.
Lia Antonio, the woman he rescued from the desert heat the previous year, is the only person who can bring him out of his sleep-deprived psychosis and mounting PTSD. When she does, Evan knows he can’t just let her go again. He’s never considered leaving the business before—who retires from the mafia?—but he’s determined to get both Lia and himself out of harm’s way.
Evan faces overwhelming forces from multiple directions as a deal to get him out of jail turns more dangerous than he imagined. With a mob war on the horizon and the feds holding evidence over his head, Evan has no choice but to throw himself into the middle of another warzone.
In his efforts to make things right, Evan crosses the wrong man and finds himself on the business end of the crosshairs. With his acute perception and intelligence, he tries to stay a step ahead of his former co-workers, but this time, it isn’t just his own life on the line—he’s got to protect Lia from the man who once called him son.
Isolated
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. The mantra is good enough for the Marines; it’s good enough for me. Improvise . . . Near the top of the world, I fight for my life against my opponent, Sebastian Stark. He has the upper hand in strength, but I have the cunning to turn the tables on him. I battle the elements, my demons, and him until Stark and I manage to strike a deal to ensure freedom for us both—and the women we love.
Adapt . . . Being alone comes naturally to me. I’ve spent most of my life alone. Sharing my experiences, opening up to another human being, developing a relationship—all these things are foreign to me. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even meant to be.
Overcome . . . I’ve been away from Lia for far too long, yet I still have commitments I must keep. When I make my way home, I will tell her I have decided to end the life I have led and move on to become the man she needs. I can overcome my demons; I must. But will Lia be willing to wait?
Irrevocable
Have you ever made a mistake?
A big one?
I’m back in Chicago and back in business with my boss, Rinaldo Moretti. So much for my run at a normal life. There are some new faces in the organization, and someone’s been cooking the books. Personally? I think they’re after more than a just little cash. If I have any hopes of flushing out the traitor, I’m going to need to find a good hooker to help me sleep at night.
As the bodies pile up, I find solace in Alina. There’s something about her, something different. She understands me without asking a lot of questions. It’s as if she’s known me for years, yet we’ve only just met. If I weren’t so distracted by business, I’d try to figure out her story. She’s the only one keeping me grounded as my world spins out of control.
I’m going to lose the one man who has ever meant anything to me – the only man to ever call me son. I want to deny his request, but there is no avoiding what awaits me. I never wanted any of this, but I’m out of options, and time is running out.
Some choices have unforeseen consequences, and some choices are simply irrevocable.
Uncockblockable
Nick Wolfe is famous in Chicago—or is that infamous? He’s not only known as the illegitimate son of Mafia boss Rinaldo Moretti, but also as an unstoppable ladies’ man. He always seems to get the girl in the end, even when everyone around tries to plot against him. He’s a party guy, doesn’t work, and spends all his time picking up women and making notches on his headboard. He's the ultimate ladies’ man...or is that man-whore? However, his days of infamy come to a startling halt when he meets her, and she turns the tables on him.
Surviving the Storm Series:
Surviving Raine
As the captain of a schooner catering to the elite on the Caribbean Seas, Sebastian Stark does his best to avoid any human encounters. Interacting with people isn’t his thing, and he prefers the company of a bottle of vodka, a shot glass, and maybe a whore. There’s no doubt he’s hiding from a checkered past, but he does well keeping everything to himself…
…until the night his schooner capsizes, and he’s stuck on a life raft with one of the passengers.
Raine’s young, she’s cute, and Bastian would probably be into her if he wasn’t suffering from alcohol withdrawal. As the days pass, DTs, starvation, and dehydration become the norm. Even the most closed person starts to open up when he thinks he’s going to die, but when she realizes their traumatic pasts are connected, it’s no longer the elements that have Bastian concerned.
He has no idea how he’s going to Survive Raine.
Bastian’s Storm
Sebastian Stark just isn’t cut out for normal life with a girlfriend in the hot and humid city of Miami. All in all, he’d rather be back on the island where it was just the two of them, and he could keep everything in balance. The bar down the street tempts him daily, but he’s determined to remain strong. Adjusting to normal life is difficult, but Bastian is doing his best to keep himself together and the nightmares away. Raine’s happy, and that’s what matters to him the most.
But not all nightmares can be driven away.
When Bastian’s former mentor comes into the picture and presents him with an ultimatum, Bastian slips into old habits. Though he wants to shield Raine from the truth, the shady circumstances of his past form into a hurricane he can’t control. In an effort to protect her, Bastian has no choice but to throw himself back into his old job—death match tournaments—just one last time.
Dropped into the arctic wilderness with weapons loaded, Bastian has to compete against representatives of major crime lords from all over the States. He’s studied his competition; he knows their weaknesses, and he’s ready to battle for the woman he loves. There’s only one opponent in the mix that causes him any concern. In order to guarantee Raine’s safety, Bastian will be pitted against the key hit man for Chicago’s largest mob family—a guy who’s known as one hell of a shot.
A guy named Evan Arden.
Unexpected Circumstances Series:
Book 1: The Handmaid
In a bold political move, Sir Branford claims a handmaid as his bride instead of the expected princess in an attempt to spark a war. Poor Alexandra knows little of how to behave as the wife of a future king and knows nothing of the man who is suddenly her husband.
Alexandra knows she is being used as a pawn and must do her best to avoid scheming noblewomen and the scorned princess, accep
t her position as her husband ascends to the throne, and overcome her fears of the man with whom she now shares a bed.
Sir Branford is determined to have it all – the kingdom, a wife of his choosing, and the revenge he seeks for the death of his father. He doesn’t expect the naïve handmaid to become more important than he ever could have foreseen.
Book 2: The Seduction
As Alexandra tries to conform to her new life, she soon discovers that betrayal lies inside the castle walls. When noblewomen plot against her, Alexandra ends up on the receiving end of Branford’s rage. Earning the trust of her wary husband will be no easy task for the young handmaid.
Branford may know his way around their bedchamber, but he’s finding himself ill-prepared to handle the duties of both prince and husband. His missteps bring down the wrath of the queen, and he will have to do everything in his power to atone for his transgressions. Branford must find a way to open his heart to his new wife if either of them has a chance of overcoming the treachery ahead.
Book 3: The Consummation
With steady patience, Sir Branford teaches his young wife the pleasures to be found in their marital chambers. Though still unsure of herself, Alexandra begins to open herself to the possibilities and opportunities of her new life. As Branford expresses his desire to have more than a marriage of political contrivance, Alexandra finds facets of her new husband that promise protection, loyalty, and maybe even love.
As she gains a deeper understanding of her husband, Alexandra soon discovers there is more to being Sir Branford’s wife than sharing his bed. Queen Sunniva had told her to be “noble of heart,” and when the lives of aristocrats rest in Alexandra’s hands, she finally begins to understand the importance of her position in the court and in her husband’s life. Soon, Branford begins to appreciate how valuable a gift Alexandra is to his kingdom.
Book 4: The Shortcoming
As the bond between Alexandra and Branford deepens, they each have their hopes for the future. Branford aspires to lead his kingdom with both wisdom and a firm hand while Alexandra fervently wishes to give her husband an heir. As Alexandra learns to embrace her noble role, she finds friendship with the girl she rescued from an abusive owner. It seems as though their lives have finally rewarded them with the happiness they have sought.