I turned that over in my head. Juliet forgave me easily. I hadn’t forgiven myself. I could see the mistakes I’ve made in my past. I wasn’t sure if I’d learned from them yet. “Yeah. She always has faith in me. Even when I don’t have any in myself.”

  “You’re lucky to find that in someone at your age.” He blew out a long, heavy breath. “Always make her your priority. Protect her with your life.”

  Wait, what was happening here? My jaw dropped. Considering that I’d rarely ever seen the same woman leaving his place twice, I expected him to give me the biker version of “variety is the spice of life” or something equally gross.

  “I do,” I answered lamely. “I will.”

  “All this stuff is nice.” He gestured toward the row of bikes lined up against the opposite wall. “But it’s just stuff. It won’t listen to you when you have a rough day or kick your ass when you need it.”

  My mouth curled up. “Juliet definitely kicks my butt when I need it.”

  “I bet she does.” He chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Congratulations.”

  “She hasn’t said yes, yet.”

  “She’d be crazy not to.” He nodded to the tools scattered around the bike I was working on. “Clean up and knock off early. He’s not coming to pick this up until next week.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, go on.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, “I need to lock up and head down to Crystal Ball anyway. Fuck knows it’s one emergency after another down there.”

  An eerie sense of calm settled over me as I finished work and headed to the mall. The future I wanted to share with Juliet sprawled before me. I couldn’t wait to take this next step with her.

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Juliet

  “Why am I up before the sun?” I asked with a deep yawn.

  Roman answered by squeezing my hand and hurrying me outside.

  Cool, dewy air brushed my cheeks and tickled my nose. “Roman, where are we going?” I blinked up at the inky sky. Darkest before the dawn, isn’t that the saying? I yawned again.

  We stopped next to his bike and he pushed my helmet into my hands. “It’s a surprise.”

  I yawned loudly, this time stretching my arms up over my head. “The sun isn’t even up yet.”

  Rough fingers tickled over the sliver of my stomach that peeked out between my jacket and jeans. I quickly jerked my arms down but couldn’t stop my laughter. “Knock it off. That tickles.” I pushed his hand away and righted my jacket.

  “Come here.” He gripped my waist and yanked me closer. “I love you.” He leaned in and brushed his nose against mine, then dipped lower, pressing a soft kiss against my lips.

  My knees turned to jelly. Good thing he was holding onto me. “I love you too.”

  “Let me take you for a ride.”

  “I’ll go anywhere with you, Roman.” I tucked my hair up under my helmet and secured it into place.

  A few minutes later, I was in my spot on the bike, gripping him tight. While I loved riding with him, the rush of the pavement beneath our feet and the movements of the bike still felt unnatural.

  The deafening rumble of the Harley’s engine shook the ground. Our neighbors were probably cursing us out.

  “Hang on,” Roman shouted. He always warned me right before taking off.

  “Eee!” I yelled as he slowly rolled the bike forward, then shifted and took off. The roar drowned out anything else. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on tight, remembering to move my body with the bike.

  The angle of the bike shifted as if we were climbing a mountain. The air cooled. I opened my eyes. Bits of magenta and orange touched the sky, pushing the velvet darkness away.

  We were headed to Fletcher Park.

  Absolute delight tickled me. I squeezed Roman tighter. He pushed the bike faster.

  The park wasn’t quite open this early but Roman rolled the bike to a stop outside the gate blocking off the main overlook.

  I dismounted first. “What are we doing?” I asked in a loud whisper.

  “Shhh.” He grinned as he took off his helmet and set it on the seat. He took mine, then grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the stone wall overlooking Empire valley below.

  We weren’t alone. A few other people were walking along the sidewalk. Some had tripods and cameras set up to catch the sunrise. “Oh, Roman, we should’ve brought a camera.”

  “Next time. Promise.” He stopped at a spot roughly in the middle of the stone wall, where we had a perfect view of the rising sun. Roman shrugged off his jacket and laid it on the chilly stone wall.

  Arguing that he’d ruin his jacket would be pointless, so I carefully arranged myself on it, making sure not to smudge my damp boots against the leather. He sat next to me and I curled my hand around his. My breath caught in my throat as the sun made its appearance. It seemed to happen slowly but also all at once. I squinted but couldn’t look away from the colorful sky.

  Next to me, Roman shifted off the wall, kneeling in the grass in front of me.

  “What’re you doing?” I whispered. “You’ll get in trouble for being on the other side of the wall. Or fall off the cliff.”

  He glanced behind him. “There’s plenty of room here. I’ll be fine.”

  “That’s probably what everyone says right before they fall off the edge.”

  “Juliet.” He squeezed my hand.

  At the catch in his voice, I stopped breathing and took him in. Down on one knee, both hands wrapped around mine. He swallowed hard and bit his lip.

  “Juliet,” he rasped.

  My eyes widened. “Roman?”

  “I fell in love with you the day you caught me breaking into your locker,” he said in a rush. “Once we struck a bargain to share the space, I knew I was going to marry you one day.” As he continued, he seemed to relax and ease into the words.

  My heart pounded.

  “We’ve lived and experienced more than most people our age. You make the hard things seem easy. Your courage inspires me. Your smile motivates me to work hard. Whenever we’re apart, I can’t wait to be home with you again.” He paused and squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “I love you so much. I want to build our life together. To take care of each other forever. Will you please be my wife?”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks. “Yes! Roman, of course I want to marry you. I can’t wait to be your wife.” I ran my fingers through his hair. “You want to be my husband? Really?”

  “Yes.” His voice shook and I realized he was as emotional as I was but trying to hold it together. “So much.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him. He scooped me up and awkwardly lifted and carried us over the low stone wall to the safety of the sidewalk. He sat again, holding me in his lap.

  “Oh my God,” he groaned and released me for a second, shoving his hand in his pocket and producing a pretty velvet box. “I’m supposed to give you this. Sorry.”

  “You got me a ring?” I whispered.

  “Of course I did. I couldn’t propose without one.”

  “Yes, you could have.”

  “Pssh. Open it, please.”

  I carefully popped the lid. The sunlight dazzled off the ring inside, blinding me for a moment. A ring set with a small round diamond, surrounded by petals of yellow gold and smaller sparkling diamonds, rested inside.

  “Roman,” I gasped. “It’s beautiful. It looks like a daisy.”

  “I know.” He grinned and gently tugged the ring from its holder. He took my left hand in his. “Will you marry me, Juliet?”

  “Yes.”

  He slid the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly.

  “Wow.” I wiggled my fingers, unable to look away from the glittering stones. “It’s so perfect.”

  “One day, I’d like to get you a bigger diamond—”

  “Don’t you dare. I love this.” I held my hand to my chest, covering the ring with my other hand to shield it from his threat to replace it.

  “Kiss me,” he demanded.

  “Always.” I cupped his cheeks and mashed my lips to his, sealing our promise.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Juliet

  Butterflies wouldn’t stop chasing each other in my stomach. I lifted my gaze to the mirror but instead of looking at my own reflection, I watched Vienna moving behind me.

  “Are you nervous?” she asked, adjusting my veil.

  “A little, I guess.”

  “Who would’ve thought you’d be marrying your locker buddy,” she joked.

  “I did,” I whispered. “There was something about him. I think I knew the day we met.” I couldn’t imagine a life without Roman in it.

  “Yeah, I could see it, too.” Instead of the teasing I expected, Vienna leaned in and hugged me tight. “I’m so happy for you two.”

  My eyes prickled. “Don’t you dare make me cry,” I scolded, pulling away.

  “Trust me, I won’t.” She circled her finger in front of my eyes. “I did such a damn good job, I should be a makeup artist instead of studying biology.” She picked up the tube of liquid eyeliner she’d used on me and waved it in my face. “This stuff’s like paint, though. A few tears won’t wash it off.”

  “Great.” I peered in the mirror and admired her work. I barely recognized myself. Whatever she’d done with the liner made my eyes look bigger and bluer. “It looks great. Thank you.”

  “No problem.”

  Someone knocked on the door. “It’s me,” Dex shouted.

  “I’m all dressed, come in!”

  He appeared in the doorway. “Can you give us a minute, Vienna?”

  “Sure. I’ll go check on the golf cart.”

  “Thanks, V,” I called after her.

  I held my arms out and twirled in a circle. “What do you think?”

  No answer.

  I stopped spinning and took in Dex’s serious expression.

  “Stop looking at me like that, Uncle Dex,” I warned.

  “How am I looking at you?”

  “Like you’re going to cry. If you cry, I’ll cry. Vienna will kill us both if she has to re-do my makeup.” He didn’t need to know my liner was allegedly bulletproof.

  He scoffed but at least the melancholy lines around his eyes softened.

  “Don’t tell me we’re too young, either,” I added. Enough people had expressed that opinion while we were planning our wedding. I was tired of people judging us.

  He rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I was thinking at all. Although now that you mention it…” He tapped his finger against his cheek in a playful way.

  “Dex!”

  The smile slid off his face. “I was thinking how much I wish Debbie was here to see you.” He smoothed his hands in the air in front of me. “You look beautiful.”

  I swallowed hard over the lump in my throat and tugged at the light, airy fabric at my hips. “You think I look wedding-ish enough?”

  “You’re a beautiful bride.” He reached out to flick a stray piece of netting from my veil away from my eyes.

  I’d chosen an elegant white sundress embroidered with dozens of tiny sunflowers and daisies that gave it little pops of color in yellow, orange, and light green. Thick, ribbon-like straps in orange and yellow tied at my shoulders. The flared skirt fell to my knees. Sunny yellow leather ballet flats seemed more appropriate for the terrain than heels, so that’s what I’d chosen. They’d been expensive but I’d be able to wear them again after today.

  Around my neck, I wore Roman’s butterfly pendant.

  “You need one more thing.” Dex reached inside his cut and pulled out a small teal velvet box.

  I blinked and stared as he handed it over. The slightly rusted hinges creaked as I flipped the lid open. I gasped and pressed my hand to my chest, my jaw dropping. “They’re beautiful.” I studied the simple but elegant earrings. Yellow gold metal caps carved to resemble flower petals extended into twisted stems holding a diamond and freshwater pearl at the bottom. The metal looped into a small oval with a clasp at the back. I wasn’t an expert, but they had to be expensive. Something about them tickled a memory at the back of my mind.

  “Debbie wore them when we got married,” Dex explained in a slow, raspy voice. “She wanted to pass them to our daughter…” He glanced away. “She’d want you to have them.”

  Now I knew where I’d seen the earrings. In their wedding pictures. Tear pricked my eyes. I threw my arms around Dex’s neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Uncle Dex. They’re so beautiful. I promise I’ll take good care of them.”

  He patted my back gently. “I know you will. Come on, let’s not mess up your dress and everything.”

  I pulled away and carefully pinched the fabric of my dress into place. “Did you tell Vienna about these?” I asked as I set the box in his hand and plucked one of the earrings out to work into my ear. “She was adamant that I didn’t need to wear earrings today because they’d get caught in my veil.”

  One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Yeah, I asked her to leave the earrings out of your wardrobe planning.”

  “Well, she did a good job.” A nervous laugh slipped out of me as I secured the second earring. I turned my head from side to side. Dex nodded and I ran over to the mirror to see how they looked. “They’re perfect,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

  “Let’s go!” The door swung open and Vienna peered inside. “Your golf cart awaits.”

  The park had generously allowed me to use one of the ranger’s cabins to get ready. We’d paid extra to rent a small, motorized cart. Dex would drive Vienna and me down the wooded path and across the road to the spot where Roman and I would say our vows.

  “I’m ready,” I declared, turning and beaming at Vienna. I angled my head to show her the earrings.

  “Oh, they’re beautiful!” She clapped her hands together and tossed a smile Dex’s way. “So much prettier than what I was going to pick out.”

  He returned the smile. “Thanks, V.”

  I picked up my bouquet of daisies and sunflowers wrapped with a sunny yellow satin ribbon. “Ready.”

  Vienna stepped closer. “You’re not nervous at all?”

  I held my hand in the air parallel to the ground. “Steady as stone.”

  She opened her arms and gingerly pulled me closer, careful not to muss my dress or hair. “I’m so happy for you, babe. You two deserve all the good things.”

  I choked over the lump in my throat that hadn’t gone away since Dex’s gift. “Thank you. For everything.”

  “You got it.” She released me and pulled away, quickly dabbing at the corners of her eyes. “Let’s go.”

  At least my dress was short. I didn’t have to worry about it dragging on the ground and collecting dirt or pine needles. Vienna carefully laid a blanket on the front seat of the cart, then wrapped me up like a burrito once I was inside.

  “What are you doing?” I poked my chin out of my individualized blanket fort.

  “It’s all dirt down to the road.” She gestured toward the path in front of us. “I don’t want your dress all covered in dust before you get to the wedding.”

  Why hadn’t I thought of that? “Thanks.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.” She tapped the side of her head. “My anxious brain is always in overdrive worrying about every possible scenario.”

  I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Well, I appreciate it.”

  “Glad someone does.” She forced a smile.

  Dex’s boots scraped over the gravel and stopped in front of the cart. “All set?” The corners of his mouth tipped up when he took in the blanket.

  “Getting a little sweaty under here,” I admitted.

  Vienna chuckled and hurried to the back of the cart. I turned and watched her tuck a blanket around her short, strapless yellow chiffon dress. “Ready!” she called.

  The golf cart tipped and swayed as Dex folded his bulky frame behind the steering wheel. His knees smushed into the dash. He grunted as he searched for a lever to move the seat but came up with nothing.

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s a short trip.” He flashed a quick smile. “I’ll be fine.”

  Even though Dex kept the speed low, my hair and veil rippled in the wind. Laughing, I held onto the veil until the cart jerked to a halt. I peered past Dex, searching for Roman.

  Bright sunlight sparkled off the autumn leaves. Although I’d said I wanted to marry on the edge of a cliff, it wasn’t practical—or allowed by the park. Roman had done his best, though. A temporary arch had been set up in front of the fence overlooking the prettiest view of the mountains.

  “It’s perfect.”

  “Eee!” Vienna squealed and jumped off the cart. “I’ll go tell Roman you’re here.” She clutched her bouquet and hurried down the narrow gravel path leading to the archway.

  Dex rounded the cart and stood by my side, offering his arm.

  This was really happening.

  I held onto his arm harder than necessary as he walked me down the aisle.

  The few people we’d invited stopped chattering as we approached. I was too nervous to look directly at anyone. My gaze locked on Roman. Oh my. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his fitted black dress shirt and it was a very good look on him. He turned and our gazes collided. His eyes widened and a slow smile spread over his face.

  He reached for me and I took his hand as I joined him in front of the judge.

  “Do you give this bride away?” The judge asked Dex.

  “I do.” Dex nodded, his voice calm and confident. I’d marry Roman no matter what, but to have Uncle Dex’s approval meant the world to me. He stepped over to Roman’s side and nodded.

  Roman

  Weddings might make some guys nervous. Not me. I couldn’t wait to marry Juliet. I knew I’d made a good call adding Griff, Eraser, and Remy to our short guest list when none of them busted my balls or made “it’s not too late to escape” jokes. No one had offered to take me to a strip club for “one last night of freedom” or any of that bullshit, either. We’d spent last night at the racetrack and had a blast.

  It wasn’t fear that had me strung tight. Nope. It was the need to see my bride. To publicly promise to love each other for the rest of our lives.