Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Epilogue
Bianca
At the weekend, Ashland brings me to a restaurant. Seamus is waiting at a table near the back with the family. They all stand as we approach, a sign of unified respect that makes my throat tight.
Ashland pulls out my chair, and I sit. But he doesn't join me. He remains standing, and the entire table goes quiet.
Why does he look nervous? Ashland's never nervous.
When he gets to one knee, my hand flies to cover my mouth.
Everyone goes still, and a few gasp. I'm guessing… no one knew about this.
He holds out a velvet box, comically tiny in his big, scarred hand.
“Six years ago,” he says, his voice rough with emotion, “I saved a girl. Told myself it was duty. Family business, nothing personal.”
I can't breathe. I can't move.
“Couldn't forget her though. Couldn't stop thinking about her smile, or the way she looked like sunshine and light and all things good.” His jaw works. “I watched her for six years. Memorized everything about her. Fell in love with her. Never touched her,” he says, glancing at his mother. “Not until it was appropriate. Still not sure it is.
A chuckle rises from the crowd.
Tears are falling down my face, but I don't wipe them away.
“I took her because I couldn't let anyone hurt her. Because the thought of a world without her in it wasn’t an option for me.” He swallows hard and then opens the box with trembling fingers, revealing a ring that catches the late afternoon sun—simple, elegant, with a single diamond that sparkles like starlight. It’s beautiful.
“But she stayed. She chose me. She saw the monster and loved me anyway.” His voice breaks slightly. “You made me want to be human again, Bianca. You made me believe I could be.”
“Ashland—”
“Marry me, Bianca. Be mine forever. Let me spend the rest of my life protecting you, loving you, worshipping you. Will you?”
I launch myself at him so hard he has to brace himself, and we both almost go sprawling onto the floor.
Everyone laughs, and some clap.
“Yes. Yes. Of course I'll marry you. I'll be yours. I've always been yours.”
His arms come around me, crushing me against his chest. Then he lifts me straight up into the air and pumps a fist.
“She said yes!” he shouts to the entire restaurant. “God, I love you,” he whispers against my hair, then kisses me slowly and reverently.
When I'm back on my feet, standing on my tiptoes, I kiss him. The ring slides onto my finger like it was made for me—because knowing Ashland, it probably was. He probably measured my finger while I slept, the crazy, obsessive man.
“Mrs. McCarthy,” he says, pressing a kiss to my ring finger, his lips lingering there like a vow.
“Not yet,” I tease him, tears welling.
“Soon enough.” He grins, and it transforms his whole face, softening the hard edges into something almost boyish. “Not soon enough.”
Then he stands tall, pulling me close to his side, and his voice carries through the restaurant once more—commanding, absolute, and leaving no room for doubt.
“This is Bianca White. My fiancée. She's mine. She's under my protection. Anyone who has a problem with that takes it up with me.”
His gunmetal eyes sweep the room, daring anyone to challenge him.
I notice Kyla lower her phone with a satisfied smile. She'd been recording the whole thing.
“Got it?” Ashland asks her.
“Aye,” she says with a grin. “Every beautiful second. Ready to post when you are.”
“Post it,” Ashland says. “Let everyone know.”
Then Declan stands, raising his glass. There's a woman I haven't met yet sitting next to him with gorgeous, auburn hair. She reminds me of Erin, with wide, luminous eyes and cheeks flushed pink. I wonder if they’re related. When Declan speaks, smooth and commanding with a hard edge underneath, she swallows hard and drops her gaze to her lap, twisting her napkin between her fingers.
Declan flashes that predatory grin that probably gets him whatever he wants while making people nervous about giving it to him.
But the girl next to him? She's trying so hard not to stare at him that it's painful to watch. Her fingers tighten on the napkin. Her breathing goes shallow every time he shifts closer, every time that dangerous smile flashes.
Interesting.
“To Bianca,” Declan says, warm and genuine. “Welcome to the family, lass. You've tamed the untameable—that alone makes you a McCarthy.”
One by one, they stand—Lorcan, Tiernan, Seamus, Kyla, Caitlin, Bronwyn, Erin, his parents, aunts, and uncles. They're all on their feet, their glasses raised high.
“To Bianca!” they say, and the toast echoes through the room like a benediction, like a promise, like an oath.
My throat closes up. I'm overwhelmed by the acceptance, by the love in this room, by the man whose arm is wrapped so protectively around my waist.
Ashland leans down and whispers in my ear, his breath warm against my skin. “You're ours now. We protect our own.”