Cormac swings his leg outward and I side-step, drawing my hands up to my chest and quickly returning a few light jabs to his shoulder. He spins, his fist lightly colliding with my ribs. I grab it and turn, twisting in the way he taught me and drawing a grunt of pain from him as I spin us both and force his arm up his back.
“Do you concede?” I ask breathlessly, having spent the past four hours sparring with Cormac in the gym.
In a flash, Cormac slips out of my grip and faces me, then he hooks one ankle around my leg and sends us both tumbling down onto the mat with a grunt. He rests above me, grinning as he pins me there firmly.
“Do you concede?”
I jerk upward and crash our lips together, pressing my knee into his crotch and using that leverage to roll us over until I’m on top and it’s my turn to smirk down at him.
“Do you?”
“You play dirty,” Cormac says accusingly.
“And I win.”
“In a real fight, this won’t work.”
“I know. But here, I win.”
“You do.” Cormac cups my face and teases his thumb along the bottom swell of my lower lip. “You’re getting faster.”
A final kiss and we climb to our feet. I push sweaty strands of my hair out of my face and groan softly. “Not fast enough.”
“What counts as fast enough?”
“I don’t know.” Walking over the mat, I snatch up a bottle of water from the bench. “I want to beat you properly.”
“You won’t be able to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m much bigger than you and I’ve been fighting since I was a kid. You’ve been training for six months.” Cormac stands next to me and gently nudges my shoulder. “But that’s not a big thing.”
“Isn’t it?” I gaze up at him as I gulp mouthfuls of cool, refreshing water. “I mean, most people are bigger than me. If I can’t take you down, what hope do I have?”
Cormac affectionately nudges at the bottom of my bottle, then he steals it to drink his fill. “Saoirse is smaller too, remember.”
“And she can kick your ass.”
“Again, there’s a huge time difference there. My point is that you are learning for survival and your goal to take me down will take a lot longer than six months. We have to play to your strengths. Your speed. Using your opponent’s strength against them.”
He speaks sense, and in the past six months, it has felt amazing to learn how to defend myself at different levels. The first time I shot a rifle was scary, but now it’s as easy as curling my hair.
“Do you want to go again?” Cormac asks, passing my water back.
“No, we’ll be late for lunch.”
“Race you to the shower?” He smirks at me, and I laugh.
“Fine. But no cheating this time—Cormac!” The words are barely out of my mouth when Cormac scoops me up onto his shoulder and sprints with me to the showers.
After an intimate shower to wash away the sweat, Cormac decides against the car and instead we walk arm in arm through the streets toward the restaurant with the warm sun beating down from above. Our guards do an excellent job of blending with the crowd so it almost feels like we’re a normal couple heading to lunch.
“Rocky called earlier, when you were drying off,” Cormac says. “He wanted to know how many spaces you have at the shelter near the docks. He’s got some people he wants you to take care of.”
“The docks?”
The past six months have been a whirlwind. Cormac wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted me in charge of the motels he was building, and Sunrise was demolished and rebuilt with impressive speed. That was only the beginning. Within two months, I found myself in charge of multiple shelters around the city and several motels that I turned into safe havens. They became beacons for people like Holly, who settled easily into the manager role at Sunrise, or for people like me, growing up in a cold home and needing love that didn’t come from credit cards. With Rocky becoming a firm friend after he saved Cormac’s life and helped rescue me, helping him is a guarantee.
“I can check the rosters, but I’m pretty sure we have some rooms free down there. If not, I can put them up at Sunrise because I know we have three rooms there.”
“I’ll let him know.” Cormac tightens his grip briefly around my shoulders. “He was concerned you would say no.”
“In what life would I say no?” I gaze up at him, squinting slightly in the sun. “Is this because I had dinner with Anastasia?”
Thankfully, the Russians were finding internal peace, which meant Anastasia finally had time to focus on issues outside of her internal dealings. She’d voiced an interest in the shelters I offered around the city. So far, all she wanted was to provide a monetary contribution, but I still hadn’t settled on whether to accept her offer.
“Perhaps. The Italians and Russians have a lot of bad blood. Old bad blood thanks to her father, but it’s the kind of pain that isn’t forgotten,” Cormac explains. “Maybe he thought you were favoring them more.”
“I think we can be amicable with both,” I say, glancing into the windows of shops we stroll past. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t accept from Rocky after what he did. His father, on the other hand…” I trail off. That man had been salty ever since Rocky had stepped in to smooth things over with Cormac. There are rumors that he still holds some resentment to the accusations and refuses to accept Noah’s guilt. It’s an odd hill to die on.
“His father is a whole other deal,” Cormac agrees. “But don’t think about him. Think about the good you are doing. Rocky will be pleased that you can help.”
“Of course. Oh, is Cian back from Ireland yet?”
“Next week,” Cormac replies. “He’s really intent on renovating that farm.”
“I think it’s sweet.” His passion for all things heritage really exploded after he experienced two days fearing his family was about to crumble underneath him. He’s putting us to shame with the amount of time he spends back at the ranch.
“It’s certainly a choice.” Cormac chuckles. “But he’s happy and that’s all I can ask for.”
“Speaking of happy.” I glance back up at Cormac. “Don’t you think we’re due a holiday?”
“A holiday?”
“Yeah. Somewhere nice and hot where we can just be me and you and not worry about anything else.”
Cormac tilts his head and hums softly. “Sometimes, I feel like you read my mind.”
“Really? Why?”
As we reach the restaurant, Cormac winks at me but he doesn’t reply. Instead, he holds the door open and ushers me inside with a sweep of his arm. I’m hit with the scents of spices and cream, along with a few floral notes that put my soul at ease while reminding me how hungry I am.
However, instead of being faced with a bustling restaurant, the place is empty.
A thousand twinkling droplet lights dangle from the ceiling, sparkling away like the night sky has made an appearance just for me. The floor is covered in deep red rose petals, and every single table has a single candle burning away, creating a warm, cozy aura under the sparkling lights. If I squint, I’d swear there was glitter shimmering in the air, but I can’t pinpoint the source. Soft flute music fills the air, and my stomach twists into knots as confusion warms in my mind.
“Cormac, I think we’ve walked in on—” I turn to him, and my heart stops dead in my chest.
Cormac is down on one knee, smiling softly while holding a sparkling ring. The emerald cut stone at the center gleams at me, surrounded by an array of colorful smaller gemstones that all wink in the light.
I can’t breathe. Heat pours over my skin as if I’ve just walked into a sauna and the maxi dress I’m wearing suddenly doesn’t feel good enough.
“Evelyn.”
Oh, my God.
“Cormac, what are you—”
“I love you. I know you know this, but I don’t think you realize just how much I love you. I spend every waking moment eager for a glimpse of your smile or the sparkle in your eyes. My heart lurches every time you send me a text or call me to fill me in on your day. My soul ties into knots each time you’re delayed at work and I have to wait to see you, which is why most of the time, I’ll just drive to see you. The best part of my day is when you come home and flop into my lap with stories of everything you’ve been up to, and I drink it all up because I want to see the world through your eyes for the rest of my days. At night, I dream of you and can’t wait to wake up and see you again. Your laughter gives me life. I adore the way your nose crinkles when you’re confused, how you constantly twirl the same strand of hair around your finger when you’re cooking. I ache to be inside you as often as I can, and each time we part, I hunger for the next time I’ll get to kiss you again. I love you, Evelyn Morris, every single part of you, and I have since I met you.”
Cormac takes a breath and for the first time in my life, he sounds nervous.
“So I’m here, kneeling before you and asking you to marry me because I can’t imagine living without you. You’re already a part of my family, but I want you to be a part in every possible way. So, Evie… will you marry me?”
I have no words.
Everything he says sounds like a dream, and I almost pinch myself to make sure I’m awake. There are times I worry that rambling about my day is boring to a man like Cormac since he is involved in deals that are much more exciting, but every word from him feels powerfully genuine. My heart pounds like a drum beneath my chest and every breath I take trembles like a loose leaf in the wind.
He watches me intently as my lips part and no words come. My stomach knots tighter, and pressure swells in my chest as I stare at the ring and then Cormac’s eyes.
There’s only one answer.
There’s only one thing I want in this life and it’s Cormac. The love I feel for him is limitless, and what he gives me in return feels like everything I deserve and everything I’m owed from our time apart.
I step forward as tears burst into my eyes and blur the ring until it looks like Cormac is offering me a palmful of pure light. I touch his cheek, and he turns his face into my hand, briefly closing his eyes.
“Yes,” I say hoarsely, shaking from the rush of excitement and adrenaline that follows. “Oh, my fucking God, yes. Yes, yes, yes!”
Cormac surges up to kiss me, gathering me in his arms and spinning me around so fast that the world blurs. I cling to him tightly, swearing to never let go.
“I will marry you,” I repeat over and over. “I will. I will!”
“I love you,” Cormac gasps. His lips meet mine in a warm, powerful kiss as the cool metal of the ring glides over my finger.
My life is complete.
“I love you too.”
