“Crap,” I heard Nova mutter as she ran up to join Monroe. “I knew you wouldn’t last long.”
I could barely hear her as I retched over and over again, all while trying to stay upright. Eventually, my stomach calmed down enough for me to catch my breath, and with Monroe and Nova on either side of me, I was able to stand upright.
“It sucks that you’re sick on your birthday,” Monroe soothed. “I heard there was a stomach bug going around.”
“Yeah,” Nova agreed, her face completely serious, without showing so much as a flicker that she knew my secret. “I think half my first period class had it on Friday.”
“Girls, what’s taking so long…?” Aunt Raven’s voice trailed off when she saw the puddle of puke at my feet while Nova and Monroe held on to me. “Damn. That bug hit you hard.” She came over to take Monroe’s place and pulled my arm over her shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“I-I’m okay now,” I tried to assure her as she took most of my weight, instructing Nova to finish carrying everything inside so Aunt Flick could put everything out on the bar top.
“I bet you are,” she murmured quietly as she helped me to the bathroom.
I glanced around, but it seemed that Dad was either in the office or had gone out the back door to get more decorations. In the bathroom, Aunt Raven locked the main door and then helped me over to the sink. Turning on the faucet, she grabbed a few paper towels and dampened them before wiping my face.
“It shouldn’t be called morning sickness if you’re ill all day.”
My entire body turned to ice, and I knew I had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on my face as I lifted my gaze to hers. “I don’t—”
“Don’t lie to me,” she warned, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know a pregnant woman when I see one.”
Tears instantly started spilling from my eyes. “Please don’t tell Dad,” I begged.
Her face softened. “Of course I won’t, River. I know this might be hard to believe, but I’ve been in your shoes.”
“I doubt it,” I mumbled to myself as I cupped my hand under the faucet and washed my mouth out.
Her laugh echoed off the bathroom walls. “It’s the truth. Bash and I snuck around for months without telling any of my brothers we were together.” Her face darkened, and she shivered at the memories. “Then they all found out, and Jet beat him so badly…”
“Oh God,” I whimpered, my knees going weak. “Maverick is going to die, isn’t he?”
“No!” she told me, steel in her voice. Grasping my arms in a firm hold, she gave me a gentle shake until I lifted my head. “I won’t let that happen, River. But you have to trust me. I only want to protect you and Maverick, so you have to have a little faith in me. In all of us. Your mom, Willa, and I, we won’t let anything happen to either of you. I swear it.”
What little color there might have been in my face drained. “Mom and Aunt Willa know that I’m pregnant?”
“Not as far as I’m aware,” she assured me. “But we suspected Maverick would probably tell Colt today. We’ve been preparing for this day. As for your pregnancy… Maybe you should hold off a little while before you make any announcements regarding that joyful news.”
I knew if anyone could make this situation less volatile, it was Aunt Raven. Her husband might have been the Angel’s Halo MC president, but she was the queen of our family. She ruled us all, and we put our love and faith in her. If she said she would take care of something, I believed her.
But not everything was in her control.
Six
River
After cleaning up in the bathroom, I felt somewhat better. By the time Aunt Raven and I walked out, Nova had helped her mom set up all the food, and more people had arrived at the party.
“Drink some lemon-lime soda,” my aunt encouraged quietly beside me so only I could hear her. “And then eat a few crackers. Nothing too heavy. It should help with the nausea. Take it easy. Your blood pressure seems to be giving you some issues.” She paused at the bar and frowned down at me. “Have you been to a doctor yet?”
I shook my head. The only doctor I’d seen so far was the one at the abortion clinic, but I wasn’t about to admit to that. I still felt guilty over even walking through the doors of that place.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you in to see one soon,” she said with a grim smile, pushing a few strands of my hair out of my face. “Now, go sit. I’ll have someone bring you a drink and the crackers.”
I walked over to one of the round tables and sat down. No sooner had my ass hit the chair than I was surrounded by a group of guests. I put on a bright smile and greeted them all, thanking them for coming. Fortunately, none of them lingered or sat with me. I was already tired of pretending to be okay.
Nova brought over a cup of soda along with a plate of crackers and a few grapes. “How are you feeling?” she asked as she took the seat beside me. Her eyes scanned my face before relaxing. “You have more color in your cheeks.”
“I’m okay now.” Picking up the cup, I sipped at the fizzy lemon-lime drink.
“Happy birthday!”
I lifted my head as Mila practically skipped toward me, her long black hair bouncing around her shoulders. Bending, she wrapped an arm around my neck and kissed my cheek. “Happy birthday!” she repeated happily. “Guess what?”
Her excitement had me smiling. “What, Mil?”
“We got the store!” she squealed. “And we can start working on it tomorrow.”
“Really?” Laughing, she nodded, and I jumped to my feet, throwing my arms around her. “This is great.”
“I knew it would make you happy.”
I was glad my arms were still around her, because the world went dark around the edges again, and I went limp against my best friend. She stumbled back, her arms tightening around my waist as she took my weight. “Shit,” she hissed. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “Give me a second,” I whispered. “Please don’t drop me.”
“Oh my God.” She pulled her head back to look at me, her gray eyes wide and full of sudden fear. “Are you pregnant?” she mouthed the words, and all I could do was nod. “Shit, shit, shit.”
A few moments went by before my vision completely returned and I was able to step back. But Mila grabbed my hands. “Are you okay?”
I shrugged, unable to answer that particular question. I didn’t know if I was okay or not. Nor did I know if I ever would be again, because this was uncharted territory for me. There were too many factors, too many unknowns, and too many dangers for me to have faith there would be a good outcome from this pregnancy.
Lyric walked over to us, a car seat in each hand and a huge diaper bag tossed over one of his shoulders. “Happy birthday, River,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
I put a smile on my face. “Thank you.” Bending, I stroked a finger down Isaac’s and Ian’s soft cheeks. “How are my two favorite demon spawn?”
“Ian is grumpy today,” Mila informed me. “I think he might have a tooth coming in or something going on with his ears.”
“That doesn’t sound like fun,” I murmured, stroking my thumb over his cheek again. He grunted at me and grabbed my thumb, pulling it into his mouth and biting down.
“No offense, River,” Monroe said as she joined us. “But if you have a stomach bug, you shouldn’t be letting Ian munch on your fingers.”
I quickly pulled my hand away from the baby, only to have him yell up at me in disapproval. I stood slowly, and Mila hugged an arm around my waist, steadying me in case I got dizzy again.
Mila grabbed her twin and pulled her in closer. “She doesn’t have a bug,” she told Monroe.
“But she was just—”
Mila pinched her side. “Shut up and think about it for a second, Mon.”
Monroe pinched her back. “Don’t pinch me, Mila. We’re not little girls anymore…” Her voice faded as realization hit her, and she turned wide eyes on me. “You’re…?”
I turned a
way from her and picked up my cup of soda from the table where Nova was still patiently sitting. I hadn’t planned on telling anyone about my condition that day, but I’d already spilled the secret to four different people now. If I wasn’t careful, the entire bar was going to know before the party actually started.
Behind me, I heard Mila and Monroe whispering to each other, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying, although I knew it was about me. Lyric used his foot to pull out two chairs from the table and set the car seats in them, pretending like he hadn’t heard what his wife and sister-in-law were discussing. Ian was getting fussy, so Lyric unfastened him and lifted his son into his arms.
Seeing the huge man with the baby in his arms had every woman in the room swooning except for Nova and me. A group came over, cooing and baby-talking to Ian while flirting with Lyric. Which had Mila breaking away from her sister and pushing in between the other women and her husband to get to her son.
Bending, she lifted Isaac into her arms. “Anyone want diaper duty?” she snipped at the group.
They quickly scattered, causing Nova to giggle.
“That’s what I thought,” Mila muttered with a glare around the room.
For the next hour, the bar filled up with more and more guests, but I stayed close to my table. I was thankful everyone wanted to celebrate my birthday with me, but I was torn between wanting Maverick there and hoping he got delayed and missed the party completely.
At seven o’clock, my parents brought out the cake, a multilayered confection with pink frosting with glittery-purple sprinkles on top. “Happy Birthday, Princess” was written across the bottom tier with eighteen candles already glowing brightly.
I walked over to my parents as everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” Mom winked when I rolled my eyes at her, making me smile. I knew she hadn’t had a single part in picking out the cake. Dad had always forced pink on me, but if he’d taken two seconds to stop and ask me, he would know that my favorite color was blue.
He was a great father…he just didn’t seem to know the real me. He’d come to all my school events, celebrated my every victory and accomplishment academically and regarding the few sports I’d played over the years. But he’d never actually sat down and had a heartfelt conversation with me.
And while part of me was kind of glad he was so oblivious, another part of me wished he’d taken a little time to find out what made me tick. Maybe then I wouldn’t be so scared of him finding out about my relationship with Maverick. If he’d just taken a moment to find out what made me happy and accepted the little things instead of just assuming, I would have gladly confided everything in him.
Mom took my hand and tugged me between her and Dad. They both put an arm around me as the song came to an end.
“Make a wish, princess,” Dad encouraged, a huge grin on his face.
I looked up at him, praying that he wouldn’t break my heart, before bending and wishing for the same thing as I blew out the candles.
Around me, everyone cheered and clapped their hands while Mom kissed my cheek and then Dad hugged me. I held on to him a little tighter for a moment before I stepped back, and Mom started cutting everyone a slice of cake.
I was given the first slice and, after picking up a fork, returned to my table where Nova was still sitting. She might have been years younger than me, but her presence had always calmed me for some reason. Nova had always seemed so much wiser than she should have been for someone so young. As if she could see through anyone and easily read if they were good or bad, and it made me trust her judgment on things.
I sat beside her and offered her my fork, my stomach turning as I glanced at the door yet again. When the one person I wanted to see the most didn’t magically appear, I slumped down in my chair, only partially relieved that he hadn’t arrived.
Nova took a small bite of the cake then licked her lips. “My dad must have helped Uncle Colt pick out the cake. This is my favorite.”
I gave her a tiny smile, but before I could respond, she was squealing and jumped to her feet. I barely blinked, and she took off at a full-on run. Just as she jumped, I saw who was waiting there to catch her. Nova wrapped her legs around Ryan’s middle, and he spun her around until she giggled and begged him to stop, while Tavia and Theo laughed and walked around them, their baby girl tucked against Theo’s chest.
“What are you doing here?” she cried.
“I was invited,” he told her with a deep laugh. “Do you not want me here? I can go if—”
She slapped her hand over his mouth. “No, no, no. I want you here.”
Watching them together, I felt my heart lift at the pure happiness on both of their faces. Ryan’s dark eyes were bright as he listened to whatever his best friend was excitedly saying, his gaze glued to her adoringly. There was no lust in Ryan’s eyes. No heat in how he looked down at her. Those feelings weren’t part of their relationship—yet, maybe not ever—although I knew Nova was crushing on him pretty hard.
“You know those Twilight movies you made Reid and me watch when you were younger?”
I lifted my head to find Max standing over me with a huge slice of cake on his plate. I’d made him, Reid, and even Elias watch a lot of movies with me when I was little. They would always whine and complain about it, but they would watch them with me, regardless. Twilight just happened to be one franchise I’d made him watch repeatedly because I’d been Team Jacob. “What about them?” I asked with lifted brows.
“It’s just, when I see Nova and Ryan together, it reminds me of that Jacob guy and the little vampire girl with the weird name.” He took a bite of his dessert then pointed his fork in the direction of our cousin. “It’s like he imprinted—or whatever you call it—on her.”
I glanced back at them and laughed when I realized he was right. “That’s adorable.”
“That’s weird as fuck,” he argued.
“Shut up, Max.” I picked up the fork Nova had been eating with and stabbed him in the stomach with it. But the damn thing was plastic, and his stomach was rock hard, causing the teeth of the fork to break off and fall to the floor.
“Ouch!” he whined. “That hurt, River.”
“Sure it did. Pussy.”
“I see it’s turning into a bloodbath over here,” Elias snarked as he joined us. He dropped down into Nova’s seat with his own plate of cake. “Hey River, you have a little something…” He touched his finger to the tip of my nose. “Right there.”
I swatted his hand away, already smelling the sickly-sweet icing he’d smeared on the tip of my nose. “Asshole.” Picking up a napkin, I wiped the hideous pink frosting away while he laughed.
Max took the free seat on the other side of me. “Have you had a good birthday?”
I shrugged. “So far, so good.”
“I got you a gift card as a present,” he told me with a smirk as he took another gigantic bite of cake. “Act surprised.”
Rolling my eyes, I sat back in my chair and people watched for a few minutes, while Max and Elias talked over my head. My mom was still cutting cake for people, while Dad was standing at the bar with Uncle Hawk, Uncle Bash, and Uncle Spider, who was holding a cranky baby Ian. They looked deep in discussion about something serious from the tense looks on their faces, but I figured it was club-related.
Across the room, Monroe was sitting with her mom as they ate cake, while Gian held one of their daughters against his shoulder, gently burping her. Lyric sat a few feet away with Mila on his lap, while Isaac lay on a blanket at their feet with Monroe’s other daughter. The two of them were on their stomachs, grunting at each other, making Mila grin down at them.
Lexa was feeding Finn dessert from her own plate while her mom stood beside her. Ben stood behind his wife with Theo, the two of them already chatting, and Tavia spoke animatedly with the two women. As they spoke, Lexa clapped her hands in excitement as Tavia and Raven hugged tightly. Tavia was one of the family, as much a daughter to my aunt as Lexa was. Rai adored just as much as Finn.
The dull roar of voices echoed through the bar, telling me everyone was having a good time.
A tingle at the base of my spine alerted me the moment Maverick walked through the door. My heart began to pound against my ribs before my gaze even landed on him. Swallowing the lump that suddenly filled my throat, I lifted my head, looking right into those gray eyes that I loved so damn much.
The hunger and love that greeted me only had my heart rate increasing, but he wasn’t walking in my direction. He was headed straight for my dad and his own. Blindly, I reached out, my hands grabbing hold of Max and Elias, causing the two of them to stop talking and follow my gaze.
“Shit,” Max groaned.
Around the room, everyone stopped talking as their attention was pulled to my boyfriend and father, until all I could hear was the sound of Maverick’s booted steps and the blood rushing through my ears.
“Hey,” Uncle Bash greeted him. “How did everything go?”
“No problems,” Maverick assured him before turning his head to look at my dad. “Sir,” he began, only for Dad to laugh.
“‘Sir’? What the hell is this? Have you ever called anyone sir a day in your life, kid?” He looked at Uncle Spider. “You finally beat some manners into your son, brother?”
Uncle Spider didn’t share his amusement. His dark eyes were glued to his son as Maverick stood before them, and it was as if he were seeing him for the first time. I could see the puzzle pieces finally clicking into place, and he slowly turned his head, looking right at me.
“Please,” I mouthed and saw him jerk as if I’d electrocuted him.
Maverick cleared his throat. “Sir, I… I don’t know how to say this.”
Dad’s amusement quickly dried up when he saw how much Mav was struggling. “Just say it.”
My heart stood still as the man I loved squared his shoulders and met my dad’s gaze fearlessly. “I love River. I humbly ask for your blessing to—”
Dad didn’t give him time to finish before he was growling, “No.”
“Date her.”
Sacred Vow Page 5
