by A. M. Myers
“We shouldn’t need anything else from you, Ali. Based on the crime scene and what we found in his apartment, this is an open and shut case.” He stands, and I reach out for him.
“Wait. What did you find in his apartment?”
He hesitates, his gaze flicking between Logan and I. “Trust me when I say that the two of you are better off not knowing. Move on with your lives and put this behind you.”
He holds our gazes for a moment before we nod and he tells us good-bye. When he leaves, I glance over at Logan, and he kisses my hand.
“I love you,” I tell him, and he nods. I want to say it every second of every day.
“I want you to tell me everything again.”
“No.”
He opens his mouth to protest, and I shake my head again.
“It’s in the past, and I’m not going to allow you to torture yourself with the details. I want to move forward. With you.”
He studies me for a second before nodding and standing. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his grandmother’s ring. He slips it down my finger, and I beam, happiness settling into my heart as I look up at him.
“June. Under the stars?” I ask, and he nods.
“If that’s what you want.”
“The only thing I really want is to be married to you,” I tell him, and he flashes me a grin.
“That’s good, Kitten, ‘cause there was no other option for us. You’re mine until the day I take my last breath.” He leans over me, and I press my hand to his cheek as he presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
Epilogue
June
“You look gorgeous,” Carly says, beaming as she brushes her hands down her own dress and looks at my reflection in the mirror.
“I feel gorgeous,” I murmur, twisting back and forth as I take in the stunning mermaid sweetheart dress that we found when we all went to New Orleans with my mom.
Izzy steps up beside us and grins. “Logan’s going to lose his shit.”
I can’t help but giggle because that was the whole point of this dress – get my soon to be husband all worked up so that when everyone leaves and we disappear into the cabin for our honeymoon, he can’t control himself. Looking at the three of us lined up in the mirror, love wells up inside me, and I feel so incredibly lucky.
“I honestly don’t know what I would do without you two. You’re the best friends a girl could ever ask for,” I whisper, taking each of their hands in mine, and Izzy looks up at the ceiling while Carly fans her eyes.
“Jesus, don’t make me cry,” Izzy shouts but her voice lacks conviction.
“We love you, too,” Carly says, smiling through the tears gathering in her eyes. I grab a tissue off the table and pass it to her. As she dabs at her eyes, Izzy takes a couple deep breaths and meets my eyes again.
“I’m so lucky that you got stuck with me freshman year,” she says, and I laugh.
“Yeah, I am.”
She wraps her arms around me just as someone knocks on the door.
“Okay to come in?” Mom asks.
“Yeah, come on in, Mom.”
“Oh my gosh,” Mom whispers as she steps into the bedroom and covers her mouth with her hands, tears building in her eyes.
“Don’t start, Mama. If you cry, then I’m going to cry.”
She fans her face and looks up at the ceiling, trying to dry her eyes, but when she glances down at me again, her lips tremble. “Oh, I just can’t help it. My only baby is getting married today, and you look absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” I sigh, a slight blush staining my cheeks as I turn back to the mirror. Well, here’s the blushing bride. Let’s go find a groom. “Are you sure you guys are okay with all this?”
They were pretty surprised when I told them I was getting married but they loved Logan from the moment they met him.
“What?”
“All the guys in leather out there?” I joke, pointing out the window where guests are milling by the back deck.
“Those sweet boys? I couldn’t be happier. It seems like you’re getting a whole family.”
I laugh. Only my mother would refer to a group of big, tatted up bikers as sweet boys.
“Are we ready to get this show on the road? They’re ushering people down to their seats,” Dad says, stepping into the room and pausing when he sees me. “Good Lord,” he whispers, his hand over his heart.
“Now, don’t go having a heart attack until your daughter says, ‘I do’,” Mom says, scolding him, and I laugh, which seems to snap him out of his trance. He shakes his head and smiles.
“I swear, just last week you were my baby girl and riding around on my shoulders.”
“Dad,” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes, and Mom rolls her eyes.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Let’s get her in the golf cart before you both start blubbering like babies,” she scolds us like she wasn’t just doing the same thing. “Carly and Izzy, go on now. There’s a second golf cart waiting for you.”
They duck out of the room and I smirk as I put my shoes on and slip my arm through Dad’s. He tucks his arm in and pats my hand as he leads me out to the front of the cabin where a golf cart is waiting for me. There is a large white tent down by the edge of the lake where Logan is waiting for me, and I can’t wait to get to him. After the attack, this day couldn’t come quick enough, and we almost gave in and just eloped but Logan was adamant about giving me my dream wedding.
I slip into my seat, and Mom hands me my bouquet before hopping on the back as Dad sits beside me. “Ready to do this, Sweetie?”
I nod, no hesitation. “More than ready.”
He smiles and starts the golf cart, butterflies flapping around in my belly as we drive across the meadow, toward the edge of the lake where my man is waiting for me. The frogs croak, and crickets chirp as the entire yard is lit up by thousands of white twinkle lights hanging from the trees all around us. They reflect off the water as the stars wink at us from above our heads, and I can’t think of a more perfect way to marry him.
Dad stops the cart at the end of the aisle and climbs out, walking around the back to help me out. Home by Blue October starts playing, and Dad holds his hand out for me. As I slip my hand into his, he helps me out of the golf cart. My eyes meet Logan’s at the end of the aisle, and he beams, smiling through the tears in his eyes, and I clear my throat, feeling a little choked up as Dad takes my hand again, and we start off down the aisle.
When we reach the end, Dad passes my hand over to Logan and slaps him on the shoulder. “I would tell you to take care of her but you’ve already saved her life, so just make sure that she’s happy.”
“Absolutely, Sir,” Logan vows, nodding, and Dad smiles before joining Mom in the front row. Logan looks back to me, and a soft smile stretches across his face. “You look stunning, Kitten,” he whispers, and I blush again.
I didn’t think Logan could get more attractive but in a tux with his dark hair in his face, he looks so good that it hurts. He takes my hand and nods to the pastor, who steps forward.
“Welcome, friends and family. We’re here this evening to witness the love between Logan and Ali as they commit themselves to each other forever in Holy Matrimony.”
Several loud whoops come from the audience, and I giggle as I look out, getting a wink from Kodiak and Chance. As my gaze rakes over the guests, Emma catches my eye, and I smile. It was certainly a surprise to realize how connected we all are, and I’m happy that Logan has someone else in his corner. Her husband, Nix, wraps an arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer as he leans down and whispers something in her ear. Her smile changes as she peeks up at him, and I turn back to Logan as he shakes his head and squeezes my hand.
“They wanted to keep this short and sweet so we’re going to jump right into the vows. Logan,” the pastor says, stepping back, and Logan smiles at me.
“Ali… what on earth could I say to the woman who brought
me back to life? You came into my life and chased away the darkness, you made me want to live again, and you healed my broken heart just before you managed to steal it for yourself. There won’t be a moment that you’re on this earth that you won’t know how much I love you. That’s my promise to you here today. That you’ll always know how precious you are to me, how appreciated you are, and how lucky I am to have you. The only thing I want to do is make you happy, and I’ll move mountains to do just that. Until the day they put me in the ground.”
I sniffle, dabbing underneath my eye as I take a deep breath.
“Ali,” the pastor prompts, and I smile up at Logan.
“I knew you were going to say that,” I start, and a few chuckles ring out around us. “Which is why I thought it was important to tell you that you brought me back to life, too. You woke me up, and you made me feel when I hadn’t for a long time. There’s this story in Greek mythology that humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. When Zeus saw this, he feared their power and separated them, condemning them to spend their lives searching for their other half. The day I met you, I stopped searching because I found my other half, and I was a whole person again. And with you, I know that I can do anything. Together, we have the power to overcome any obstacle, and I’ll love every second of it with you by my side. We have so many years in front of us, and I look forward to the good ones as well as the bad because there is no one else in the entire world that could compete with you, and I’m damn lucky that you had a shitty fence and a mischievous dog.”
Everyone laughs, and Logan smiles, dropping his head and shaking it. When he looks up at me again, he mouths, “I love you,” and I repeat it back to him.
“Who has the rings?” the pastor asks, stepping forward again, and Chance stands and hands them to him. He gives us each one. “Logan, place this ring on Alison’s finger and repeat after me: I, Logan James Chambers, take you, Alison Marie James, to be my lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, in good times and bad until death do us part.”
Logan slips the ring on my finger, fitting it perfectly against my engagement ring and repeats after the pastor. When he’s finished, he pulls my hand up and kisses it.
The pastor clears his throat and turns to me, repeating the same phrase, and I copy him as I slide the ring on Logan’s finger. I can’t help but grin as I look down at his hand, loving the ring that tells the rest of the world that he’s mine. Forever.
“Now, by the power vested in me by the state of Louisiana, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Logan’s arms wind around my waist, and he dips me as he claims my mouth in a fierce, possessive kiss that steals my breath. When we come back up, he pulls away but refuses to release me.
“Now, there’s one more thing we need to get out of the way first,” Blaze says, standing up and handing a gift bag to Logan. I arch a brow in question but Logan just grins, pulling a black leather vest out of the bag. I scowl, and he holds it up to me.
Property of Storm is stamped across the back, and I squeal as I rip it out of his hands, and slip it on over my wedding dress. The guys all laugh, and he pulls me in for another kiss.
“Now, you’re mine in every way, Kitten,” he whispers, and I beam.
“You know, you’re such a softie under all this leather and attitude,” I tell him, and he throws his head back and laughs.
“I fucking love you, Woman.”
I grin at him. “You better ‘cause you’re never getting away from me.”
The End
I want to say a huge thank you for going on this crazy ride with me and I hope that you enjoyed this story. Through the course of writing this book, Storm and Ali stole my heart and I hope they did the same to you. If you’re wanting more from the Bayou Devils, have no fear because all of their stories are coming. Next up is Chance. His book, Addicted to Love, has a tentative release date of July 2017 but you can follow me at any of the links below to stay up to date on all that.
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