We sat in silence for a few moments before I said, “Hannah, you need to say whatever it is you came to say and then you need to move past it. I’m not revisiting this again.”
Not one to be hurried, she took her time, before finally saying, “The first man my daughter married let her down. I watched as she fought for that marriage; I watched as she struggled to find herself in all that mess; and I’ve watched as she’s battled worry over repeating those mistakes again.” She held my gaze firmly while she continued, “I don’t think you’re anything like that man who let her down, King, but I wouldn’t be the first woman to believe a man to be something they aren’t, so I’m here to tell you that if you do let her down, you’ll have me to answer to. And you might think I’m a silly old woman with a brain on the fritz, but do not underestimate me. I’m a woman who has had enough of watching her daughter drown in life thanks to a man. You make my girl happy and you keep doing that for the rest of her life, and you and I won’t have a problem.”
If there was one kind of person I respected the hell out of in life, it was a parent who cared enough about their child to stand the fuck up for them. Hannah Bennett might have been a pain in my ass at times, but fuck, she’d earned my respect after that speech.
“We won’t have a problem, Hannah.”
She nodded slowly. “I hope we won’t.”
Lily’s arms came around my neck and she pressed her lips to my cheek before saying, “What are you two sitting over here discussing?” She’d had a few drinks and was more relaxed than I’d seen her in weeks. But then, she’d been relaxed from the minute she’d stepped foot on our land for the wedding, which had made my fucking day, because seeing that kind of happiness and peace in my woman was what I lived for.
Hannah stood. “I was just welcoming King into our family, darling.”
As she left us, Lily whispered into my ear, “Why are you laughing?”
Reaching back, I pulled her around onto my lap. “I’m not laughing.”
She ran her fingers through my hair, pushing it back off my face. After brushing her lips across mine, she murmured, “Yeah you are. I can feel the chuckle in your body.”
I ran my hand down her leg. “Your mother amuses me sometimes.”
Reaching for my hand, she stopped my progress down her body. “I know where you’re going with that hand, and you need to stop. My kids and mother are in this bar.”
“Well, we’re gonna need to get the fuck out of this bar then, because there’s no fucking way I can keep my hands off you for another minute.”
Her eyes searched mine. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“More fucking serious than I’ve ever been, Lily. This is the longest I’ve gone without you.”
She moved off my lap and headed in the direction of my office without waiting for me. Sashaying that sweet fucking ass of hers like it was her job.
I caught up to her as she walked past the table with the cake on it. Slowing, she turned and said, “If Tatum organised this cake, you owe her big time.”
“I owe Tatum far too fucking much for today,” I muttered, “But for this cake, I owe her nothing.”
She frowned. “Who then? Was it my mother? Or Brynn? Not many people know of my love for that cake, King.”
I spun her around and said, “Keep fucking walking and think about who else knows of your love for that cake.”
After taking only one fucking step, she turned again and, eyes wide, she said, “It was you, wasn’t it? You organised our cake.”
I lifted her and threw her over my shoulder and stalked out of the bar. Carrying her to the office, I said, “I’ve never seen anyone love a cake more than you love that six-fucking-layer chocolate cake. I’m pretty fucking sure that if push came to shove some days, you’d choose that cake over my dick.”
We hit the office and I sat her on the desk after I kicked the door closed behind us.
Without wasting a second, she reached for my shirt and lifted it over my head. “That might be true,” she started, but stopped abruptly when her eyes landed on the new tattoo on my chest that I’d had done in Brisbane. “Oh my God.” Her gaze cut to mine. “This is beautiful.”
The tattoo had been inspired by Lily and featured a skull with roses, with elements hidden amongst the design that only she and I would find meaningful. I had no intention of telling her what they were since the tattoo was for me, not her, but I knew she’d spend time searching it and find them.
“I see a bow! Oh my God, and the number 5!” Her eyes shined with happiness, hitting me fair in the fucking chest. Taking hold of my face, she kissed me. Long and deep and fucking fierce, that hit me fair in the fucking gut. When she pulled her lips from mine, she said breathlessly, “I will love you until the day I can’t love you anymore. You have no idea how you’ve changed my life, King. How you’ve made it the life I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
I wrapped my hand around her neck and kissed her again, my mind, body, and soul consumed by love for her. “I thought I knew what love was before I met you, but I had no fucking clue. You make me a better man, Lily, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making you a happy fucking woman.”
That sexy mouth of hers spread out into the kind of smile I’d work hard for. “That would be Mrs King to you.”
“Fucking hell,” I growled, reaching for her skirt. “Nothing sounds better on your lips than that. Fucking nothing.”
Love had always been something I’d struggled with. It had been a cruel bitch at times, and had turned me into a ruthless bastard at others. But I’d finally found the person who didn’t make me think love was hard. Because loving Lily was the easiest damn thing I’d ever done.