And just like that, my baby girl had become a wife.
Kat was a wife. Calvin was a father. Virgil was a husband.
And I, had I somehow become someone’s girlfriend? I got to my feet along with all the other guests to cheer on the newlyweds, and my gaze landed on Thomas, who stared at me like I was the greatest fucking thing in the world. Ah, Thomas. I was too old, too fucking jaded to think in terms of true love and romance, but I could admit that he was everything I needed in a man.
A protector.
An excellent lover.
A friend.
An advisor.
He was my confidante, the one I turned to when I needed advice, when I needed help, or just a good fuck. Those were the things that mattered most, as far as I was concerned. It meant more than a bouquet of flowers, more than sweetly whispered words of love. It was just more.
I smiled, and Thomas smiled back before he brought my hand to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss to my palm. “You look beautiful today, Sadie Rose.”
And yeah, it didn’t hurt that when Thomas looked at me, he saw the woman I wanted to be, but he treated me like the woman I was. He didn’t try to change me. He knew me, warts and all, and loved me anyway.
“Thank you, Thomas. You look handsome, as always.”
Kat and Terry practically ran up the aisle to enjoy a few moments alone before the photographer spent an hour taking advantage of all the great scenery on the property.
“Congratulations,” Thomas whispered in my ear. “Another one bites the dust.”
I laughed. “Or another added to the family?”
Thomas laughed, the sound deep and rich in my ear. “Terry’s always been family. Now, it’s just legal.”
I turned to face him, and I felt the telltale speeding up of my heart. I knew that whatever else I felt for Thomas, I felt love.
“I could say the same about you.”
“You could, but I don’t want to be your family, Sadie. I want to be yours. It’s only fair since you’re mine.”
His smile came dark and a little dangerous, which was sexy as hell. “I know you, Sadie. I know you, and I love you, and I would never presume to change you. But I do want you to be mine. Only mine.”
Thomas took my hand and turned it over, dropping a gorgeous Claddagh ring with an emerald heart surrounded by diamonds into my palm.
My hand shook as I realized what he’d given me, then I handed it back to him.
“No, Thomas. Don’t you know the tradition of Claddagh ring? You have to put it on my finger?”
He reached for my left hand, but I stopped him again.
“But I have to tell you how I want to wear it.”
The ring could symbolize a commitment, a simple friendship, or marriage. Thomas was leaving the choice up to me.
“Beautiful,” I murmured. I knew what Thomas wanted, and I wanted to give it to him. But not yet.
“It belonged to Cillian’s wife,” he said. “He told me to give it to you when I finally got the balls to do it.”
We shared a laugh, and he took my left hand. The one for engagement, leading to marriage. I shook my head. No, no yet. Maybe never. But I held out my right hand, the one signaling friendship. But I allowed him to slide the ring on my finger, the crown snug and pointing to my heart, telling the world he was my sweetheart. “Thank you.”
His brows dipped into a slight frown, but Thomas was a man of his word, and he gave a short nod at my decision and took my hand in his once again. “Shall we?”
I took his hand and clasped it with mine as he led me up the aisle behind Maisie and Jasper. The smiling, happy faces of the guests did something strange to me; it filled me with a sense of rightness.
Of satisfaction.
This place, as far as the eye could see, was mine. I built it. I nurtured it; and made it the empire it was today, the legacy for my children and their children. It was all mine.
My enemies had been vanquished. The Crusaders were no longer a threat. The Black Jacks were non-existent, and our alliance with the Reckless Bastards meant the Ashby family was stronger, more powerful than ever before.
Yeah, the future was looking as bright as the Nevada fucking sun, and I did that.
Epilogue
Sadie
“You don’t have to look so damn pleased with yourself.”
Jasper growled the words in my ear. Even though we were in a VIP room behind bulletproof glass, the crowd was loud as fuck, and the music was even louder.
“I don’t have to look so pleased, but I am. Opening night of the new and improved Lucky Lopez and just fucking look at this, Jas.” The place was packed, the dollars were stacking up in a safe in the back office, and my kids were here to celebrate.