Chapter Twenty-Seven

Stefanie

“It’s a full house,” Alex said, bumping his hip against mine. I laughed, shaking my head.

“It’s crazy. I don’t think I’ve seen it like this before.”

“It’s because of the karaoke idea I had,” Kip mumbled behind us, and we started laughing.

“Your idea, huh?” Alex cracked up before turning to help a group of three girls at one end of the bar.

“You doing okay, kid?”

“I am.”

“School good?”

“Yeah.” I loved school. I always had. I took classes for my degree now instead of general ed and couldn’t be happier about the major I’d chosen.

“Any little shits bugging you?”

“I’m not in middle school anymore, Kip,” I teased, even though him giving a shit made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

“Whatever…” He crossed his arms, and I frowned, confused why he was stalling, standing around. “I wanted to talk to you before it got busy here.”

“Okay.” Worry hit my stomach. “Did your doctor’s appointment not go—”

“Na. Nothing like that, kiddo.” He grabbed my hand in his and looked at it, and then looked at me. His usual ice-cold stare was actually warm. “I just wanted you to know I’m proud of you, Stefanie. Seriously freaking proud of you.”

“I don’t think you’ve called me anything other than kid since we met,” I whispered.

“If you were my kid,”—he cleared his throat—“I’d be off my rocker with how proud.”

“If I were your kid, I would be pretty lucky.” My voice came out slightly scratchy with emotion. He nodded, and before I knew it, he pulled me in for a strong but quick hug.

“Now, get going. Here’s the sign-up sheet,” he ordered, the raspy quality of his voice a dead giveaway we were done with his impromptu mushy moment.

“Look at you! Weirdly organized and excited about karaoke,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood, before I pulled away and tilted my head. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” he asked. Something about the way he was dressed and acting was seriously suspicious. Kip McCallister was clearly nervous.

“Is something going on?”

“Nothing,” he gruffed. “Get going. These people need to drink away the bad singing, which makes me money. Chop. Chop.” And with that, he left.

Taking the list, I went up to the makeshift stage and smiled, taking note of how full the place really was.

“Everyone having a good time tonight?” I asked into the mic, feeling slightly nervous for the first time since I’d talked Kip into letting me do this.

Patrons cheered and clapped, and I grinned trying to shake off the weird butterflies in my belly. “Okay, let’s get tonight started! Caroline, you ready? Ladies and gents, Caroline!”

I watched as one of the karaoke regulars hoped up on stage and started her usual with These Boots Are Made for Walking. Singing softly along because there was no way you couldn’t sing and sway your body along to Nany’s words, I looked at the list Kip had handed me. Caroline was having a great time, and the crowd was eating it up. One patron after another sang and laughed, having a blast.

Whatever weird mood had hit earlier had long faded as someone took on the challenge of Dancing Queen and a couple of college-aged guys took on the Beastie Boys. I loved Thursdays. Some people loved Fridays or the weekends, but my favorite day of the week had always been Thursday.

Just as I was about to close the night’s shenanigans by calling the last singer up, Alex waved me over toward a booth. By the look on his face it was urgent.

As I walked over, Kip took the stage just as Delanie finished up his very special rendition of Blue Moon. I stopped in my tracks wondering what the hell was going on.

“Alright, ladies and gents,” Kips voice called out, “this one is going out to our very own girl. You all know how special this kid is,” his voice cracked. “Without this kid, the doors to this place would have closed a long time ago.” He cleared his throat. “So, without further ado and more marshmallow talk…” He pointed behind him, and I covered my mouth.

My eyes were as big as saucers when Garrett walked onto the stage to all but familiar beats of a song that started a dance challenge over the Internet and Garrett’s deep voice started singing.

“Trap, Trap…. This shit got me in my feelings. Stefi, do you love me…” Giggles started bubbling out as I watched him not only sing but do the dance that went along with the song.

But as quickly as the song started, it stopped, and Donnie stepped out with an acoustic guitar. I covered my mouth with my hands. What the hell was he doing?

The notes started slowly, the song vaguely familiar. The soft but sultry notes floated around. Then Garrett started to sing.

Holy crap.

Big, bad, grouchy Garrett Wright was singing.

In public.

To me.

Not badly either. Nope. Not my guy. Who would have thought he had such an incredible voice? I blinked away tears as I took in the lyrics of the song I now recognized.

“Could I be the one you talk about in your stories…” The James Arthur song had never sounded better.

Every husky word flowed mercilessly out his mouth and right to my heart. The way he sang, how his eyes never moved from where I stood, transparent with everything he felt, made my knees weak. The next moment, Kip stood next to me, his elbow interlocked with mine by my side. Before I knew it, I had someone else by my side. Garrett’s grandmother smiled up at me and kissed my cheek as she held my other elbow. I laughed. I tried to breathe, but my heart was too full. Too unfamiliar with that particular brand of joy.

“Can I be him?” he rasped, his dark eyes penetrating through my soul as he kept going.

Singing lyrics so beautiful and full of meaning I had no idea how I was still standing. How he wanted to be the one who starred in every single memory to come, and God, I wanted that. I wanted him to be the one I shared every moment of my life with. I wanted everything with him, and I knew, no matter how rocky our start had been, individually and together, he was it. When the song ended, Nicola let go of my elbow, and I noticed his entire family behind me. Watching with tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces.

“Come on, kid,” Kip whispered, then he walked me to the stage where Garrett had a hand extended for me, so I could hop up.

“Garrett,” I breathed. Something cracked inside of me as he kneeled in front of me. But that crack was odd. A deep break that somehow made me whole. Healing something I didn’t know was possible to be put together.

“I’d do anything, cheat death, run to the ends of the earth, and go to hell and back for you. You’re my home. My purpose. My everything.” The tears were uncontrollable as they streamed down my face. “Marry me, Stefanie. Be mine.” I choked on my yes and nodded, hoping he could understand it through the shouts of glee that came from the crowd as he stood and lifted me in his arms. “Say it again,” he demanded in a hushed tone in my ear.

“I’m already yours.” I sniffled, “Yes.” I grinned through the happy tears as he pulled back and I got lost in his masculine beauty. His eyes bright and his smile wide before his lips landed on mine and somehow, he made all the catcalls and the world disappear.

Garrett

Her lips were soft and sweet on his as the taste of her mouth became synonymous with the blood that ran through his body.

Pulling away before he took things too far, he leaned his forehead to hers and realized she wasn’t the only one whose face was tear-streaked.

“I will give you a good life, Stefanie. I promise, sunshine.”

“We,” she corrected, and she wasn’t wrong. “We will make a great life. Together.” She smiled against his lips, and he felt it in his heart. He was a lucky motherfucker.

His entire family was in the crowd, and he knew he had to let her go for a moment, but he took a small box from his pocket and slipped his ring on her finger. He stared at the rose gold band over her finger. The three-carat diamond shined as brightly as her eyes. He knew she would say he had gone overboard with the ring, but he was going to show her as they lived their lives that nothing would be too much when it came to his girl.

The road hadn’t been easy. It’d been hell and death, but with her in his arms he was complete. He got it. He got why he had to keep fighting the demons of his mind, and he was glad as fuck he’d never given in to the complete darkness. Not that he hadn’t swerved into that direction in the past. He’d been a dick to those he loved, and he hoped he could find complete redemption one day.

But like he had told Stef, he would take everything one day at a time.

He turned around to the familiar faces in the crowd and locked eyes with the old man with glassy eyes, who loved his girl unconditionally. Kip nodded, giving his silent approval, and Garrett nodded back before losing sight of him as Kip moved through the crowd of people. Then Garrett shouted, “She said yes!”