Chapter Nine

So here they stood, waiting for Keira to reach the front of the marquee, where Scars and Willa were waiting, along with Scars’ best man, Silver Bennett. Wolf would normally have been his first choice, of course, but Scars had wanted Zoe to be walked down the aisle by the man who was the closest thing to a male family member that she had anymore.

In the four years that she’d been back in Denver, The Road Devils had become her family, of course, the family that she'd never had, not even before Hailey had died. These hard, rough, dangerous men had become her brothers, become Keira’s uncles, and had loved both of them fiercely. They’d surprised Zoe over and over again with their open and generous spirits, with their eagerness to make her feel happy and safe and wanted. Zoe still got teary when she remembered how Jinx, Kansas and Ice had gone to Ikea to get Keira’s crib and changing table – and had turned up with a surprise mobile too, to hang over the crib and play music.

“OK,” Wolf said now, catching the minister’s nod. “It’s show time, baby girl.”

“Oh, my God.” Zoe was suddenly breathless. “It’s actually happening… I’m actually getting married!”

“You’re goddamn right it’s happenin’,” Wolf said, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, a surprisingly gallant move that almost knocked her over backwards with its sweetness. “Let’s get goin’, Zee. The best man that either of us have ever known is waitin’ to make you his wife. Let’s not give him a chance to come to his senses and go runnin’ off into the Rockies, never to return.”

She laughed, and just like that, all of her nerves were gone, replaced by the sense of utter rightness of what was going on here. She was walking down the aisle to Scars Innis, the man who’d claimed her body and heart and soul, right from the very first night that they’d met. He’d withstood her bullshit and moronic back-and-forth with patience and fortitude; he’d put her in her place and set firm boundaries when she’d gone too far and been an utter bitch. When she’d finally seen his good, pure heart and she’d gone to him to explain and apologize for her behavior, he’d listened, and he’d forgiven her.

He was it, for her. He was everything.

The harpist started to play The Wedding March, and as one, the guests stood and turned to look at Zoe and Wolf as they emerged from behind the arch. There were gasps and murmurs, and she felt tears burning her eyes again as she saw The Road Devils in their best suits, standing shoulder to shoulder to witness the happiest day of her life. God, Cowboy had even swept his cowboy hat off his blond head as he’d stood up, though she suspected that as soon as the ceremony was over, it’d be firmly returned back to its usual place.

She walked down the petal-strewn aisle, smiling at the hulking, gorgeous MC boys, at Jo and Elle, both looking radiant with happiness for her, at Willa’s own fiancé Jimmy, at Scars’ younger brother Sam, and his wife Annie and daughter Cindy. Almost every single person who had come to mean so much to her over the past few years was here, and she was humbled and delighted in equal measure. The only people missing were Dux and Drake Keeler and Briley Cross: she’d had the babies four days before, so travel was out for them.

And then Scars turned around to look at her too, and suddenly all of her attention was on him: everyone else just disappeared as she met his gaze.

Those eyes blazed out of his hard, scarred face and they held her whole and complete; they always had. For about the millionth time, she mused at those little patches of perfect blue in a heart-achingly damaged face, and she realized that his eyes were the exact color of the horizon over the mountains. It was like a piece of sky had just fallen to earth, and landed on Scars’ face, as bright and beautiful as the view in front of her. The man was a miracle in so many ways, and the way that he looked at her was just one of them, maybe her favorite.

She reached Scars, and turned to Wolf briefly. He kissed her on her cheek, then shook Scars’ hand and handed her over to his best friend, his closest confidant. His Acting-President.

As the minister started the ceremony, Zoe smiled up at Scars, loving the fact that in less than half an hour, she was going to be his. His alone and forever.

In this perfect glowing moment, standing there with the only man that she’d ever loved, feeling so blessed and lucky, Zoe had no idea about the approaching nightmare, nor how close she was to almost losing her happily-ever-after, to losing everything.

How close they all were.