Taking Chances (Blackrock Book 2) (44 page)

“Great,”
my dad says look weepy.

I
frown at Knox who just shrugs back. “So dad, I was thinking I
could show Knox my office on Monday.” I smile at him,

“Sure
but please be respectful.”

I
scoff at him. “Dad! As if I would do that in my own office.
Ewe.” He laughs at me, shaking his head, as does Knox. We stay
with my dad until the evening and all our laundry is done. I load up
the car and say goodbye to my dad.

“You’ll
always be my baby, you know that?” he asks smoothing my hair.

“Yeah
of course, dad” I kiss his cheek and wave as I pull out of the
garage.

“Did
you want to drive, babe? Get back on the saddle?” I smile and
wink at him.

“No
I got back on the saddle and it was amazing, but you can drive. It’s
all good.” We have dinner with Max and Paige in our apartment
and, by dinner I mean pizza. Max leaves for work and Knox walks him
out.

“So?”
Paige asks grinning at me.

“So,
what?” Rolling her eyes, she laughs at me.

“Was
it worth the wait?”

I
can’t help the big grin that spreads across my face and she
laughs at me we hear Max call her from the door. “Angel lets
go.” We hug and she runs out to Max. Knox flops on the sofa
beside me kissing my temple.

“What
you want to do?” I shrug because I could easily sit here and
watch him all night.

“Movie?”
he asks, grabbing the pizza box while pick up the glasses.

“Sure
babe, I’m easy.” He laughs, catching my waist kissing me
deeply. We spoon on the sofa and watch a movie. Just after eight his
phone rings and I can hear him saying he will check it out before
hanging up.

“Darlin’,
my dad’s house alarm is going off. I need to check it out.”

Jumping
off the sofa, I grab my purse. “Me too.” I smile waving
my keys in the air.

“I’ll
drive,” he says grabbing them away from me.

We
arrive at his dad’s house by nine; the stars are out now. Knox
tells me to wait in the car for a few minutes while he checks it out.
I protest but he cuts me off with his ‘stop arguing with me’
look. After ten minutes he opens the front door waving me in. I walk
into the house, which is in darkness. Knox takes my hand leading me
out onto the back patio where he has about a hundred candles of all
shapes and sizes dotted around the patio and out onto the beach. My
jaw drops as I take in the sight; I spot a huge bunch of Calla Lilies
on the table Knox brings me over to them.

“For
you darlin’.”

Reaching
up, I kiss him. “Thank you.” I am breathless as I look
around. “What’s this for?” I ask returning my gaze
to him.

“Because
I missed you and I want to give you your birthday gift in private.”

I
don’t understand why because for me he is my gift. He is all I
wanted and I got it. He leads me down the beach through the path of
candles towards the water’s edge. I can smell the salt in the
air as Knox stands behind me wrapping his arms around my waist.

“This
is beautiful, babe,” I whisper as we listen to the soft hush of
the waves rolling on shore in front of us. The stars twinkle above in
the soft black velvet sky. Knox turns me to face him as he smiles
down at me.

“I
missed you so much, darlin’, I thought about you all day, every
day. I was kicking myself for leaving you, especially after
everything that happened in Grove. It just made me realize how much
you mean to me.”

He
brushes my hair off my face leaning down he kisses me gently but full
of love, pulling back he smiles.

“I
love you too, babe.” I can’t help but smile at him; at
his handsome face, his emerald green eyes that tell me everything I
want to know about his love for me.

Knox
kisses me again and smiles. “I never want to be without again,
Bailey. I love you too much to be separated from you.” He takes
a deep breath and sighs closing his eyes. “When you stopped
breathing in my arms in the cemetery, my whole world died. I thought
I’d lost you only after finding you and it killed me. It broke
my heart into a million pieces, darlin’, and I don’t want
to ever be without you again, never.”

He
looks into my eyes with such passion and love I nearly loose my knees
“I don’t want to be without you either.” I kiss his
lips as a tear falls from his eye.

“I
know, darlin’.”

He
whispers before dropping to one knee taking my hands in his he looks
up at me. “Bailey Grace Mortenson, I love you with all that I
am and all that I have. I never want to spend another day without you
by my side. You’re the love of my life and I would be honored
if you would be my wife.”

Letting
my hand go, he produces a small box from his pocket and opens it
revealing a ring.

“Will
you marry me?”

My
heart stops in my chest as I look down at the man I love on his knees
in the sand with tears running down his face. My own eyes are wet
with tears. He looks up at me with hope and love written across his
face.

“Yes,
yes I will marry you.”

Taking
the ring from the box he places it on my finger then stands up to hug
me tight and twirls us around splashing water as he does.

“I
was hoping you would say that.” He kisses all over my face
laughing. Falling to the sand I lay on top of him.

“Is
this what you were talking to Max about earlier?” I ask,
smiling down at him.

“No,
I only told one person.” Raising my eyebrows in question, he
laughs at me “Your dad, I asked him today if I could marry
you.”

“How
very old fashioned of you,” I tease, climbing up off of him.

“Do
you like it?” he nods at the ring, which I haven’t even
looked at. Holding my hand in front of me I look down at my finger.
The ring is platinum gold with a square of small diamonds around a
large princess cut stone that sits slightly higher.

“It’s
beautiful, babe.” He tells me that he bought it on his second
week in Singapore; how he walked by a jeweler everyday until one day
he saw the ring and knew he had to buy it.

“All
this time you’ve had it?”

He
nods lifting my hand. “It’s you,” he says smiling
at me. We sit in the sand for an hour listening to the waves roll on
shore. I feel high right now, high on love, high on emotion but
mostly high on happiness.

I
never thought I would be engaged by age twenty, but here I am with a
fiancée, a fiancée! Holy crap, if Summer could see me
now I bet she would be bawling her eyes out for me and we’d
both jump up and down and scream worthy of being in a slasher movie.
My life has just taken a drastic turn for the amazing and I love it.
I love everything about the man I said yes to.

Knox

I
watch the sun crest the horizon through my window. Here I am in my
old bed in my dad’s house with my fiancé in my arms.
Life feels surreal at the moment, the last time I was in this bed I
was with Lindsey; my body shudders at the thought. Although she kept
talking about getting married I knew deep down I didn’t want to
but I went along with it for her sake. I thought that was it, that’s
what I supposed to feel like just go along with it because she was
happy and she wanted me but now, now I have the real thing and I am
so thankful that I didn’t mess my life up so bad that I would
have been getting divorced by twenty two.

I
know I would have, only because even if I were married to Lindsey I
would have left her for Bailey. It sounds like such a dick thing to
say, but I know in my heart I would have been in a rough way. If I
was already married and Bailey came into town I know it would have
all gone to hell. The minute I saw her my heart, beat with such
ferocity I almost fell over right there at the door of George’s.
Max and his joke, doesn’t seem so funny anymore. I remember him
walking into the tattoo parlor. “Hey bro I just met your future
wife,” he said but how right was he. I wonder what he will say
how he will react and my dad, shit I never even told him, he will no
doubt lecture me but I don’t care I can’t and won’t
take back the proposal.

“Morning.”
looking down I see my beautiful girl with her big blue eyes begging
me to dive in and get lost in her forever.

“Morning
beautiful.” Rising on her elbow, she kisses my chest and rests
her head closing her eyes again.

“Still
tired?” I ask, brushing her hair off of her face.

“No,”
she whispers nuzzling closer. “I just want to be close to my
future hubby.” I can’t help but chuckle at her; she makes
me laugh at the strangest times. I look down at her sleeping on my
chest allowing my eyes to roam all over her face when I notice a
small scar beside her eye. Reaching I trace my finger along it,
making her jump off of me and cover her eye with her hand.

“Hey
darlin sorry.” She gives me a small smile and shrugs lying down
on the pillow. I never noticed it before and now I want to drive to
Grove and beat the shit out of that Ben guy again.

Wrapping
my arms around her, I kiss her shoulder. “I’m sorry
darlin’. I never noticed it before” she shrugs again.

“It’s
okay, I only noticed it after you left when the swelling went down
completely,” her answer sounds emotionless but I know by the
set of her shoulders that it hurts her to remember that day; the day
I lost her briefly, the day I got pulled into the police station for
defending my girl. That is a day I will never forget either and I
would do it all again if I have too.

“How
about we walk along the beach and then I’ll make you some
breakfast?” I ask leaning over to see her face.

“Okay.”
She smiles, climbing out of the bed. We walk down the beach at seven
in the morning. You’d think it would be quiet, but no. All the
surfers are out catching waves before the sunbathers get here.

“You
know Max had me on his surf board.” She chuckles watching the
guys in the ocean glide on the waves.

“Yeah,
was it fun?”

Turning
she shakes her head. “No way, I was terrified.” Laughing
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, letting the surf roll over our
feet. “Babe, what would you have done if I said no?” Her
casual demeanor has me scared.

My
heart pounds, as my mouth dries “Why are you changing your
mind?” I ask, barley holding it together.

Bailey
turns to me frowning. “No, I am only asking you a question.”
She smiles allowing me to relax.

“I
don’t know, darlin’. Probably cry like a girl and then
ask you every day until you’d say yes.” I grin at her.
Rolling her eyes playfully she elbows me in the gut. Bending down, I
scoop her into my arms and wade into the water.

“Don’t
you dare, Knox. We have no other clothes,” she squeals wrapping
her arms around my neck tightly.

“We
have a dryer in the garage.” I shrug.

“Babe,
please don’t,” she pleads with me so I turn back around
and walk onto the sand.

Bailey

Putting
me down on the sand, I relax a little. Knox turns his back to me
while he looks out at the ocean. Watching the surfers, he looks so
relaxed with his hands in his pockets and the gentle breeze blowing
his hair. I however, feel like getting him back so I wait for a wave
to roll in and push him as hard as I can into the water. Watching him
fall forward trying to get his hands out of his pockets before
hitting the sand is funny, the wave crashes into him knocking him
down again so now he is soaked all over sitting in the water looking
up at me with a smirk on his face. He raises an eyebrow as he pushes
his hair off of his face.

“Really
darlin’?” Slowly he starts to stand and I take off
running.

Looking
over my shoulder he is right behind me. I can’t run fast
because I am laughing so much. When he tackles me from behind,
knocking my legs out from under me, crashing, both of us into the
water. The shock of the cold water has me gasping as another wave
hits us knocking me down again.

“Babe.”
I cough water out of my lungs reaching out for him. Taking my hand he
pulls me up.

Smiling
I wrap my arms around his waist and he kisses me.

“You
were very naughty darlin’,” he says against my lips. I
can taste the salt from the ocean as I kiss him back pressing our wet
bodies together. “Let’s get back so I can get you out of
those clothes.” He winks at me. Taking my hand in his we walk
back up to the house. I don’t know what happened to him while
he was away but he seems way more playful than before pushing me and
pulling back into him as we walk.

Reaching
the house we walk around the side and enter through the garage door.
Knox removes his clothes, throwing them into the dryer. He reaches
for my zip and slowly lowers it while kissing my neck once all of our
clothes are drying we step inside the house naked and still wet.

“Shower?”
he asks, pulling me by the hand up to the bathroom.

Standing
under the water Knox starts singing about two lovers making love in
the surf. I know he is making it up as he goes but it sounds like a
fairy tale of falling in love and falling into the ocean.

“That
was a nice song, babe. I missed them,” I say wrapping a towel
around myself.

Knox
smiles at me. “It’s true, we fell hard and I am so glad
we did, darlin’.” Resting his forehead against mine he
hums away. “You know you’re the only girl who has made me
cry.” Pulling back I look at him not sure what to say or even
if I am supposed to say something. He smirks at me. “Yes
darlin’, you made me cry on the plane when I watched that video
you made. All the air hostesses wanted to comfort me.”

I
slap his chest playfully. “No way, they better not have.”

He
nods his head walking me backwards. “Oh yeah and one even
wanted to take me to her hotel.” My jaw drops at his statement
while he laughs at me and nips my lip. “You are so easy to mess
with.” Now I know what he is up to.