In Your Honor (52 page)

“
This is it.” He pushed off the wall
and started to walk towards her. “It's this simple for me. And I'm
sorry it's taken me so long to get around to doing this.” As he
approached, she took several steps backwards, keeping distance
between them. Her back bumped into the window and she swallowed. He
kept advancing, her dark eyes never leaving his. One of his hands
slid under the heavy fall of her hair, his thumb stroking her pulse
point, which was racing. Reaching around her with the other arm, he
opened the window and motioned for her to go up the fire escape.
She hesitated for a fraction of a second before sliding free of his
touch and climbing outside.

His heart began to hammer in his chest. It
was thunderous and it finally felt like it was beating the way it
had been meant to beat his whole life.

When they reached the roof, she surveyed the
lights of the city he had considered his refuge for many years, the
same way she had looked around his home. With wonder, absorbing the
details of where he'd been living during all their time apart.

“
I had no idea Boston was so
beautiful,” she breathed, taking it all in.

He swallowed hard and tried to work moisture
back into his suddenly dry mouth. Tonight, he was going to ask his
questions. Tonight, she was going to give him answers. No more
running. No more hiding.

“
Tell me about the tattoo.” The
shocked look on her face caused him to give her a crooked
smile.

“
How do you know about that?” she
asked, instantly uncomfortable.

“
Shane told me awhile ago.” He tried
to keep his voice level and flat, not wanting to give her any
reason to worry about his reaction.

“
Why didn't you say anything?” Her
frown was too cute. Of course she'd be confused at him withholding
that information. It wasn't like him. He was an in-your-face jerk
half the time.

“
I didn't know how,” he answered
honestly. “You told me once that you would never get a tattoo. You
said they were too permanent and there wasn't anything in your life
worth etching onto your skin forever.”

Her eyes shifted away from him and he knew
she was embarrassed. He waited, he had no idea what the tattoo was.
Shane hadn't been specific, but he'd made it obvious that it had to
do with Blake.

“
It's, uh, it's your name,” she
confessed finally. It was really that simple? His name?
His
name
.
He
never deserved her.

“
Where is it, I wanna see,” he
demanded, a little more forcefully than he intended, but she was
more than used to his tactics.

“
Blake!” Exasperation bled out of her.
“I can't show that! It's a very... personal place.” She realized
what she'd confessed and her eyes widened. She focused on him as he
fought back a smile. “This is very awkward. What are you doing to
me? First, you say you love me downstairs, totally spinning my
world out of control. Now, you've got me on the roof, looking out
over this,” she gave a sweep with her arm, “
gorgeous
city, and you start asking
me to take my shirt off.” She stopped short as she heard her own
words.

“
So it's under your
shirt?” he attempted to clarify in amusement.

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Yes, on
my ribs.” Her fingers touched the space on her left side that was
nearly the same location as his own tattoo with her name.

“
So, that day on the
beach,” he questioned, “when you saw my ink, you knew that we had
chosen the same location.”

She swallowed, her eyes glossing over.
“Yes.” She closed her eyes slowly and then opened them. “It was
close to my heart.”

“
When?”

“
Why does it matter?” she sighed, a
single tear rolling down her face.

“
Because I want to know. Just tell
me,” he persisted, stepping closer to her.

“
I got it about a month before you
came back.” She looked at her feet like she was ashamed.

He ran his forefinger along her jaw and
under her chin, lifting her head.

“
That's almost the same exact time I
got mine.” His voice was rough at this point as he tried to control
what he was feeling. Her eyes widened in surprise and he nodded,
“True story. I've never gotten over you. And I suspect you've never
gotten over me.”

She stared up at him soberly. “How did we
get here, Blake?” she asked softly.

“
I screwed things up a long time ago.
But I have this theory...” He slipped his hand under her hair,
cupping the back of her head and gently touching her cheek with his
thumb. “That it would have been a lot worse had I stuck around. I
never felt like I deserved you and I was a punk-ass kid. I would
have ruined your life.”

He let his eyes wander over her face. That
perfect, angelic face that he had loved nearly his entire life. “I
still don't feel like I deserve you. But I finally feel like I can
love you.” He didn't miss her sharp intake of air, and he focused
on her brown eyes as he continued, “I finally got my head right. If
you let me, I'll love you forever. Probably with more passion and
persistence than you can stand at times.”

Her mouth tugged up on the side, and he knew
she was going to say yes. She loved him. She had always loved him,
he had never had a reason to doubt it.

“
I'm scared, Blake.” Her honesty was
amazing. He delighted in the fact that he would never have to
question or wonder what she was thinking, she'd always been
straight with him.

“
I am too,” he confessed. “But what if
we weren't?”

Lowering his lips to barely brush hers, he
murmured, “Kiss me, Lucy. Kiss me like we're not scared.”

She didn't give him time to finish the
sentence. She raised up on her toes, pressing her lips to his.
Simultaneously, her arms slipped around his neck, pulling his head
closer.

It had been months since his lips had
touched hers, but it was unlike any kiss they'd ever shared. It was
powerful and unyielding and took his breath away. He grabbed her by
the hips and hoisted her up as she wrapped her legs around his
waist. He held her tight and she pushed her fingers into his hair,
pulling away to smile at him adoringly.

“
Okay, let's do this then. No more
running from each other.” She ran a finger along his jaw and kissed
the side of his mouth.

“
I'm only running
to
you from now on,” he
promised.

She lowered her mouth to his again. The
sweet surrender was enough to make him tremble. Nothing in his life
had felt this right, this perfect. He didn't think he could ever be
without her again.

“
Marry me,” he said
against her lips, opening his eyes when she pulled away.

“
What?” She looked
confused, and her face scrunched into a frown.

He set her back on her feet and reached a
hand into his pocket.

“
It's small and it was
super cheap. But I worked late nights at the garage and hauled
garbage for an entire summer just to buy it.” He held up the tiny
diamond ring he had planned on giving her years ago. It was still a
symbol for everything he felt for her. That had never gone
away.

“
It was in my pocket the
night I left town.” He gave her a crooked grin and got down on one
knee. Her eyes went wide and she brought both hands up to cover her
mouth.

“
I'm crazy in love with
you, Lucy Newton. And I'm going to ask you one more time... you
wanna do something reckless?”

She dropped her hands to her sides,
revealing the smile he loved. “Absolutely.”

He grinned and slipped the ring on her
finger. It was finally where he had always hoped it would end up.
She kissed him again and he nearly lost his breath. But he pushed
her back slightly, needing to tell her the rest of his idea.

“
I have a Harley
here.”

“
Are you asking me to go
for a ride?” she interrupted slyly, running her fingers through his
hair and making him shiver.

“
Sort of.” He cleared his
throat, chuckled nervously and looked away.

“
Blake,” she confronted
him, turning his face back to hers, “what?”

“
It's about a fifty hour
drive to Vegas...” he began, watching her eyes as understanding
dawned. “I don't want to be without you another night, Lucky. I've
wasted enough of our time.”

Her smile grew wide and she pulled him to
his feet, her eyes dancing. “Well then, I guess we better get
going.”

Blake chuckled to himself as they quickly
descended the steps of the fire escape.

Yep, this reckless, haphazard, insane beauty
was his. Forever.

***

Lucy had spent two days flying across the
country on the back of a Harley with her arms around the wildest
and most intense man she had ever known. She hung on tight to that
man born in a prairie storm, who rumbled with thunder and made her
shake to her core. And she didn't second-guess her decision once.
It was the sanest, most logical choice she'd ever made. They were
better together. Always had been, always would be.

The wedding ceremony conducted with
Elvis nearby was perfect and ridiculous. Exactly like them. She
wore jeans and his blue
Underdog
tee. He dressed more formally, all in black, even his
jeans.

When they called their parents to tell them
what they had done, they had similar reactions. Karen laughed so
hard she couldn't breathe, and Triny had simply said it was about
time.

Blake had gotten them a suite in Caesar's
Palace where they began their love anew. Savoring the time they had
now, and making up for the time they had lost.

Lucy lay tangled in the sheets, tracing the
words along his side that held her name. He had dozed off hours
before, but she couldn't sleep. She didn't want to. She wanted to
enjoy every second she had with this man. The words made sense to
her now. They weren't saying that she had wounded him, they were
saying that he was forever marked by her. And that was a beautiful
thought.

“
I love you,” she whispered to him,
gently kissing the ink on his side and resting her head on his
chest. “And I'm never letting you go.”

Blake straightened Carl's bow-tie one more
time while trying to calm him down.

“
You're sure you have the rings?” Carl
asked David for the tenth time.

“
Yes, I am sure,” David reassured him,
patting his pocket and rolling his eyes.

Blake chuckled and squeezed his friend's
shoulder. “Everything is going to be fine. Weddings are a
breeze.”

“
Easy for you to say, you ran off to
Vegas.” Carl faced the mirror again.

“
You could have done the same. If I
recall, your bride suggested that exact thing.”

“
You know her mom woulda killed me,”
Carl said distractedly. “Is the bow-tie stupid? Maybe I should have
gone with something else.”

“
No, bow-ties are cool,” Harrison
said, handing him a glass of water. “Do you want to go over your
vows again?”

“
There's no time.” Carl swallowed
audibly and Blake held back a laugh. Poor guy was a
wreck.

The door opened and Lucy slipped inside.
Blake took in her perfect beauty and his breath caught. He hadn't
seen her since she'd left for the salon with the other girls. Her
dark hair was gathered in a knot at her neck, small wisps framing
her face. The dark purple dress looked amazing against her flawless
skin, coming to land just above her knee. He smiled when he saw she
had worn flats, always the rebel.

“
The preacher is ready for y'all.” She
winked at her husband, and he predicted that he'd be making out
with his stunning wife on the dance floor later.

“
He's a pastor. Geez, Lucy, you can
be
so
southern sometimes.”
Sway snickered from his chair in the corner. He stood up and
readjusted his pants none too subtly. No one would ever describe
Sway as discreet. “I can't believe Carl is going to be your
brother-in-law,” he directed at Harrison.

“
Tell me about it,” Harrison sighed,
and shoved his hands in the pockets of his tux.

“
Whatever, I can't believe I'm
marrying into this band permanently.” Carl smoothed the front of
his coat and took another deep breath.

“
You ready to do this?” Blake asked,
hoping Carl didn't throw up.

The nervous groom didn't respond and Lucy
stepped in front of him, giving him a serious stare.

“
Who are you marrying today?” she
asked, all business.

Carl's face relaxed visibly. A smile spread
across his face and he clapped Lucy on the shoulder like she was
one of the guys. “My best friend.” His anxiety vanished and he
strode confidently out the door.

Blake reached his hand toward Lucy's.

“
You are so beautiful,” he whispered
in her ear as he led her out the door. “Promise to save me a
dance.”

“
You can have all my dances.” She
quickly kissed his cheek and smiled at him impishly before they
joined the rest of the procession at the back of the
church.

Carl went to stand in his place at the front
of the church while the rest of the men lined up with their
appointed bridesmaids. David Warren, Carl's best friend and
best-selling author, offered his arm to Harrison's baby sister,
Greta, the Maid of Honor. After them came Harrison and one of
Miranda's friends that Blake couldn't remember, then Blake and
Lucy, then Luke and Lenny, then Sway and Mike with two more
bridesmaids he couldn't put names to.