Page 29 of Craved By You (Dark Desires Duet #1)

“Oh my God you’re finally home!” Haileigh practically tackled me as soon as we set foot inside the Thai restaurant. “I can’t wait to hear all about it! You’re all famous now!”

She was immediately greeted by Ryder and Chris the moment she released me from her clutches and it looked like she had missed them as much as they had missed her.

I wasn’t surprised though, I had to hear Chris whining and crying the entire time we were gone over how much he wished she had come along.

Ryder also mentioned it, but he seemed to have himself a bit more together than Chris.

The tour was insane though. Watching the guys getting to enjoy what they do was amazing.

Though, I had to admit, being on the road got rather boring.

Even with all the texts and video messages, I had still missed my bestie.

Next time, I was definitely going to opt to stay at Colt’s place and have lots of slumber parties with her while we video-chatted with the men.

We all placed our orders, Colt and the other guys challenging each other to see who could handle the spiciest dish while Haileigh and I proceeded to be nicer to our taste buds. I stuck with my usual fried rice with tofu and crab rangoon while she ordered Pad Thai.

It didn’t take long for our food to arrive and we were all starving for a decent, non-fast food meal. I began to shovel the rice into my face when Haileigh let out another ear-piercing squeal. “What the fuck is that?”

I sat there for a moment confused, half expecting a bug to jumpscare me, but then I realized that I still hadn’t shared the biggest news with her yet.

I had been saving it for our in-person meet-up.

“Oh, haha.” I chuckled nervously laying down my fork giving her my best spirit fingers impression then placing my hand directly in front of her face.

“ You’re engaged!” she shrieked again, only this time remembering that we were in public and lowering the volume just a little. “Oh my god! How did he do it? When did he? You can’t leave out any details!”

Colt had proposed to me on stage at the final concert of the tour.

The show had been sold out almost instantly and it was the only arena they agreed to do while on the road just to see how it went.

Before they started the last song he called me out on stage.

This had become fairly normal since it was a song that he had written for me and he always loved showing off his muse.

Only this time, when I walked out on stage, he was already down on his knee, ring in hand.

I never imagined that I would bawl my eyes out in front of that many people, but I did.

I had always envisioned the perfect engagement being something small and private, but getting to share the stage with the man I loved, doing what he loved, was even better.

The moment he asked me, I blocked everything and everyone else out and for a brief second as I said yes it was just the two of us on stage.

Until the crowd's cheers reminded me that we weren’t alone.

“ I can’t believe it.” Haileigh swooned. “You’re engaged! I met with a divorce attorney today. Our shop is booming with business… Things are looking up for us.”

Had I just heard her right? “You met with a divorce attorney?”

“ Yep.” Haileigh beamed. “He didn’t want me, otherwise we would have never separated and now… I don’t want him. No matter how much he begs.”

“ What if I beg?” Chris inquired, throwing the entire conversation into a frenzy.

Haileigh smiled and bit her lip. “I can think of a few things I’ll make you beg for.”

“ Get a room you two.” Colt inserted himself into the conversation, needing a breather from the spicy food he had been practically inhaling. “Seriously though, Hailstorm, I’m proud of you.”

“ Well, Astrid got her happily ever after and it inspired me, too.” A tear formed in the corner of Haileigh’s eye. “I just didn’t realize how true that was until tonight.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I observed how attentive to her Ryder and Chris were. After everything she had been through these past few months, she deserved her own love story, one that didn’t end in heartbreak and sadness.

“ Better watch out, Hailstorm,” Colt chuckled as he possessively pulled me closer to him, kissing the side of my head. “If you’re not careful, you’ll end up devoured by them .”

Haileigh let out a soft laugh and winked in our direction. “I think that sounds like the perfect place to be.”