Page 64 of Hounds Ascend

“Baby, where are we going?” I ask as he turns out of the driveway.

“Some place quiet.”

I sigh. I’m not sure about surprises lately, the last few I’d gotten over the past few months weren’t good ones. I go through a mental checklist. We aren’t going to eat because we’d just eaten. We could be going to shoot pool or to the movies. It isn’t too late for that. No, that isn’t quiet. We could be going to the clubhouse. No, that isn’t quiet either. Hell, we could be going anywhere, especially if Cass is in charge. Where the hell is he taking me?

***

Cass

I can see that it is absolutelykillingLilly inside as she sits restlessly in my passenger seat while I drive us to our destination. She’s only asked once, but the longer she sits in the truck not knowing, the antsier she got. She’s fiddled with the radio at least twelve times in the last fifteen minutes and she’s no longer staring out her window. Instead, she looks straight ahead and every thirty seconds she’s turning her head to stare at me.

We turn in at the city park and her eyes sparkle as she stares at the array of lights hung around. It’s decorated beautifully for some big event that’s coming up and I am about to take advantage of it. The city shouldn’t mind, I probably helped pay for it anyway.

White strings of Christmas-looking lights are hung everywhere and the fountain in the center of the park has a color-changing light in the middle of it. I park in front since no one is out here at this hour. It’s supposed to be closed, but I called in a favor to the security guard who just so happened to be the newest prospect for the Hounds.

“This is gorgeous!” Lilly looks around in awe.

“They just decorated for their big event coming up. I think it’s the city’s hundredth anniversary or something,” I tell her, killing the truck. I step out and walk around to open her door. I offer her my hand and she takes it, hopping down. My arm is curled around her waist as we walk toward the opening.

“The park stays open all night?” she asks, looking at the open gate.

“It might…kind of.”

We walk through the front gate and into the park. Concrete paths curve their way through the center, all of them branching off then meeting back in the middle, ultimately leading to the fountain and beyond it. Flowers of all colors line the walls in different place, strategically placed between different monuments.

Slowly, inspecting everything around us, Lilly walks down the concrete path. She looks around at the large trees decorated with lights and small animal figures, pointing out the cutest ones to me as we walk past. I walk quietly beside her, watching her more than I’m watching anything else. I wonder how I got so lucky. Lucky enough to find a woman accepting of not only me, but my club.

“Baby, look!” Lilly points at the fountain as it changes fromthe color-changing light, to a beautiful flash of white lights that looks like miniature fireworks exploding in the water of the fountain.

She takes off towards the fountain, with me on her heels. She stops at the edge of it, and I stop just behind her, pulling her into my arms. We’re so close that the mist from the fountain is coating us in tiny droplets of moisture.

“I wanted you to see how pretty it was here at night. It’s beautiful. Breathtaking.”

She smiles and tilts her head slightly in my direction. “Thank you. For thinking of me and for bringing me.”

Her head rests against my chest and I can feel my heart beating faster with every passing minute. My nerves are on the edge of going haywire, but I’m maintaining my composure quite well for someone who is more nervous than I’ve ever been in my entire life.

“You know why I wanted to meet your mom so bad?” I ask.

“Nope,” she says, her eyes closed and her head never moving from the spot on my chest. Good. Stay like that a little bit longer.

“Because she’s the most important person to you. Your dad isn’t here anymore, so she was the best second.”

“The best for what?” she asks, her brow knitted in confusion but her eyes remaining closed.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the little black box I’ve been carrying all day. I pop it open with one hand, trying like hell not to gain her attention. I don’t want to spoil the surprisejust yet.

I kiss the top of her forehead and take the plunge, getting down on one knee. I stare up at a stunned Lilly. Her hand is slapped over her mouth and she’s staring at me with wide eyes that have tears pooled in them.

“The best person to ask permission for your hand in marriage. Lilly, I love you. My life has changed so much for the better since you walked into it and I don’t want to waste another second of it without making you mine forever. Will you marry me, Lilly Summers?”

Lilly’s arms wrap around my neck before she speaks. “Abso-fuckin’-lutely.”

THE END…FOR NOW…