Face-Off at the Altar Read online

  “I’m naked here, you just took advantage of me, and you’re calling some other dude sexy?”

  She smiled. “Yes, because I love you and find you sexy. But that doesn’t matter, carry on,” she said simply and he glared.

  “We will revisit this later,” he decided, and she laughed as he rolled his eyes. “You are a lucky lady because your boyfriend will sign a multimillion-dollar contract on Monday with the Assassins.”

  Mekena’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Really!” he gushed, and she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him hard on the lips.

  Pulling back, she smacked his chest as she screeched, “Markus! I’m so proud!”

  He looked like he might cry as he looked up at her. “I can’t believe it. I’m signing with my dream team and I get to live with you permanently and we get to be happy, together,” he gushed, and Mekena was on the verge of tears as they fell onto the couch, their mouths meeting in a hot, intense kiss. As his fingers tangled in her hair, she was sure she would burst with excitement and love for this man. She was so unbelievably proud of him. He was doing everything he had set out to do, and she couldn’t be more delighted for him.

  For them.

  Pulling back, he grinned as he asked, “Did you hear the multi part?”

  She grinned. “I did, but how multi? Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool multi?”

  He gave her a dry look. “Really?”

  She giggled uncontrollably. “No! Gosh, you should have seen your face.”

  “You’re a punk,” he announced, and she laughed as he kissed her neck.

  “But you love me, you love me so much,” she sang as she wrapped her whole body around him, so fucking happy she couldn’t contain herself if she tried.

  “I do, so fucking much,” he muttered against her neck. “Enough to ignore this new love for Deadpool.”

  “Oh, baby, my love for Deadpool is old and strong,” she teased, and he groaned loudly.

  “I hate you,” he said and she laughed.

  “You do not, and I know that for a fact,” she said, laughing, and he nibbled on her breast before leaning his chin to her chest, looking up at her.

  “I don’t,” he said, his eyes dark and full of love. “I couldn’t if I tried.”

  “I know,” she said, a grin pulling at her lips as she cupped his face. “Same here.”

  He smiled, his hand coming over hers as they stared into each other’s eyes. Everything was working out. Everything was coming together, and holy crap, they were going to be together. It could change, he could get sent down, but right now, things were perfect and they were happy.

  So damn happy.

  “Hey, when we get back to Nashville, do you wanna go shopping?”

  Her face broke into a grin as she laughed. “The multimillion is already burning a hole in your pocket? You haven’t even put ink to paper yet!” When he didn’t laugh, just smiled, she stopped laughing. “What? That was funny.”

  “It was,” he said, his eyes burning into hers. “But I want to take you ring shopping.”

  Her brows pulled together, unsure what he was saying. “Ring shop—” She paused, her eyes going wide. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  “No, I said shopping.”

  Her heart kicked into overdrive as she looked deep into his eyes. “Is this ring for you to ask me to marry you?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “But you aren’t asking?”

  “No,” he said simply, his eyes playful as he held her gaze. “I don’t know what ring to get you, and I don’t want to get you something and you hate it. So I’d rather go shopping, check shit out, get a sense of what you like, and then wait.”

  “Wait?” she asked, drawing out the word. “Wait, how long?”

  “I don’t know. I gotta talk to your dad, buy the ring, and stuff.”

  “But this could be next week?” she asked, her heart trying to escape her chest.

  “I mean…” He paused, shrugging. “Maybe. Would that be a problem?”

  She shook her head before she even really thought about it. “No, no problem here.”

  “So you will probably say yes?” he asked, and she couldn’t help but smile at the uncertainty in his eyes.

  “Maybe, I don’t know. You haven’t asked.”

  He held her gaze as his lips twitched. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” she answered back.

  “So we’ll go when we get back?”

  “Yeah,” she said, her heart in her throat.

  “Cool.”

  “Cool,” she breathed as he laid his head on her chest. She felt like she was on cloud nine; her heart was going wild, and she couldn’t believe it. He was going to ask her to marry him, something she had wanted since the moment she met him. Yeah, they were young, and she was younger, but she’d known from the moment she met him that he was the man she wanted for the rest of her life. How could she not want him? He made her laugh constantly. He gave her the best sex in the world, and he made her feel so special. No matter what, she knew he had her back and he loved her. Unconditionally. That alone made her heart soar for him. Everything was going exactly how she wanted it to. She was happy, he was happy, and they were moving forward, together.

  Everything was perfect, and she felt like nothing could touch them.

  Kissing her breast, he said, “I love you.”

  Smiling, she kissed the top of his head. But before she could answer him, her phone sounded. It was her mother, but she ignored it. “I love you too, Markus. So much.”

  “Good,” he said as her phone stopping ringing. “Don’t want to talk to you mom right now?”

  “Nope, I love what I’m doing right now. I’ll call her back,” she said, moving her hand down the middle on his back and then back up. But when her phone sounded again, and it was her mother again, she glanced over to where her phone was as her brows came together.

  “Maybe you should answer. She usually doesn’t call twice in a row like that,” he suggested, and she nodded as he rolled off her just as the phone stopped ringing.

  “Well, then,” she said, and she went to cuddle back with him, but her phone sounded once more. “Huh,” she said as a dreadful feeling washed over her. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but her mother never called her like that. Reaching for her phone off the table, she answered it. “Hello? Mom?”

  She was met with hysterical sobbing before her father said calmly, “Skylar was in a car crash, Mekena. It’s not good. You need to come home.”

  As they walked through the hospital to the ICU of Vanderbilt, Mekena couldn’t feel her hands or feet. Her heart hadn’t slowed since she dropped the phone and Markus picked it up back in Florida. He was the one who had made the calls, the one who got them on the first plane back to Nashville, and the one who packed. Mekena just sat there, not able to feel anything but pure fear.

  She didn’t understand what was going on. Only that Skylar was in an accident and that it was bad. She also didn’t understand her feelings. She was supposed to hate Skylar, she did hate her, so why was she on the verge of tears and unable to hold it together as they headed through the cold hospital full of people either dying or fighting for life.

  The place where Skylar was fighting for hers.

  With a lump in her throat, Mekena stopped, and Markus looked back to her, confused.

  “Baby?”

  “I was supposed to drive back with Avery and my stuff so we can fully move in to the apartment. Shit, I didn’t call her.”

  Coming to her, he took her hand, and to her surprise, she felt the warmth of his palm as he laced his fingers with hers. “I called her. Don’t worry, she’s flying up later tonight with Ashlyn and then taking her to Autumn before meeting us here.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said, looking up at him as tears flooded her eyes. She felt like she didn’t even know who she was. What she was doing. What she was walking into. The fear was so great, it rattled her, and she wasn’t sure how to feel. She’d wanted Skyl