47. Cassidy

My boyfriend'sup to something.

It's been days since he played savior to my bar, and since then he's been busy with games and the team.

But based on the message he just sent me, his focus isn't hockey right now.

I stare down at the picture of tall black iron gates—specifically, the gates to the cemetery where my parents and brother are buried—and then back at the message that says come find me.

That"s it.

To be fair, I guess those three words are pretty self explanatory.

A mischievous grin spreads across my face as I lay down my phone, knowing he"s going to make me work for whatever he"s up to. But I"m intrigued and, honestly, I need a distraction from everything I"ve had to deal with these past couple of weeks. I"m ready for whatever game he wants to play, so I grab my keys and head out the door.

It takes me less than ten minutes to get to the cemetery and I spend the entire drive trying to figure out what the hell Hayden could be doing here. Wondering what he"s up to and trying to ignore the whirlpool of anxiety in my belly. I"ve never told him where my family is buried, but somehow he found it anyway because of course he did.

I don"t have any answers by the time I pull up to the cemetery and park alongside the road.

I walk toward the gates that Hayden sent me a picture of and find him leaning against them wearing a suit for some reason. It"s black on black and for a second I wonder if someone died. Even if they did, it might be worth it to see him like this, depending on who it is. Roman, for example.

I see Hayden in suits all the time before games, but there"s something about this combination, with his wavy hair swept back and his dark eyes focused completely on me, not even a hint of stubble on his jaw, that really does things to me.

When I get close, he holds his hand out, still not telling me what we"re doing here. I don"t even hesitate to slide my palm against his rough one, and he tugs me forward so I"m pressed against his hard body. Then he kisses me hard enough that I forget how to breathe.

"What are you up to?" I ask when he pulls away, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.

He smirks and then turns toward the gates, pushing them open with a loud creak and pulling me through. "You"ll see."

I huff out a sound of annoyance because he still doesn't seem to care that I hate surprises. Okay, I can admit I haven't hated any of his yet, but still… he should know this about me. All he does is grip my hand tighter, and I let myself enjoy the way he"s holding onto me like he can"t stand being physically attached at all times as we walk through the rows of headstones. It"s quiet and peaceful here, and I find myself relaxing into Hayden"s side as we walk.

The deeper we get into the graveyard, the more tall evergreens sway overhead with the wind. I look up at them, getting lost in how massive they are—how many years they"ve stood here in this place filled with grief and loss, watching over the souls grieving for their loved ones. I'd like to think they watch over me when I'm here visiting. There's something comforting about that to me, knowing these giants never judge, but their presence is always here.

Hayden stops suddenly and I look down to find us standing in front of two headstones that make my heart crack a little like it always does when I face them. My parents" graves. And beside them is a third one with Callan"s name on it. My twin. My other half gone.

My blurry vision clears as I lift my gaze to meet Hayden"s, not understanding what he"s doing here. What we"re doing here. "How did you know where they were?"

He shrugs like it"s no big deal. Like he didn"t just bring me to the place that holds my worst memories, the place that makes me feel like I"m being crushed under the weight of grief every time I come here. But also the place where I feel closest to my family now. The place I come when I need to feel like I"m part of them still, even in the smallest of ways. "It wasn"t hard to figure out. Your dad"s name was on the records for the bar."

I nod slowly as I stare down at the three graves, still wondering what he's up to—and why he's in a suit. "Why"d you bring me here, Hayden?"

He doesn"t answer, and I tear my gaze away from my brother"s grave to seek Hayden out. When I find him, he"s standing behind me, but he"s not alone. His brother stands just off to his left, Lila to his right and his teammate Warren behind him. "What... is this?"

"This is our wedding day." Hayden smirks down at me as he grabs my hand and presses it against his chest. His heart is beating steadily, like he"s not at all nervous about my saying no. Asshole.

"Funny. I don"t remember you asking." I should probably yank my hand back and really lay into him for being such a dick, but I"m all floaty inside and I"m also still kind of in shock that he"s doing this. Seriously... Hayden Vaughn wants to marry... me?

In a graveyard?

How"s that math work?

"When have I ever asked for anything when it comes to you?" He reaches into his pocket and plucks out a ring that he slides onto my finger. I stop breathing when the light filtered through the heavy blanket of clouds hits the emerald in the center. Of course, Hayden would never give me something as basic as a diamond.

My eyes snap up to meet his, blurred with tears as I finally see the depth of his love for me. It hits me like a tidal wave, crashing over every wall I"ve built to keep him out. This man, with darkness swirling in his fierce brown eyes, has laid his heart at my feet in the last place I ever expected. The laugh that comes out of me is tear-soaked and a little hysterical. "You"re pathological."

"And you love me anyway." He leans down and kisses me once, twice, three times before pulling back and looking into my eyes. "So what do you say, Princess? You gonna marry me?"

I sigh. "I guess."

He smirks as he pulls me into his arms and spins me around. "Good, because we"re doing this here. Now."

Wait... "Here?"

Hayden sets me down and brushes my wild hair back out of my face as the wind whips it around. I fall into his dark eyes as he says, "Here where your family is."

I blink back another wave of tears as I look up at him, realizing how much he gets me. How he knows exactly what I need and when I need it, even when I don"t know. And how he"s willing to give it to me without me having to ask. "Hayden," I whisper, so overwhelmed I can"t even find the words to tell him how much this means to me. "Is this really what you want? To get married in a cemetery?"

"Only if we can take lots of pictures to rub in my dad's face. No doubt he'll flip the fuck out." Hayden and Sawyer discuss the strategy of making the most of pissing their father off while I get lost in my head.

I"ve never been one of those girls who fantasized about my wedding day. I wasn"t even sure if I wanted to get married, but if I ever did, I knew the one thing I"d want was my dad to walk me down the aisle. My twin would be my man of honor, and my mom would try to pretend she wasn"t crying in the front row.

When I lost them, that future disappeared and I never thought I"d be here, with someone who cares enough about me to make sure my family"s with me on this day in the only way they can be. I"ve been blinking back tears, but one escapes anyway and Hayden brushes it away with his thumb as he stares down at me with so much love and affection it makes my heart ache. When he puts away his asshole side and turns sweet, I almost can"t take it.

"You good?" he asks softly.

I nod, even though I"m not sure how true it is. But I want to be. Despite the grief that still sometimes feels so fresh, it"s hard to catch my breath, today"s supposed to be a happy occasion. I want it to be. "Yeah."

He watches me like he knows exactly what"s going through my mind and then pulls me toward Warren, who"s got this look on his face like he"s about to say something obnoxious. Before he can, Hayden says, "Warren"s ordained online so he"ll do the ceremony."

I blink up at him as we stop in front of my brother"s grave. My other half and a piece of my soul I"ll never get back. I curl my fingers tighter around Hayden"s, needing to ground myself. "You"re serious?"

"As a goalie during a shootout," War says with a grin as he holds up a piece of paper that looks like it was printed off the internet. "I even have a certificate and everything."

I laugh as I look up at Hayden who"s smirking down at me with so much love in his eyes it makes my heart skip a couple of beats. "Well, if he has a certificate, it must be okay."

"Okay?" War asks, looking between us. I don"t think he heard the sarcasm in my voice, or maybe he"s choosing to ignore it. "It's fucking awesome." He turns to Hayden. "You"re still good with me doing this?"

"You"re here, aren"t you?" Hayden says, gesturing Sawyer and Lila closer. "I need you guys to all sign this before we start." He grabs for a bag Sawyer has slung over his shoulder and digs out a piece of paper already clipped to a clipboard. Sawyer signs, then Lila, who passes it to Warren and finally Hayden has it back in his big hands.

"Once we sign this, the ceremony doesn"t really matter. We"ll be married," he says, his eyes locked on mine and studying me, I guess to see how I"ll react to the idea of being married to him. From one second to the next, going from being single to attached for life is a lot. Like, a lot.

Hayden"s eyes drop to the paper as he scrawls out his signature. Then he holds it out for me. My fingers tremble as I take the pen from him and stare down at the empty line where I"m supposed to sign. This is it. This is real. And it"s happening now.

I look up at Hayden, who gives me this little nod like he knows what"s going through my head and he"s telling me it"s okay. That I can do this. That I want to do this with him. So I take a deep breath and sign my name on the paper before handing it back to Warren, who looks between us and then shoves the clipboard back into Sawyer"s bag.

Despite having not said a word, I"m married. To Hayden Vaughn.

Holy shit.

Warren claps his hands and rubs them together, grinning like a maniac. He moves so he"s standing between my mom and dad"s shared headstone and my brother"s to their right. "Fair warning, this is going to be weird as fuck, but just go with it. It"ll fit the vibe." Warren gestures around as if to remind us that we"re standing on top of a whole sea of dead people.

Hayden grips my hand tighter and pulls me to stand in front of his teammate. Sawyer flanks him on one side and Lila moves up beside me on the other. She catches my eye and gives me a wide I told you so smile before shoving a bouquet of lavender, baby's breath, and eucalyptus into my arms. It smells incredible and I bury my face in the petals, breathing deep.

We stand here, the most unconventional bridal party ever, the chill of the cemetery biting at our skin. But none of that matters. Because in this moment, it"s just me and Hayden, this consuming kind of love we have for each other, our friends, and the ghosts of my family.