49. Cassidy

The audacity of this man.

My husband.

Getting me pregnant on purpose?

Oh, fuck no.

It's like he forgot the girl he married because I've already got ideas spinning through my head about how to get my payback.

I'm not going to walk away, not when the asshole made me love him.

But I am going to fuck with him right back.

First, though… I need to make him think I'm over it. That I'm okay with what he's done. That everything's fine.

So I take a deep breath and lean forward, letting my forehead rest against his chest while I breathe him in. Despite what he"s done, he"s still mine and I"m still his. And maybe it"s crazy, but I don"t want anyone else. I want Hayden Vaughn and his stupidly sexy smirk and his sweet side that he only shows me.

And the idea of seeing him as a father? I almost can"t handle the way that thought makes tingles spread through my body and center between my thighs.

"You"re lucky you"re hot," I tell him as I pull back and look up at him as his hand falls to my stomach. It still hasn't sunk in there's a baby in there. "And that I know you only did this because you"re as bananas for me as I am for you."

He smirks like he knows he"s won, and I bite back my own smile as I let him wrap me up in his arms. "Bananas?"

I scowl. "Really? After what you've done, you're going to tease me?"

Hayden has the decency to look apologetic, and you know, I think I'm going to like having this to hold over his head forever.

Sawyer scoffs from Callan"s grave. "That"s it? I thought for sure I"d get to see Hayden cry."

Hayden flips him off over his shoulder and I can"t help it—I laugh.

"Hope you don"t mind that I posted this on my socials," Sawyer says. "I need to see Dad flip out, Hayden. He"s going to lose his shit when he sees you got married and he didn"t get to use your wedding as a fundraiser or news headline."

Hayden groans. "You couldn"t give us a day? Hell, an hour?" Hayden tightens his hold on me, squishing my bouquet between us, and I feel his words rumble in his chest. "You know he"s going to be up my ass about what a disappointment I am, and while normally that"s the highlight of my day—"

He cuts off as a buzzing starts in his pocket. He curses, reaching his hand inside and pulls out his phone. My gaze snags on the black band on that hand and there"s a warm contentment settling in my bones when I see it there. As much as my name on his skin means he"s mine, this is for the world to see. There"ll be no question who Hayden Vaughn belongs to, and just thinking about it sends a surge of excitement coursing through my veins.

Hayden looks down at the screen and then back up at Sawyer with a smirk on his face. "Speak of the devil."

Sawyer grins as he moves up beside us. "Answer it."

Hayden flips him off again before putting the phone to his ear and answering with a gruff, "What?" He puts the call on speaker and holds the phone out so his brother can listen.

"What the fuck is going on? Why are you marrying that girl without talking to me about it first?"

"Oh, I don"t know, because I"m a grown-ass man and don"t need your permission to live my life?"

"Now you listen to—"

"Actually, Dad, I have things to do. Gotta go," Hayden says and then taps to end the call.

Sawyer laughs and punches his brother on the arm. "Holy shit, bro. He"s definitely showing up now."

"When he shows up at our door with a camera crew, you better make sure you bring me popcorn," I say, glaring at my brother-in-law to show him I mean business. He"s still on my shit list, too, for his part in helping Hayden knock me up. Sawyer"s got to have broken about a dozen ethical rules for his part in all of this, and I wonder for the first time what kind of doctor he is to go along with Hayden"s plan.

But we bonded over our love for drama, and that"s not about to stop now. What can I say? I really like the guy.

And side note, but I can still have popcorn, right?

I haven"t even begun to process the whole I"m pregnant thing, and holy shit, I"m pregnant. I know nothing about what I can and can"t do or how to take care of a baby. I should probably be panicking about it honestly, but pressed here in the safety of Hayden"s body, it"s hard to worry.

My hand finds its way to my belly, and it all makes so much sense now. How tired I"ve been. The dizziness. The nausea. I thought it was just the stress of Roman harassing me and the break-ins, mixed with all the change lately.

Guess I was really, really wrong.

Hayden"s hand slips around to my back, running up and down my spine. I shiver, but it"s not from the cold. His touch always does this to me. Everything else fades away. It lights my whole body up, every nerve ending sparking to life with the simplest brush of his skin against mine. Even just a look from his dark eyes with that carnal intensity he"s always got when he stares at me can turn me into a desperate mess.

And now we"re married.

I"m married to Hayden Vaughn.

Whose hands are still roaming over my back and ass as if he"s trying to memorize every curve of my body. As if he hasn"t already.

"We need to get out of here," he growls in my ear, sending sparks down my spine. That tone of voice just does things to me. "Now."

Sawyer groans like he"s disgusted. Serves him right.

Hayden steps back, gripping the hand that"s not holding my bouquet and tugging me toward our cars. "Keys," he says, stopping and holding out his hand. I dig my car key out of my pocket and hand it over. He tosses it to his brother, who catches it out of the air with one hand. "Take her car and we"ll meet you at the bar."

Sawyer salutes Hayden before he takes off.

"Wait," I say when Hayden tries to pull me toward his car again. "I need to do something first." He lets me go, but hovers behind me as I turn back toward my family"s graves, his hand on my lower back like he can"t bear to not be touching me at all times.

I kneel on the damp ground in front of the headstones of my family, bending down to place a piece of the bouquet Lila gave me on each of their graves. "It"s been eight years since you"ve been gone, and I still sometimes think I"m going to walk into the bar and see Dad behind it, mom playing pool and Callan tossing bottles in the air trying to add some sort of adrenaline high to bartending." I let out a watery laugh as Hayden stands over me, close enough I can feel the heat of his body, but he gives me just enough space to do this.

"I know you"d be proud of me keeping The Sin Bin. And you"d love Hayden, too, even if he"s a pain in the ass." His low chuckle from behind me is like a sip of hot cocoa, warm and sweet on my insides. "He"s my soulmate, the love of my life and everything I didn"t know I needed." My hand drifts back to my stomach again, and I know they know. They know everything. "I wish you were here for this. For the wedding. For the... baby."

Hayden kneels down beside me, his hand slipping into mine as he leans forward and kisses my forehead. "They are here," he says as he looks down at the graves. "Can"t you feel them?"

I nod, blinking back the tears that want to fall as I stare up at him. I can feel them. Their love for me, their pride in me for keeping our family legacy alive. And I know they"re happy that I"m happy. That I"ve found someone who loves me just as much as they did, even if he sometimes drives me to want to punch him sometimes too.

We sit for a few minutes in silence, and I close my eyes, tilting my head up to the shaft of sunlight that"s broken through the clouds. It would be a really special moment if Hayden"s voice didn"t break the spell.

"Not to be a dick, but I need to fuck my wife and if I"m not balls deep inside of you in the next fifteen minutes, I"m going to lose my goddamn mind."

I roll my eyes as I stand up and brush off my knees. "You"re always a dick."

He smirks down at me as he takes my hand and starts tugging me toward his car again. "And you love it."

Damn him.

I do.