Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(63)

“If you’d had dates like she’s had, you wouldn’t think so. One asshole came to her place for dinner and actually jacked off on one of her stuffed animals.” He shivered. “God, I can’t imagine how close she may have come to being hurt by him. Because we all know he might not have stopped there.”

The amusement on the other men’s faces disappeared.

“Are you bloody kidding?” Ro asked with a scowl.

“And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I told you a little about Roofie-and-High-Speed-Chase Guy. Once she explained why she wasn’t dating anymore, I understood. And honestly, I was okay with that for a while. But the more I got to know her, the more I liked her. And you know the rest. I started being sneaky and taking her out on dates without actually calling them that. She finally realized what was going on.”

“And she wasn’t mad?” Arrow asked.

“No. More embarrassed that she hadn’t realized it sooner. I guess she had a talk with her mom, and it clicked.”

“You know you’re fucked, right?” Gray asked.

“Well, I hope so,” Black joked.

“I’m serious. You can kid about this if you want, but she’s not like the other women you’ve dated. She’s marriage material.”

Black rolled his eyes and took a large swallow of his beer. “Whatever. Just because you and Allye are on the verge of tying the knot doesn’t mean the rest of us are champing at the bit to do the same.”

“I was,” Ro said.

“I’d marry Morgan tomorrow if she asked,” Arrow added.

“And I’ve got the ring burning a hole in my pocket, so to speak,” Gray added. “I’m just waiting for the right moment to ask Allye to marry me . . . you know, since she’s carrying my kid and all, I figured we should make it legal and shit.”

Black’s mouth fell open at Gray’s announcement. “No shit?”

“No shit,” Gray confirmed. “Why do you think she’s not out there guzzling down those margaritas with the others?”

“Fuck!” Arrow exclaimed. “Congratulations, man!”

“Seriously, that’s bloody awesome!” Ro added.

Black put down his beer and gave Gray a heartfelt hug. “Congrats,” he said after he’d pulled away. “You guys have to be over the moon.”

“We are. She doesn’t have any parents to share the news with, so I’m hoping to go visit my mom soon, and we’ll officially break the news to her. Allye’s only around two months along right now, so we want to wait for another month to let my mom know she’s going to be a grandmother. I’ll find a time to ask her to marry me sometime between now and then.”

“Get on that,” Arrow advised. “If you want to be married before that kid arrives, you’ll need to plan things fast. No woman wants to look pregnant in her wedding pictures.”

“Oh, we’ve talked about what kind of ceremony we want,” Gray assured his friends. “We want something low key, at the house, with just our very close friends in attendance.”

“Still, there’s a lot to plan,” Arrow insisted. “Cake, invitations, music . . . it’s endless.”

“Sounds like you know what you’re talking about,” Ro said. “Something you want to tell us?”

They all chuckled, but Arrow merely shrugged. “Told you I’d marry Morgan tomorrow if I could.”

Black said, “Well, I just started dating Harlow. We aren’t planning weddings and deciding how many babies we want.”

“Uh-huh,” Gray said skeptically.

“We aren’t,” Black repeated.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I haven’t seen you act this way around any other women. Not that you’ve even dated anyone recently. She’s different. You’re different with her. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s it for you.”

Black shook his head. “Don’t go getting all fucking mushy on me. Just because you guys have all met women you want to propose to after a week doesn’t mean I have. We’re dating. I enjoy spending time with her, but if she told me tomorrow she was done, then that would be that.”

“Really?” Arrow asked. “Because you’ve been the one all up in Rex’s face because he hasn’t been doing as much as you think he should for this case.”

“And you’ve refused to let any of us escort Harlow to work,” Gray added.

“Not to mention the fact that you’re itching to get your hands on this Brian guy because he said some shit to her,” Ro reasoned.

“I’m protecting everyone in that shelter,” Black protested. “You heard what he said. He threatened her and everyone else who lives there. We protect women and kids. It’s what the Mountain Mercenaries do.”

“Fine. Let me put it a different way,” Gray said. “You were worried about Allye when you picked us up in the ocean, right?”

“Of course,” Black said.

“You joked with her and helped keep her occupied while we brought her to shore.”

“And?” Black didn’t know what point his friend was trying to make, but he wished he’d hurry up and make it.

“When we got there, we didn’t have time to make sure she was safe. We had to leave her with some man Rex was working with, and just hope he was on the up-and-up, and that he’d get her back to San Francisco safely.”