Page 81 of Kane
“What’s your last name?” Monica asked, surprising him. It was as if she had been reading his mind.
He stopped midway down the steps to look down at her. “It’s Mercer.”
“Kane Mercer,” Monica repeated, then smiled.
“Why?” Kane was curious as they continued down the steps.
“I just realized I just told a man I loved him, and I didn’t know his last name.” She chuckled with a nervous shrug.
Kane glanced at Doug, who was in fact snoring away on the couch, then back to Monica. “Monica Mercer has a nice ring to it,”
“I wasn’t asking you to marry me, Kane.” Monica looked embarrassed, and it was really cute.
“No, but maybe I’m asking you to marry me,” Kane teased, then frowned. “Though I was going to ask you in a more romantic setting where Doug isn’t snoring in the background.”
“Is that a proposal?” Monica whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes.
“It is,” Kane leaned down, kissing her softly, still holding a sleeping Dena. “Not how I wanted to do it, but yes.”
“It’s perfect,” Monica grinned as a tear slid down her cheek. “Yes, Kane Mercer, I will marry you.”
Kane pulled her to him, kissing her deeply until Dena began to move in his arms restlessly. “Let’s go home,” He whispered, then rolled his eyes when Doug snorted really loud, waking himself up.
“Oh, hey, ah, yeah.” Doug stood up and stumbled. “Yeah, I’m ready to go home.”
They both glanced at Doug, who looked confused. “You sure you want to marry me. I come with some weird baggage.” Monica whispered with a frown.
“Never been more sure of anything in my life,” Kane said, then laughed when Doug stretched and farted.
“Eww, Uncle Doug farted.” Dena lifted her head, looking at Doug in disgust.
“That was my back popping.” Doug tried to explain, but Dena wasn’t buying it. He reached out, plucking Dena from Kane’s arms when she reached for him. “Don’t call me out in front of people.” He whispered, but they all heard him.
“You tooted.” Dena giggled as they headed out the door.
“I didn’t,” Doug argued as they disappeared outside. “It was my back.”
Kane looked down at Monica, who was rolling her eyes but smiling. He could see the love she had for her family, and he felt honored to be a part of that. Her smile quickly disappeared as she continued to look toward the doorway.
“Hey,” He cupped her chin, bringing her attention back to him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to have to tell her about her father,” Monica whispered, and she heard the pain in her voice. “I don’t know how to do that, Kane. It was hard enough to tell her about her mom. Now her dad. She doesn’t know what he did. She loved Ken.”
“We will figure that out. It doesn’t have to be tonight.” Kane hugged her to him. “And we will do it together. You’re not alone anymore, Monica. You don’t have to burden this on your own anymore.”
“Thank you,” she hugged him tightly, then yawned.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Kane led her toward the door.
Kane knew exactly what he was and the kind of life he lived, which was violent, messy, and never safe, but somehow Monica fit into it as if she’d always belonged there. She challenged him, grounded him, and saw past his reputation, the blood on his hands, straight to the man underneath. No one had ever made him want to be better, to come home instead of just surviving the night. She felt like home to him. Loving her felt like both a risk and a certainty, and that terrified him more than any enemy ever had. But if this was the price of having Monica in his life, Kanewould pay it gladly, every single day, and consider himself the luckiest bastard breathing.
