Jackal (Heartlands Motorcycle Club #12)- Frankie Love Page 0,26

back. She licks her lips. "I mean, can you imagine 10, 20, 30 years together? We get to spend our whole life growing up with one another."

I smile at her. Her beauty filling the whole room. "Yeah, we're real fucking lucky, aren't we?”

She nods. "I got extra lucky because you may be the only man I've slept with, but I picked right — you take care of me so well.” She runs her hands under my shirt, then pulls it off. “I need to see your bare chest, your muscles.”

She traces her finger over my new tattoo, over my heart. It reads Lydia. She has a tattoo on her hip. A J with a heart over it, for me.

"You look so cute this morning," he says. "You're glowing, really."

She smiles. "Yeah, well, I have an anniversary gift to give you.”

"Really?" I look around for a gift. "What is it?"

"Aren't you going to give me a present first?" She twists her lips to hide a grin.

"Greedy much?" I say, laughing and stepping away. “Give me a second,” I say, chuckling as I walk to the bedroom. I come back with a jewelry box, handing it to Lydia. "Five years means something."

"What does it mean to you?” she asks.

"It means that anyone who thought this wouldn't last was wrong. We're stronger than ever, you and I."

She nods. "We are. You helped me every step of the way as I worked to graduate," she says, pride in her voice.

After five years, she finished her four-year degree and earned a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in photography. Her business is up and running and she has skills now beyond portraits.

After our honeymoon in Europe, she was captivated by landscapes and architecture, things she had never considered before, suddenly exposed to a world bigger than the one we previously knew existed.

Every year, we've saved our vacation days and our extra cash and gone on a month-long trip. Some people might think we're crazy, but I think we're adventurous, more of free-spirited than we even knew we were before we fell in love. I never had dreams of traveling the world when I was growing up. But with Lydia, suddenly we can’t get enough of seeing new things together, experiencing things for the first time with our hands held, our hearts entwined.

Every trip we take is like falling in love all over again. But instead of with one another, we're falling in love with a new place. It gives us a high that makes us feel alive. And I love that we found that spirit of adventure together.

I’ve taken over the auto shop and am now the owner. Five years in, I’ve proven myself time and time again. The brothers of the Heartlands are my family.

"Are you going to open it," I ask, "or are you just going to be thinking about the fact we get to leave town tonight?"

"I can't wait," she says. "I'm a little nervous though.”

"About what?" I ask.

As she holds the box in her hand, she bites her bottom lip. "Okay, I'm a little nervous because the flight to New Zealand is really long."

"We've taken long flights before," I say.

"Yeah, but…” She tilts her head to the side. "This one is different because I might have morning sickness."

There is a little lift to her voice and my eyes widen. "You're pregnant?"

She nods. "I am."

"Oh my God, baby. Really?"

"I know, it's crazy, but I'm pregnant. We're having a baby."

"Wow," I say, looking at her in a whole new way. "No wonder you're glowing."

"I know we weren't planning it, but—"

"No," I say, cutting her off. "It's perfect. You're going to be a mother."

"And you're going to be a father," she says, tears in her eyes.

"Damn, Lydia, how'd we get so damn lucky?" I brush her tears away and she brushes at mine.

"I love you so much,” she says. “I can't believe I have the honor of making a life with you."

"Stop it," I say. "I'm a goddamn biker, I shouldn't be crying."

"I don't think crying makes you less of a man. It makes you more of one in my book."

"We're going to have a baby," I say, shaking my head. "Are you going to be okay to fly? Should you see a doctor first?"

She nods. "I actually went to the doctor yesterday."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I was waiting for our anniversary. I thought it would be more romantic. But I wasn't feeling well and thought maybe I had the flu, and I was a little