Somehow, Duke’s pants got ripped while he was roughhousing with the kids, but he didn’t seem to even notice. He might prefer jeans and tees, but he was always neat and tidy in them, his shirts tucked in and his jeans worn but clean. Gen thought it a good look for him tonight, surrounded by friends and family. He seemed more carefree, happier, and definitely sexy, with his bare, muscled arms contrasting with his black leather vest, a black sleeveless tee tucked into his pants.
She didn’t think anything of it when he jumped up on a concrete picnic table with a microphone to talk to the crowd. As club president, he frequently aimed their parties in whatever direction he thought they should go.
However, when he asked Brain to bring her to him, she protested as she was lifted up and settled beside him.
“If you’re here,” he said to the assembled crowd, “then you know Gen, and you know I’m crazy about her. The club nicknamed her Duchess, and the title fits. I never quite understood why people in long-term relationships referred to their partner as their other half, but with Gen, I get it. She completes me, she makes me want to be a better man.”
Gen didn’t know what to say, she could only look at him, embarrassed to be standing on a table, but so caught up in his words, she could only stare.
He’d been looking at her when he talked before, but he’d been talking to the crowd. Now, he was speaking to her, and the crowd no longer mattered.
“Genesis, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you’re mine and I’m yours, but I want to make it official.” He held his hand out, and Gen saw the most beautiful ring she’d ever laid eyes on.
“Beautiful, will you marry me?”
Speechless, Gen just stood and stared at him. She didn’t breathe, didn’t blink, and it’s possible her heart didn’t beat.
“You’re killing me, Beautiful. Please say something.”
She still couldn’t speak, but she managed to nod her head and push her left ring finger towards the ring. Duke’s smile could’ve lit a football field as he put it on her finger and swept her off her feet as he wrapped her in his arms.
Gen’s arms went around his neck as she finally managed to say, “Yes. God, yes, I’ll marry you.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Heck no, I’m not signing that!”
“Gen, listen to your attorney. This isn’t about making plans for us to divorce, because that isn’t going to happen. This is about making sure my shit doesn’t run downhill to you. It keeps your business interests legally separate from me, and mine legally separate from you.”
“I don’t care. I’m not signing a prenup!”
“And I’m not saying ‘I do’ until I know we can do it and keep you protected from my business practices.”
“God, you’re stubborn!”
“Perhaps,” said Gen’s attorney, “we should step outside and let the two of you work this out?”
“No,” Duke told him. “It’s your job to explain to her why she needs something legal to protect her.”
“If Duke should get arrested for certain activities,” Gen’s attorney told her, his voice professional and succinct, “the government could freeze all of his assets, and in many cases confiscate them, permanently. If we’ve legally separated your assets from his, so it’s clear he has no claim and no control of anything belonging to you, then no government agency will be able to touch your assets. Marriage protects you in some ways, because you can’t be obligated to testify against him. However, it leaves you open in other ways, so we need to create documents to protect you and your assets.”
* * * *
“Are you sure?” Duke asked, his eyes incredulous. “I assumed you’d want a huge fairy tale wedding, with flowers and candles and live music and god knows what else.”
“No. I want to get married on my brother’s property, by the water. Bethany’ll stand with me, and I’m assuming Brain with you, and that’s it. I know we’ll have a lot of guests, but I want the ceremony to be simple. I mean, I’ll probably go extravagant with the dress, but otherwise, simple.”
“Well, if that’s the case, and you don’t want a big Catholic wedding, do you think my old MC president in Atlanta can marry us? Bud has his minister’s license. He isn’t a preacher, and he’s certainly more spiritual than religious. If you need someone better qualified to make your mom happy, I’ll understa—”
Gen put her finger to his lips and stopped him with, “He’s important to you, so it’s perfect. My mother adores you, she’ll deal with it.”