The Night Before I Became His Wife, the Night He Became a Father Chapter 09

The Night Before I Became His Wife, the Night He Became a Father Chapter 09

I was at a quiet live-music bar in New York City.

As the song onstage came to an end, I snapped out of my daze.

When I turned my head, I realized Miles was watching me with a smile, a beer glass in his hand.

Years of maritime rescue work had tanned his skin into a healthy bronze.

His close buzz cut made him look wild, sharp, and clean.

That was the same face I had seen when I woke up in the emergency room that day, except back then, his eyes had been bloodshot.

“Ivy, don’t you dare fall asleep. If you do, then I risked my life dragging you out of the ocean for nothing.”

“In other words, I’m the one who pulled you back from death. Unless I agree, no one gets to take you away.”

“The bad days are over. When you wake up, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever bullies you again. If I fail, I’ll let the guys use my head as a soccer ball.”

I survived on those broken, scattered words of encouragement.

After that, with help from him and his rescue teammates, we staged a fake funeral and erased my old identity.

Today was the official launch of the Dolphin Rescue Team, the independent rescue team Miles had founded.

And I was the only woman on the team.

“Hey, Ivy, when are you going to learn how to swim? I can teach you,” one teammate asked with concern while munching on bar pretzels beside me.

“As if she needs you,” another man teased, winking at Miles with the gleeful look of someone watching drama unfold. “Captain Grant already signed himself up for that.”

Miles could barely keep the grin off his face, but he still put on an aggrieved expression. “The student has to agree first, doesn’t she?”

I could not help laughing softly.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Coach Grant.”

He immediately sat up straight and leaned closer. “Maritime rescue is risky. Your swimming skills have to be solid, and that means a lot of time training. Have you thought it through?”

Before I could answer, someone beside us started heckling.

“Hey, Ivy, let me translate that for you. What Captain Grant means is that if you say yes, you’ll basically be tied to him twenty-four seven from now on.”

“But don’t worry. Coach Grant doesn’t talk money.”

“Exactly. Coach Grant talks romance.”

Everyone burst into laughter. Even with the lights dim and Miles’s skin so sun-browned, I could still faintly see the tips of his ears turning red.

Just as the atmosphere was growing warmer, I suddenly noticed
Miles’s expression stiffen.

Then his brows slowly drew together, and the look he aimed at the
bar entrance was unmistakably hostile.

The room fell silent in an instant.

I turned and followed his gaze.

A cool, distant figure I had almost forgotten stood there.

He was staring at me in shock.