Mom grinned. “I won’t say no to that.”
“Who wants to play pool?” My dad asked.
“Me!” Brandon said. “Can I, Mom?”
“You and your sister clear,” Emily said. “And then you’re free.”
Mitch chuckled. “I’ll help, then I’m gonna beat my kids’ butts at pool.”
“Not even gonna happen, Dad,” Amelia droned.
“We’ll see, honey.”
She chuckled and started to clear the table.
Once Emily and I were blissfully alone in the kitchen, she scraped plates while I rinsed and loaded the dishwasher.
“Okay, girlie, spill,” Emily demanded.
I sighed. “The guy that fixed my car is gorgeous and confusing and scary. And he’s decided we’re ‘gonna get to know each other.’”
“Wow, all of that, huh?”
I nodded.
“Who is he?” she asked.
I bit my lip and dropped forks into the basket.
“Dani?”
“He’s a biker, Em.”
She cocked her head. “Like Tour de France?” she joked.
“Like Hells Angels.”
Emily nearly dropped a plate into the garbage can. “He’s in the Hells Angels?”
“No…Dogs of Fire.” I faced her and grimaced. “Right? I can’t do this.”
“Why can’t you do this?”
“Because all I keep coming back to is that all I know about motorcycle clubs is what I’ve seen on television, and that’s pretty limited. I have no idea if he’s a criminal or if he kills people. He says the club’s clean, but I’m just not sure.” I shook my head. “Even saying that out loud makes me sound like an idiot.”
“It doesn’t, honey,” Emily assured me.
“He’s gorgeous, Em, but he’s also really bossy and I think he’s used to having people do exactly what he tells them to do, because he gets all weird when I defy him. Like it’s alien to him.”
Emily laughed. “Welcome to the club, babe.”
“Really?”
“Hells yes. Mitch is the same way. Well, he was.”
“He was? But he’s so sweet with you and the kids.”
She smiled. “Yes, he is, but he’s also bossy and protective, and if another man looks sideways at me, or disrespects me, he’s pissy about it because he can’t beat the shit out of him. Or at least, he doesn’t do that anymore.”
“He beat people up?”
“Oh, honey, yes. When we were first together, it was a huge problem because I couldn’t just vent to him about the assholes I had to deal with. He’d actually go and have a “conversation” with them before I could work it out. He was constantly getting in my business and making things a lot harder for me. We had a come to Jesus meeting and when he still continued to do it, I dumped his ass.”
I gasped. “You didn’t.”
“I totally did.” She set a plate on the counter. “I needed him to understand that I was a grown ass woman and for the most part, could fight my own battles. I’m an officer of the law so to speak, I couldn’t have my man breaking it in order to make my life easier. I still have to be careful sometimes with how much I tell him, which is hard, because he’s my best friend, but he’s also much better about letting me work stuff out myself.”
“What if you can’t work it out?”
Emily bit her lip. “Then I have asked him not to use his fists.”
“Ohmigod, Em. Seriously?”
She nodded with a grin. “Sometimes it’s nice to have a badass husband willing to defend your honor.”
“I guess so.”
Danielle
Emily leaned against the counter. “Give me this guy’s info and I’ll run him through the system.”
I sighed. “Kimmie said I should do that, too. Of course, she said I should make Elliot do it.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “I wonder if there will ever be a woman able to resist him.”
I shrugged. “Doubtful.”
“We don’t need to get the men involved,” she said. “You and I can handle it on this end, I think.”
I grinned. “You’re the best sister ever.”
“Back atya.”
Family dinner wrapped up and after hugs all around, I headed home.
I arrived to find Austin waiting for me in the parking lot. He was standing next to one of the prettiest Harley-Davidsons I’d ever seen (limited exposure, of course, but it really was pretty) and he was dropping his phone into his jeans pocket as I stepped out of my car.
“Hi,” I said.
He lifted his chin. “Hey, babe.”
He closed the distance between us and leaned down to kiss me.
I smiled. “I thought you were busy tonight.”
“Had a break. Wanted to see my girl.”
This sent a thrill down my spine. “And who might that be?”
He chuckled. “How was dinner?”
“It was good,” I said, and started up the stairs. “How long’s your ‘break’?”
“I’ve probably got about an hour.”
“Want to come in for a drink or something?” I asked.
“Or somethin’.”
I unlocked my door, leading him inside. I shrugged out of my coat and hung it up, while Austin dropped his onto a chair and planted himself on the sofa. I grabbed him a beer, poured myself a glass of wine, and sat beside him on the couch. In the light, I could see the stress on his face and frowned.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Shit day.”
“Want to talk about it?”
He shook his head. “I can’t, babe.”
I sighed. “You look tired.”
“I am.” He took a sip of his beer.
“What time did you get to bed last night?”
“I didn’t.”
“Seriously?” I frowned. “Mack dropped me off at eleven. You didn’t go home after the meeting?”
“Had a thing.” He smiled tiredly. “Got about two hours of sleep this morning.”
I set my wine on the coffee table. “Have you eaten?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.