He stares at her for a second before nodding. “Is that all?”
“Yes,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to the floor. Blaze walks out of the office and as soon as he sees Tawny, his eyes narrow into a glare.
“What the fuck did I tell you would happen if I ever saw you in my clubhouse again?”
Tawny takes a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’m leaving.”
“Get, then. And don’t let me catch you around here again. You are not welcome.”
She turns and practically runs from the building and when the door shuts behind her, everyone lets out a breath. Blaze sighs as he turns to Moose and slaps his shoulder.
“You all right?”
“Yeah,” Moose says with a nod before nodding his head to the closed door Tawny just disappeared behind. “Ready to finally put that mistake behind me though.”
“You have, brother,” Chance tells him as he slides back into his chair and crosses his legs. “You got your old lady now.”
Moose nods, fighting back a smile. “Yeah, I do.”
“You fuckers disgust me,” I growl, rolling my eyes as I turn toward the bar and down half of my beer, jealousy ripping through my gut.
“Speaking of which,” Moose continues, ignoring me. “I have some news. Juliette is pregnant.”
A huge grin splits his face as Chance and Storm jump up to run over and congratulate him as bitterness twists through me and I finish off the rest of my beer. Shit, I’ve got to be the worst fucking brother to these guys because all their good news only reminds me of everything I don’t have and no matter how hard I try, I can’t force the jealousy down. As everyone disperses after giving Moose a slap on the back, I slip into a bar stool and grit my teeth. Moose sits down next to me and looks up at the TV as a rerun of a football game plays on the screen.
“You all right, brother?” he asks and I nod, reaching over the bar to throw my beer bottle away.
“I’m good.”
He nods for a minute before turning to me. “You know we’re not fucking idiots, right? We can all see that you’re going through something.”
“Don’t worry. I really am working on it,” I tell him, my mind drifting to my date in a couple hours before going back to Tawny’s confession and apology. Something about it nags at me but I can’t figure out what it is. “Hey, let me ask you something…”
“What?”
“Who do you think that guy was that Tawny met at the bar?”
Moose stares up at the TV for a second before shrugging and glancing over at me. “Who fucking knows? If I had to guess, I would say it was Gavin but, at this point, I’ve got better things to focus on.”
“Yeah, I suppose you do. Congrats, by the way,” I tell him and he nods.
“Thanks. I’m just glad Juliette wasn’t here when Tawny walked in,” he replies, his eyes widening as he blows out a breath and I laugh.
“Your girl got a jealous streak?”
He scoffs. “No, more like protective and someone would have had to hold her back.”
“Sounds like a good problem to have.”
“I suppose,” he answers with a laugh. “Just not while she’s got my baby in her belly.”
I nod, my gaze drifting back to the TV. “Good point.”
“How are the cases looking?”
“Good,” I answer, nodding my head as I continue staring up at the TV, my mind consumed with thoughts of what it would be like to finally have all the things in my life that I’ve been looking for. The guys in this club have always been good men, the kind of guys you know you can always count on but after they each met their women, there was this peace that settled over them and I feel like a caged tiger every damn day as I watch their happiness play out in front of me.
“You got any leads?”
I nod. “Maybe. I’ve got Streak looking something for me so we’ll see.”
“Fuzz… are you really okay?” he asks and when I turn back to him, he’s studying me with concern on his face. I release a breath as I nod and slip off my bar stool, slapping him on his shoulder.
“Yeah, brother. I’m good.”
I can feel his eyes on me as I walk out of the clubhouse and into the parking lot where my bike is waiting for me. I swing my leg over and brace my hands on my thighs, thinking about my date this afternoon. Jesus, I need this to go better than the last two and I hope like hell, the next time I tell someone I’m good, I’ll really mean it.
Chapter Eight
Piper
Drawing a nervous breath into my lungs, I yank down the visor and check my reflection in the mirror before climbing out of my car. As I look up at the restaurant, I smooth my hands over the short little skirt Eden forced me to wear to my date and mentally prep myself for this. It’s not like I haven’t dated since leaving Wyatt but I still don’t have a ton of experience and when you add in the fact that I have no idea who I’m meeting, it makes it even more nerve-wracking.
I can’t believe I agreed to this.
After Eden agreed to not contact Wyatt, she sat next to me for nearly two hours flicking through endless guys on her dating app and forced me to choose three that I could see myself going on a date with. Then, she skipped off to the back of the studio and told me not to stress my pretty little head, that she would handle everything. I spent all morning peppering her with questions but all she would tell me is that my date would meet me at our favorite table at Mama Adele’s - a cute little comfort place that Eden and I absolutely love - and the mischievous little smirk on her face as she sent me off an hour ago only made my nerves worse.
Shaking my head, I push off the car and hold my head up high as I walk through the parking lot toward the front door. You know, it’s not even whatever guy is waiting for me on that other side of the door that I have a problem with. It’s that I’m almost thirty damn years old and I don’t want to date anymore. This isn’t what was supposed to happen with my life and even from the time I was a little girl, I always knew what I wanted and then… one night changed everything and I still haven’t recovered. Sighing, I reach up and run the tips of my fingers over the raised skin of the scar running down the side of my neck as a shiver works its way down my spine. I shake my head, pushing the unpleasant memories from my mind. That is the very last thing I need to be thinking about before I go on a date with a man I’ve never met before.
As I walk alongside the building, I turn my head and gaze in the big picture windows, trying to get a look at our table and my mystery guest. I stumble as my gaze lands on the man sitting there. I press a shaking hand to my chest as my heart starts racing and my stomach flips. Every thought in my head screeches to a halt and all I can see is him.
Oh, God.
She didn’t…
“No,” I hiss as he turns in my direction and hoping to everything that is holy that he won’t see me as I race back to my car as fast as I can in the four inch heels Eden insisted I wear.
I’m going to kill her.
Pulling my phone out of my purse, I slip behind the wheel and slam the door shut before dialing her number and putting it on speakerphone. My heart thunders out of control and I can’t keep my eyes off of the restaurant as the phone rings. Jesus Christ. What the hell was Eden thinking? My body is in chaos, conflicting emotions waging war in my chest and tears sting my eyes as I lean my head back against the headrest and suck in a stuttered breath.