A pain hits me in the chest and I realise that it isn’t just Riggs and Anna going through this. We’re all hurting.
“Promise me that we’ll be okay. I see you as a sister,” I say and Anna smiles, setting a coffee in front of me.
“Always,” she says. “Now, tell me something about your life so I don’t think about babies or men.”
I take a deep breath. “I kissed Chains.” I figure it won’t hurt to tell Anna seeing as she doesn’t plan on speaking to Riggs. She gasps and then breaks into a grin.
“You kept that quiet. I mean, Riggs always thought that Chains had a soft spot for you, but I didn’t see this coming at all.”
I shake my head dismissively. “There’s nothing between us. He said we should keep it quiet and that's fine but . . . ” I trail off.
“But?” Anna pushes.
“But I can’t stop thinking about that kiss and him.”
“Is that a bad thing? Chains is a nice guy and he’s hot.”
“You know how I feel about making my life different. I don’t want to be stuck as an ol’ lady bringing up kids and looking after a man like he’s my king.”
Anna smiles and pats my hand. “You see it as very one-sided, which is weird seeing as you grew up in the club life. You treat him like a king and you stand as his queen. The guys in the Kings respect their ol’ ladies, you know that.”
“I don’t know why we’re discussing it. Riggs won’t ever allow it.”
“So, you’ve thought about it?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Chains doesn’t like me in that way. I kissed him. I threw myself at him, in fact.”
“Leia, if you like Chains, then speak to him and speak to Riggs. It’s time they all saw you for the woman you’ve become and not the little kid of the club. Why don’t Eva and I give you a makeover this weekend? We could all visit the salon, it’d be fun.”
I find myself agreeing, but I don’t plan on telling Chains anything.
CHAINS
Riggs hitting the road makes me jealous. The pull of the tarmac is strong this week and being around Leia is getting harder. All the more reason to get on my bike and get the hell outta here.
She’s walking across the parking lot with the same nerd who waits for her every morning when I drop her at University. He’s carrying her backpack and she’s laughing at whatever he’s saying to her. I’ve watched him staring at her longingly all week and I’ve thought about throat punching him over a hundred times at least.
They slow down as they approach me. “So tonight?” He smiles and she nods. “Eight o’ clock?” She nods again and I glance back and forth between them. What the fuck is happening at eight?
The nerd smiles at me and hands me her backpack. “Take care of her.” He winks and slaps me on the arm. I raise my brow at his show of male dominance and the urge to throat punch hits me again.
“Get on the bike, Leia,” I growl and she presses her lips together in a way that tells me she’s stifling a laugh. “Now.”
Nerd boy watches us drive away. I want to run over his foot, but I settle for giving him my best pissed look. I stop the bike ten minutes later outside a salon. “Cree’s picking us up when we’ve finished here,” she smiles.
“What’s happening at eight tonight?” I ask coldly. “And don’t say it’s a date.” Riggs might not be around, but he wouldn’t let her go on a date, and I intend to keep things as he’d like them.
“No, a group of us are meeting.”
“Right, well, I’ll be ready for eight.” I have a meeting with Vinn, but I’ll cancel. I want to keep my eye on Leia closely until Riggs returns.
“You really don’t need to. We’ll be just up the road from the Windsor. I’ll be with Anna and Eva too.”
“Anna?” I growl. She can’t go to a bar—Riggs would bust a nut.
“She isn’t drinking. I guess she knows she can relax with Riggs not being around.”
“Then I’m definitely coming.” I drive away before she can argue.
“Fuck, brother, did you see the girls tonight?” asks Gears. “I know she’s the Pres’s sister, but man, if she wasn’t . . . ” He fake bites his knuckle and then begins tapping me discreetly and nodding to the stairs. Eva makes her way towards us and she looks great, but my eyes are fixed on Leia. Her hair is wavy and it frames her beautiful face perfectly. She looks different, maybe more grown up. She’s wearing tight black pants and a low cut fitted tee. But the thing that really sets my heart racing is the leather jacket she’s wearing. She looks hot. “Do ya see what I mean, brother?” whispers Gears and I nod my head slowly. I don’t trust myself to speak.
“Who’s she trying to impress?” grumbles Rock. “Riggs would have a fit if he saw her looking like that.”
“I dunno, but it’s about time she looked her age. Maybe now he’ll stop babying her,” says Gears and Rock laughs.
“And look how you asses are drooling over her. He’d hate it for that reason alone.”
“Brother, I can take the girls out if you wanna go meet Vinn,” says Cree and I shake my head. There’s no way I’m taking my eyes off Leia tonight. “Suit ya self,” he mutters.
We pick Anna up on the way and I park the truck in the parking lot at the Windsor. I’ve barely stopped before Leia is out the truck and encouraging the girls to get out too. “Wait,” I growl.
“You can follow us in. You don’t have to be at my side,” she huffs. But looking as good as she does, I know exactly where I need to be all evening.
I groan as I follow them inside the bar. Leia’s hot friend is amongst the group waiting for her along with nerd boy. They all greet like they haven’t seen each other in a month and I roll my eyes. Leia’s friend places a well-manicured hand on my chest. “You got me into so much trouble.” She smirks and I feel Leia watching us.
“It was a bit of fun, darlin’. You never said you were taken.”
She giggles. “Well, you didn’t stop to ask. It doesn’t matter now anyway because Colin packed his things and left me for good. I’m completely free and single, which means anytime you want some fun, head to my place.” She winks at me and then turns back to the group. I think she was going for sultry and sexy—it didn’t work. There’s no way I can go there again when her eyes are full of hope.
I stay close to the group, parking my ass at the table next to them. I stare down at my phone, pretending I’m not listening to their conversation about Leia’s virginity. My hands grip the phone so tight, I'm afraid the screen might crack. Nerd boy has the same annoyed expression on his face. He’s clearly not happy as the girls try and encourage Leia to place some stupid ad to sell her V card.
Anna knows I’m listening. She isn’t stupid and she tries hard to talk the group down. “Leia should wait until she finds a nice guy. Anyone could buy her. It could be an old, eighty-year-old with a pot belly and foul breath. Leia, you’re stunning. What you have is so special and it should be given to a man you love.” Anna’s eyes flicker to me before settling back on Leia.