“Oh my God, look how cute these horses are!” Dixie was a tall, slim, strikingly beautiful and tough-looking redhead. She wore skintight jeans and high-heeled black boots that rivaled the height of Jillian’s heels. Her black Whiskey Bro’s tank top revealed colorful tattoos decorating her arms.
“They’re pretty stinking cute,” Jace said.
“Thanks. The white one is Annabelle, and the brown one is Alfie. He’s my littlest.” Trixie loved seeing the horses so well behaved, and seemingly happy, with other people.
“Do you bring them to birthday parties?” Dixie pushed to her feet. “My niece’s and nephew’s birthdays are next month. They would go nuts over them.”
“I’d love to bring them to a party. No charge, of course, because you’re Nick’s friends and it’ll be my first birthday party with them.”
“Thank you. That would be great. I’m Dixie, by the way.” She pulled Trixie into a hug, as if they’d been friends forever. “Seems like our badass men have something in common besides riding motorcycles. Dixie and Trixie? We could start our own strip club.”
The guys laughed, and then they scowled, which made the girls laugh.
Trixie liked her already. “Is Dixie your real name?”
“Dixie Lee Whiskey-Stone, the one and only. How about you?”
“My parents aren’t quite as cool as yours.” Trixie snuck a peek at Nick and Jace, talking about the horses, and lowered her voice. “Patricia Ann Jericho, aka Trixie.”
Nick cocked his head, his brow wrinkled. “Is that true, darlin’? I gotta start calling you Patty. Or do you prefer Patty Ann?”
She planted a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “You call me either one and you’ll be sleeping alone.”
“That’s right, girlfriend.” Dixie slung an arm over Trixie’s shoulder. “I like this woman, Nick. You’d better do right by her.”
“Get in here, you pain in my ass.” Nick pulled Dixie into a hug. “How are you doing?”
“Fanfuckingtastic.”
As Dixie stepped out of his arms, Nick reached for Trixie’s hand. “Jace, this is my girl, Trixie. Trix, my buddy Jace.”
Trixie’s heart turned over at my girl.
Jace’s dark eyes moved between the two of them, and a slow smile appeared, softening his rough edges. His eyes glittered like he knew something the rest of them didn’t. “It’s nice to meet you, Trixie. Bring it on in.” He opened his arms and drew her into a warm embrace.
“Thanks for letting us come by,” Trixie said, and Nick put his hand on her lower back, holding the horses’ leads in his other hand. He always had things under control.
“I have to admit, when Nick asked if he could come by with his girlfriend and her miniature horses to ride the elevator, I don’t know which part of that piqued my curiosity more—miniature horses riding an elevator, or the fact that Nick Braden had a girlfriend.”
“Oh, please.” Dixie rolled her eyes. “That’s what people said about you, too. I was right there, but you took forever to notice me.”
“We have something else in common. I had a crush on Nick forever, but I didn’t think he noticed,” Trixie said.
“Seriously?” Dixie said incredulously, eyeing Nick. “This woman could make millions on OnlyFans.” OnlyFans was a subscription site that allowed content creators to monetize their pages and charge subscription and/or one-time fees for access to mainly X-rated content.
“Christ.” Nick pulled his hat lower on his head. “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
Jace laughed a deep, rumbling laugh. “Because you missed us. Come on, let’s get this show on the road. We took the afternoon off to go riding. You and Trixie should join us. We haven’t gone riding together in a long time.”
“You ride horses?” Trixie asked.
Jace scoffed and Dixie laughed. Jace pulled his shoulders back, which made him appear even bigger, and said, “Motorcycles.”
“Oh, of course. Sorry.” Trixie shifted her attention to Nick. “I just realized you haven’t gone out on your bike since I got here.”
Nick glanced at the horses, then dragged his eyes down her body and cocked a grin. “We’ve been a little busy.”
“I bet you have,” Dixie said with a wink. “You should come riding with us. We’re going to Capshaw Island. It’s your kind of place. We can see the wild horses.”
Nick pulled Trixie closer. “You want to go on a ride when we’re done?”
Trixie’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest. “Are you seriously asking if I want to go on a motorcycle ride with you? That’s as big of a deal—an honor, really—as going on the morning trail ride with you. Heck yes, I want to. But do you need to practice for your show?”
“Let’s see. You, on the back of my bike, or me on the back of a horse? Darlin’, there’s no question in that equation.” He leaned in and kissed her.
Dixie looked confused. “You haven’t ridden with him before?”
“No. But I’ve wanted to.” Even Trixie could hear the lustful way she said it.
Dixie leaned closer. “Girl, I totally hear ya on that one. There’s no bigger aphrodisiac than Jace on a motorcycle.”
“Have you seen Nick on his?” Trixie laughed.
Jace and Nick exchanged a head shake.
Jace slung an arm around Dixie and said, “Let’s head inside and Trixie can tell us about her business and how long this thing between her and Nick has been going on.”
“I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous about taking the horses inside.” Trixie had been trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, but she had to get them out. “There are so many cars in the parking lot. You must have a huge staff.”
“We do, but I held a staff meeting this morning and told everyone that you’d be coming through,” Jace reassured her. “They’ve been told not to approach the horses. I also asked if anyone might be anxious or afraid around them, just in case, but nobody was.”
Trixie exhaled with relief. “Thank you. That’s perfect. I’m sure Annabelle and Alfie will be fine. As you can see, they’re calm. It’s just me that’s nervous.”
They spent the next hour and a half walking the horses through the building, riding the elevators, meeting staff, and maneuvering around equipment and furniture. Jace and Dixie were more than accommodating. They introduced Trixie to employees, turned on different machines in the workshop and office to see how the horses would react, and when Trixie asked them to, they walked into the horses’ paths to see if the horses would stop on command. They also loved up Trixie’s babies just as she and Nick did. She was so proud of Annabelle and Alfie. They didn’t startle or balk as they made their way through different floors, and Trixie’s nervousness subsided. Dixie and Jace asked dozens of questions about her business, and Trixie enjoyed responding to them. When she told them about how Nick had surprised her with the hospital equipment, she felt a different sense of pride. One of being as special to him as he was to her.
“Most guys would go with diamonds or flowers,” Dixie teased.