I smiled at Pippa. “You’re my favorite future sister-in-law today.”
She tilted her head. “Thank you. But, why?”
“Yeah, why?” Jenna pouted.
“Look how happy you make him.” I jerked my chin toward my brother.
Pippa glowed. “He makes me happy, too. He’s a dream come true.”
“Awe,” Jenna swooned. “I wonder which one of us will get engaged first. We’re all gonna have to make a pact for no ugly bridesmaid dresses.”
“Cheers to that,” I raised my glass.
Dad and Laura were at the far end of the circle sitting near Rudy and Delia as well as Rob and Bertie (Ella’s mom and dad). Edge and Blow sat at that end, too. Tonight, though, Blow was on his own. We hadn’t seen Marlena. He still had the remnants of a black eye and he’d apparently been in a mood. There were other bikers and their women around from both charters as well as a few from our Rapid City charter.
Delia loved her party and she was totally surprised that we’d done it. She thought she and Rudy were going away for a weekend in Vegas. He was taking her the next day instead for a mini getaway and at the tail end of their time, he had arranged for several of her friends to meet up with her at a spa for further pampering.
We surprised her with a party with her favorite foods and lots of presents. The people who had their kids here earlier had either gone or sent the kids to sitters and now it was bonfires and music.
I saw Christian approach Delia with a key in his hand.
She had been stretched back, relaxing with a drink in her hand. She sat up straighter as if to get up. I dashed over.
“Did I fuck up?”
“Key don’t work,” Christian muttered.
Me and Ella had organized guest rooms but had done it quickly while getting set up for the surprise party.
“I’ll figure it out, Aunt Delia. The birthday girl should just relax. Follow me,” I told him.
“You sure, sweetness?” she asked, straightening the tiara we’d put on her head earlier.
I waved my hand. “I’ll bring you another drink on my way back.”
“Don’t worry, sugar. I still got a full one.”
I blew her a kiss.
Christian followed me to the front office, and it felt like a long walk, though it wasn’t.
“You hittin’ the hay so early?” I asked.
“Wanted to throw my shit in there, charge my phone.”
I guessed he’d been playing pool or something in the bar room. We had a big space here that was set up like a nightclub so it was the second most popular spot at club parties as the night wore on, the most popular being the fire pit area outside at the side of the building beside the covered patio.
I looked at his key. The room number was partly smudged on the plastic tag, so Ella had probably given him the wrong one.
“Here. I’ll take the master key for your room.” I consulted the list to look up his room number. “402?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit. Maybe it’s the key for 407. The two on this key tag is questionable. 407 is…” I consulted my list. “Scooter and Deanna. Let me go check this key against his door. I’ll come find you?”
“Yeah.” he said, arms folded across his broad chest.
I stared at his muscles. He was in faded jeans, black boots, and wore a black long-sleeved Harley t-shirt under his Dom cut that strained against his muscles. He had a leather backpack slung over one shoulder. His beard had been freshly trimmed, by the looks of it. I wanted to touch it. I shook off that urge as I watched him turn and walk away, my eyes on his butt. He glanced over his shoulder and caught me staring. I smiled. He didn’t react.
I took his key and headed down to the 400 block of rooms.
I could’ve just given him the master key, but it made more sense to figure out the mix-up because it was likely that Scott and Deanna were also going to have trouble getting into their room.
Deanna and Scott were making out up against their door and they were going at it hot and heavy.
“Oh hey,” I interrupted. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Scott was devouring her throat with kisses. Her head was against the door, her hands on his shoulders.
“Don’t tell us to get a room, Jojo, cuz we got one and we can’t get into it,” Dee informed me, hair messy and eyes filled with lust. They were both drunk and ready to start their private party.
“Try this.” I held up a key.
Scott nabbed it while still kissing her neck, and stuck it in the door. It worked.
“Oh yay,” I clapped my hands.
“’Night Jojo,” Scott said, still not looking up from his woman’s throat, while he dragged her inside. She looked only too happy to go.
“Wait. Gimme the one that didn’t work.”
He wasn’t thrilled about that red light and it took them a few minutes to figure out what they’d done with it. Deanna finally found it on the floor under their overnight bag. The tag didn’t have a number at all so that explained the mix-up. She said Ella had just told her the room number.
I wondered for a second why it was taking people until well after midnight to go to their rooms with their bags but then I remembered hearing that Bronto would be driving the Mystery Machine bus up to get whoever needed a lift there and back as some of us were staying later Sunday than others. Most of the Aberdeen gang had stowed their luggage in it.
I hadn’t seen Bronto all night so assumed he had just arrived, hence people suddenly being on the move with their gear. Girlfriends coming along definitely meant more gear than a typical overnight for a biker where he might not even bother to bring a change of clothes.
Sunday afternoon, the clubhouse was the venue for a wedding shower for Tracy and Victor, who were a relatively new couple, but getting news that Tracy was up the duff, they were having a shotgun wedding. She was a biker chick, for sure, but one who said she didn’t wanna be showing as preggers in her white wedding gown. They were getting married in a few weeks. We’d be planning a baby shower in the near future, too.
***
“Mystery solved, here,” I said to Christian, holding up the key to his actual room. “I tested it and you’re all set.”
He’d been sitting at the very end of the long bar in the nightclub room with Jesse and they looked deep in conversation.
“Sorry to interrupt,” I told Jesse.
He gave me a nod.
“Where’s Gianna these days?”
He gave me a shake of his head and a look of aggravation. He looked downright pissy.
I frowned. Were they finished already?
“Oh no, I’m sorry if it didn’t work out for you guys.”
I’d never even gotten the chance to talk to her about her thing with Jesse, about her finally getting a biker of her very own like she’d wanted for such a long time. He was away with her at our cabin while their thing started, then they showed up to make an appearance ---a pointed one --- at the charity carwash, and then she seemed as if she just vanished.
He shook his head. “She wasn’t about to come here to be treated like shit by the wives and girlfriends,” he said. “Or the members,” he muttered gruffly.
“Gia and me are pretty tight, Jess,” I told him. “She wants to come to anything, anything, I will have her back. I promise. If she’s yours, she should be at all these things.”