“Enough!”
Dog looked entertained.
This wasn’t how he wanted his dinner to go. Fuck!
“What are you going to do, Bishop? You know I’m right and now you’re back here, begging for forgiveness when the truth is this is your fault. Like a damn baby, you can’t accept responsibility for your own actions.”
“No, it’s not. If you’d spread your legs for me, this wouldn’t have been a problem. Milly was all about doing that.”
“Yeah, the very woman who decided to drug me and got me knocked up in the process. Let’s not forget about that. And there, my friends, is the truth. I refused to sleep with you, ended up knocked up by your dad, and it bugs you, doesn’t it? Why don’t you go run off? Plot some other form of revenge. You’re good with that and blaming other people for your own issues.” Robin slammed back down in her chair.
Her hand shook as she reached out for some water.
“I had no idea your family could be so entertaining,” Dog said.
“Why is he even here?” Bishop asked.
“I asked to be here. This is a debt being dealt with. It’s big boy stuff, you wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re here to have your fun,” Preacher said.
“I wasn’t the one who accepted the man who kidnapped his woman, or the son who allowed it to happen.”
“Can we stop, please?” Robin said. “This is … look, as you can clearly see, this isn’t easy for any of us and you’re going to cause a lot more trouble that’s not needed.”
“Which one do you love?” Dog asked.
She dropped her fork. “Is this guy for real?”
“I can see you have issues when it comes to the boy, and I get it. There’s an air of being spoiled around him, but your thoughts and feelings for Reaper and Preacher. What are they?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Enough, Dog.”
“Hear me out. I know I’m hitting on touchy fucking subjects and forgive me for not being tactful, but you got her pregnant first through an act of one of your club whores. Then, through the act of your son, she was taken from you, by this man. Now, I heard through the gossip how she was found. Beaten, broken, bruised, and yet, you’re still sitting here, having dinner with them as if it was all a game. As if nothing bad happened, when we all know how fucked up all of this is. You loved Preacher and yet you’re allowing this asshole to live. Tell me how odd that sounds.”
Preacher shook his head and he saw Robin was close to breaking.
“Excuse me.”
Without waiting for anyone to interject, Preacher got to his feet and followed her.
She hadn’t gone to her bedroom but to the nursery. She’d kicked off her shoes and stood beside the crib, fingering one of the blankets.
He closed the door and she turned to him, sniffling.
“A really intense dinner, huh?”
“It is.”
“I … I don’t know if I can go back down there.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want.”
“Like always, it’s you who comes to make sure I’m okay. Always.”
“They’re eating all the dinner. They’re loving it.”
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You must hate me.”
“I can’t hate you. I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell you this.”
“Really? You’ve got your son and the man you’ve hated more than anything sitting at your table, all because of me. I know you’ve had difficulty within the club. Am I worth all of this for you?”
“You want me to tell you to pick Reaper? That I don’t love you and you can go and be happy somewhere else? I won’t follow you for you to live out the rest of your days in peace and quiet?” he asked. “Because I’m never going to want you to do that. I hunted for you day and night. I’m not giving you up, not now, not ever. Not for anyone. You are mine, Robin.”
“I don’t want you to give me up, but look at us. We’re … it’s not going to work. Dog’s right. You shouldn’t want any of them there,” she said. “I know you want to hurt them.”
“I also know you’ve got to make a decision here, and I’m not going to take it away from you.” It would be easy for him to do so. To kill both Reaper and Bishop, but he didn’t want the easy way out. No, he wanted to do the right thing so when he won, Robin would come to him with open arms.
“This is all messed up.”
He stepped behind her, putting his hands on her hips and kissing her neck. “Life is all messed up, Robin. The only person who knows what to do next is you. I can wait for you. I’ve waited for a long time, and I can keep on waiting. I’m starting to realize I’m a really patient guy when it comes to you.”
She spun in his arms but he didn’t make a single move to touch her. “Why are you so good to me?”
“You’re the one for me. Always.” He took possession of her lips and she moaned, melting against him.
Gripping her ass, he pulled her close. She didn’t fight him. He relished the feel of her soft body against his. In the last few months, she’d started to put some weight on, and he had no problem with her curves. He loved to feel them rocking against his own.
“We need to go and finish dinner.”
“I don’t like your friend.”
“His heart is in the right place, I think. I don’t even know if he has a heart but where everyone kept giving up, he didn’t. He didn’t make me feel crazy for still looking for you. I also don’t believe he has a filter between his head and mouth. He just says what he wants to.”
She pulled away. “Okay. I can do this. It’s not hard, right? We’ve just got to get through all of this.”
“I’ll be with you. Remember that. No matter what, you can turn to me. Even with Bethany in your arms.” Saying her name finally didn’t have the sting he thought it would have.
They walked back down to the table and Preacher was shocked to see no one had killed themselves. It was a success.
****
Later that night, back in the safety of Anne’s home, Robin accepted the glass of wine poured for her and giggled as it had to be her third or fourth glass. She rarely drank, if ever. After what Milly did to her, she avoided alcohol. Getting through dinner with Preacher, Reaper, her father, Bishop, and Dog, well, anyone should be entitled to a drink in celebration.
“I thought he was going to stab him or something. You should’ve seen how tense it was,” Anne said. “Your dad kept on asking me a whole load of questions, though. Has he always been so nosy?”
“Nah, my dad and I aren’t on the best of terms at the moment. He thinks I’m a whore and well, he could be right. I don’t know.”
“You’re not a whore and the next time I see him, if I ever do, I’m going to slap him. No one calls my bestie a whore.”
“But I totally could be.” She started to laugh. “I’ve got two men. I’ve slept with both and I’ve got one of their babies, and I can’t even think about who I want to keep in my life.” The wine was making her loose. “This is the first time I’ve drank in a very long time. I like it. It feels nice. I’ve got a bit of a buzz.”