She looked upset.
Fuck.
“What did you say to her?”
I scowled. “Nothing.”
My friend crossed his arms. “You gave her shit about Brooks.”
The asshole knew me too well. Probably because we were so much alike. Dane would have done the exact same thing before he locked Everly down. “Brooks is a prick.”
“You had your chance and you blew it.”
I scowled. “I was going away for months, what the fuck was I supposed to do?”
Dane gave me a look that said I was a dumbass. “Ask her if she wanted to wait? Do the long-distance thing? Anything but what you did.”
I flipped him off. I didn’t want to talk about Lila anymore, or my reasons for ending it. “I didn’t come here to be insulted…speaking of, why the hell am I here?” I quirked a brow.
Dane had asked me to come into the shop next time I was in town. Today was that day. I did the Black Stone-to-Rocktown ride regularly. But I’d come back sooner than I’d planned. And there was no point bullshitting myself why. I’d wanted to catch a glimpse of Lila.
I had.
And I’d fucked it up royally.
I’d envisioned a million different versions of our reunion in my head. None of them had included me acting like a jealous pick or her mocking me for being a soft-cock-loser.
Dane leaned on the counter as Cal walked out, his client behind him.
“Cassy’s pregnant,” Dane said.
I lifted my hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me.”
Cal growled under his breath as he took money from the guy with him. His client walked out and Cal turned to us.
“You back at Bunkers?” Dane’s older brother asked me.
“Not yet.” Bunkers Tattoo and Piercing was Ramblers owned and where I’d worked before I went away. I hadn’t gone back yet. I’d been helping Soph settle in, which had been tough. She was confused and, despite my brother being a violent asshole, heartbroken. She’d just moved out of my place and in with her sister, and I hoped getting away from me, from our family, would be good for her. “Why?”
“Cassy gets bad morning sickness. She was…hospitalized when she was pregnant with Jack. I’m gonna take over the ranch full-time, look after my wife and my boy for a few months at least. We have plenty of work here if you’re interested. And the apartment upstairs is empty.”
Huh.
That, I hadn’t expected.
I hadn’t felt right since I came home. Part of that was worrying about Sofia constantly, making sure she didn’t flip out and run back to Trip. But also, my place didn’t feel the same. I didn’t know what it was, but I was restless. Probably because I’d been on the road for so long?
Whatever it was, maybe working here for a while would be a good thing, for me and for Soph. She’d been leaning on me heavily. Which was fine with me, but she needed to find her new normal and I got the feeling that was hard for her with me around all the time reminding her of Trip. Right now, she was solid with her sister, and Rocktown was still close if she needed me.
And Lila’s here.
That little fact went right in the pros and cons list.
Con: Because she wasn’t mine anymore, and seeing her with someone else would seriously fuck me up.
Pro: Because this was Lila, and I fucking wanted to see her no matter what.
“Yeah, sounds good. I’m in.” I had to be a masochist or dumb as shit to agree to this. I was going with the latter.
“Just like old times, brother,” Dane said.
Dane had lived in Black Stone for a while and finished his apprenticeship with me at Bunkers before he and Eves got together, which is how we’d gotten tight.
I snorted. “Except without all the drinking, fucking, and fighting.”
“I have a girlfriend. I’m not dead,” Dane said. “Eves and I regularly drink and fuck.”
“Showoff.”
Dane smirked.
I glanced at Cal, who was observing us, frowning. “Have no fear, Cal, my man. I’ll be on my best behavior. I swear no besmirching the Rocktown Ink name.”
Dane’s phone beeped, and he checked it.
Cal’s lips twitched, an almost smile. “Glad to hear it. Right, I need to clean up.” He headed back to his room, and I turned back to Dane.
“What’re you doing tonight. Bar?”
“Nah, that was Eves. She’s having her girls over later. I’ve been sent a list of shit to get, and I said I’d be sober driver to take them all home later. I’ll spend my evening banished to the workshop in the garage.”
“That mean Lila will be there?”
“Dude…”
“I’m only thinking about you, all by yourself in the garage. That’s just mean, especially since I’ve been gone so long. I’ll come over, we’ll have some quality bro time.”
“Bro time?” Dane laughed. “Where the hell have you been the last few months?”
“Shut up and get me the keys to my new apartment. I’ll get my shit tomorrow.”
Dane opened the drawer behind the counter and handed me a bundle of keys. “You think you should be trying to talk to her again?”
I pulled off my hat and rubbed a hand over my cropped hair. “Probably not. But I was a dick to her earlier. I’d like the chance to smooth things over.”
Dane gave me an odd look, like the words coming out of my mouth were foreign. How bad was it that he was actually shocked that I gave a shit?
“Fine, but if you upset Lila, Eves will get upset, and I don’t need my woman pissed at me, brother.”
“I’ll be good.”
“You fucking better be.”
I swiped my fingers across my chest. “Cross my heart.”
“That shit only works if you have one,” Dane deadpanned.
Wasn’t that the truth.
I headed upstairs to check out the apartment and figure out how I was going to get Lila to talk to me again.
Lila
“What’s in these again?” Addie said to Quinn as she walked back in with another pitcher of fruity cocktail.
“Coconut rum,” she said and winked. “You know I don’t get to flex my cocktail-making muscles at The Mule often, so as always you’re my guinea pigs.” Quinn was Bull’s wife, and she was a cocktail-making genius.
Eves took a deep sip of hers. “We’re more than happy to oblige.”
“I second that,” I said and held my glass out for Quinn to top off.
“So what’s Brooks up to tonight?” Trix asked, eyes sparking with mischief.
I was between her and Eves on the couch. Quinn and Addie sat across from us on big, comfy chairs, and they all turned to me expectantly.
Don’t make me talk about myself. My stomach squirmed unhappily and I had to fight not to dip my head, to shrink in on myself.
Eves, Quinn, and Trixie knew about my past, but Addie did not. “Um…I’m not sure. We’re just keeping things super casual, you know. We’re just hanging out.”
“Do you like him?” Quinn asked, her gray eyes on me and as always seeing way too much.
I sipped my drink to stall.
Eves nudged me with her elbow. “It’s just us, Ly.”