“Is this normal?” I demanded incredulously.
“Is what normal?” Grace asked.
“For the men in the club to be so… intense. I just met Cash, and he’s acting like it’s totally normal for him to be around all the time and to have someone guarding me.”
“It’s not normal,” Grace acknowledged. “Until they meet their woman.” She grinned. “They’re not related by blood, but the guys in the club seem to have that in common. Some of them fuck around more than others, but once they meet the girl that does it for them… that’s it.”
I stared at her incredulously. “And you’re saying I’m that person for Cash?” He’d alluded as much, but it was still hard for me to process.
“I’ve known Cash a long time,” Emmie murmured. “We both have,” she added, her eyes on Grace, “and I’ve never seen him take an interest in a woman like this. We gave him a bit of the third degree the other night,” she admitted.
“You didn’t!” I exclaimed, horrified.
“Hey, it’s what friends do,” she defended. “And I think it’s pretty safe to say he’s serious. Really serious. If you like him, and I think that you do,” she challenged with a raised brow, “then try to go with it, babe. I know you have a lot going on, but Cash seems to understand that. I never thought I’d say this, but I think he’ll be careful with you.”
“Why didn’t you think you’d say that?” I asked.
She sighed. “Let’s just say Cash wasn’t a choirboy before.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Right.”
“He also wasn’t a man whore,” Gracie put in before clapping her hands over her mouth and looking over at Riley.
I laughed. “It’s fine, she didn’t hear you. And that’s good to know,” I added dryly. “I think I need more wine.”
Just as I was about to pour another glass, the sound of a motorcycle rumbling down the street caught my attention.
I couldn’t deny that my heart pounded in response. Cash had said I’d see him tonight, I just hadn’t been ready to believe it.
“It’s Cash,” Emmie confirmed as she peered through the front blinds. She looked over her shoulder at me with a wink. “Told ya.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered, fighting a grin as she opened the door for him. I lost my breath for a moment when he walked in. When he wasn’t around, I could convince myself that he couldn’t really be that handsome. Then I’d catch sight of him and blow that theory all to hell.
Despite Emmie and Gracie’s presence, he only had eyes for me as he walked toward the kitchen. “Hi, baby,” he murmured, dropping a chaste kiss to my lips before turning to stride toward Riley. He dropped to his knees in front of her, giving her his full attention. “Hi, sweetheart,” he greeted. “How was school?”
“Good!” she replied with spark of excitement. “Eli let me hold his hand,” she boasted.
Cash shot me a comical look of alarm as I smothered my grin. “She has a bit of a crush on Eli,” I shared.
“She’s five!” he exclaimed. “She can’t have a crush.”
“It’s a five-year-old crush,” I assured him as Emmie and Gracie looked on with wide grins on their faces.
I cocked my head to the side. “What are you up to?”
“Came to have dinner with my girls,” he replied easily. “And I’m gonna get your new unit installed,” he added, referring to the boxes that Gunner had delivered that morning.
“We were going to order a pizza and watch a movie,” I replied. I’d been looking forward to it all day.
“Sounds perfect.” He stood up. “I’ll order.”
“We’ll just get out of your hair,” Gracie piped in as she and Emmie gathered their purses. “Bring her in if you want me to cut her hair,” she repeated the offer she’d made earlier regarding cutting Riley’s hair. Grace worked at a hair salon in town that I should make a point to visit myself in the near future.
“I will,” I promised, and I meant it. I hadn’t known Grace long, but I already felt like I could trust her. And judging from her gorgeous red locks, she took the whole hair thing seriously.
“Later, Cash.” Emmie waved. “Not that you really even knew we were here.” She laughed as they headed out the door. “I’ll call you, Layla!”
Cash was looking distractedly at his phone as I waved to the girls and began to rummage in the junk drawer for the pizza coupon I’d saved.
“Marty came over here today?” He demanded, looking up at me. No doubt my biker guard, who I now knew as X, had let him know.
“Yeah.” I shrugged.
“What the fuck for?” he growled, keeping his voice low and out of range of Riley, who was now engrossed in the toddler radio piping through the TV.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “X stalked up right behind him when he rang the doorbell. He didn’t come in. Plus, I think X would have ripped his arms off if he’d tried. He was saying something about my assets and how I needed to do some paperwork. I told him Gunner had it handled and basically to get lost.”
Dealing with the sleazy lawyer had been annoying but I hadn’t thought much of it until I saw how riled up Cash was over it. “Do I need to be concerned about this?” I asked him.
His gaze shot to Riley, who had lost interest in her music and was now watching us both intently. “Let’s talk about it later,” he replied in a much calmer tone. “I have a pizza to order.” He grinned toward Riley.
Chapter 10
CASH
“Tell me about the visit from Marty,” I prompted later that night. She’d just finished putting Riley to bed and we’d settled on the couch, her on one side, me on the other. I sensed she needed the space and I’d give her that—for now. I’d already pushed her limits by installing a state-of-the-art security system and forcing her to show me she knew how to use it, multiple times.
She stiffened, only for a moment but long enough to tell me everything I needed to know. Something about his visit hadn’t sat well.
Not that I was surprised. Martin Greenstein was a bottom feeder. The kind of man who preyed on those weaker than himself. The club had been keeping an eye on him for years, and I wanted nothing more than an excuse to take him down. If he so much as glanced sideways at Layla, that’d be enough for me.
“I pretty much told you everything already,” she replied. “He came to the door saying something about wanting me to produce some paperwork. Your guy had him by the collar before he could get much more out.”
I resolved to buy X a goddamned beer next time I saw him.
“It was just weird, you know? I mean, I’m no lawyer but everything with the house seemed taken care of. I don’t know Gunner well, but it seemed like he knows what he’s doing.”
“He does,” I interjected firmly.
She nodded in agreement. “So then, I just don’t get what he wanted. I wouldn’t need a lawyer for anything other than the deed to the house. I don’t understand what he wanted.”