Is that why you can’t take your eyes off Roxy, Mr. Vice President?”
He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “She’s a lot better than looking at your ugly mug.”
I don’t disagree with him. Instead I get down to business. “How’s it going? Anything I need to know?”
There’s a vein throbbing in his forehead, so I know there’s something going on, even though he’s trying to act like he’s just having a night out with his wife and the mother of his child. “Yeah. No matter how much we try to stay clean, our past keeps catching up with us. The Blue Devils are encroaching on our territory. We’ve spotted them in town a few times, and although they haven’t tried anything, I know something’s coming. I can feel it in my gut.”
I know exactly what he’s talking about. I’ve learned to trust my gut over the years and it’s never steered me wrong. “I’ll keep an eye out. Let me know if I need to do anything.”
We sit there and talk about the happenings in the club before a slow song comes on. I get up and walk out to the dance floor and open my arms, and Kate instantly steps into them. Gage does the same with Roxy. I never thought I’d see the day when our gruff vice would be on the dance floor, but I’ve learned that women can do some amazing things to a man in love.
Kate running her hands up my chest brings me back to the present. She looks so happy, so at ease, and I wish I could keep her like this always. She doesn’t have to tell me that our worlds are different. I know they are. My world accepts us, no questions asked. The men of the Heartlands would defend her to the death if I asked them to. But her world? I have a feeling it’s not going to be the same. She can try to shy away from this all she wants, but it’s happening. We’re happening.
9
Kate
I stretch in my bed and snuggle into Bull’s heat. He’s right; last night was perfect. We had a good time. If his friends had any qualms about my age, they sure didn’t show it. They all went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Gage, Roxy, Ranger, Jaxon, Beckham, all the names started running together. They were a wild bunch, but it’s obvious they care about each other like family.
We had a great time, playing pool, dancing, and hanging out with his friends. And when it was time to leave, I asked him if he wanted to come to my house, mostly because I didn’t want it to end. The one-night stand has turned into so much more, and even though I knew it couldn’t last, I could at least enjoy it through the weekend.
So he took me to his house, I picked up my car, and he followed me home on his bike. I look over at him in my bed, surrounded by the white walls and furniture, with the white sheet pulled halfway up his body. He looks good in my bed, I can’t help but think.
But instead of dwelling on that, I go to the kitchen and start on breakfast. I’m only out of bed a few minutes before he’s at my back, his body surrounding mine, and he’s breathing me in. “I missed you,” he says before he kisses my neck.
I can’t help but stiffen at his words. This is good, almost too good. But it can’t last.
I turn in his arms, and when I do, I look out the window into the driveway and notice my ex-husband’s car pulling up. Shoot.
Luckily, I’m dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and I tell Bull to stay put.
He looks surprised, but luckily doesn’t follow me as I step out the door and close it behind me. If I had to guess, he’s spotted my fourteen-year-old daughter out the window and is probably a little stunned. I never did mention to him that I have a daughter.
I walk on to the porch and wait for Charlie and Emma to come up the steps. Before I can even hug or say hello to Emma, Charlie is on me. “Whose bike is that?”
I pull Emma in for a hug. And barely refrain from answering Charlie with a “it’s none of your business,” but hopefully the look on my face tells him exactly what my thoughts are.
I ask Emma instead, “What are you