she loved. Back in Piston County, no one knew her. She’d been a stranger, and rather than love the freedom, she’d only been made aware of where she didn’t belong.
Arriving at the clubhouse, she saw Lash out front, working on his bike. Nash, his brother, was there. Much to Tabitha’s surprise, so was Anthony. He wore a short-sleeved black shirt over his jeans. His arms were folded.
“He’s right there,” Tabitha said.
“How about we do it tomorrow?” Daisy asked.
“I’m not going to wait around. Yo, Anthony, Daisy wants to talk to you.” Her friend hit her in the chest. “Ouch.”
“That serves you right.”
Anthony approached.
“I hate you right now.”
“You love me, Daisy.”
He stopped.
“Hi,” Daisy said, her voice high-pitched.
Tabitha tried to contain her laughter.
“You’re back,” he said.
“Yep, in the flesh. I am real.” She offered him a wave.
Anthony’s gaze turned back to Daisy. Her friend’s hands shook.
“So, I wanted to talk to you. Right. Of course. Er, do you like food?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I like food obviously, and when two people like food, they eat it.”
A snort came out. Pressing a hand to her lips, Tabitha quickly apologized.
“This is stupid,” Daisy said. She took a deep breath. “Would you like to go out with me?”
“Yes.”
“See,” Daisy said, looking victorious, and then she frowned. “Wait, what?”
“Yes, I’ll go out with you. Tomorrow night, I’ll take you to the diner. I know you like their garden burgers.”
“Oh, er, oh, yes, of course.”
Anthony nodded and walked off.
Daisy’s mouth was open.
Reaching out, Tabitha placed a finger beneath her chin. “You might want to close that. It’s catching flies.”
“But what does that mean?”
“It means you have a date tomorrow night. What are you going to wear?” They headed inside the clubhouse.
Tabitha breathed in the familiar scents of leather, beer, food, and The Skulls. Home.
“But I’ve never been on a date.” Daisy grabbed both of her arms. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Lucky for you, I’ve been on at least one. I also know how much Anthony has been crushing on you. If you turn up looking like a sack of potatoes, you won’t have to worry. He’d dig you.”
“Tabitha, this isn’t funny,” Daisy said.
They entered the kitchen and like most times, Angel was there.
“Hey, girls.” Angel came over to Tabitha and within seconds, she was being pulled into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Tabitha laughed, stepping back. “Of course, you are. What are you doing?”
“Ah, the guys have another mission to go on. It’s going to be a tough one. I’ve got the hotel rooms ready, and some medics on standby. Lash told me it was going to be intense. I’m getting lunches ready for them to take. What’s fun?” She turned her smile toward them.
Considering all the crap that had happened to Angel, she’d remained this sweet, nice person throughout it all.
“Anthony and Daisy are going on a date tomorrow night.”
“Oh,” Angel said, her lips going into a perfect O before returning to a smile. “Are you excited?”
“I … am, I think. I’ve never been on a date.”
“What does Anthony like?” Tabitha asked.
“You know Anthony, he likes what he likes.” Angel laughed. “I better get back to lunches. Help yourself to some sandwiches.”
Anthony was such an anomaly, his own mother didn’t understand him at times. Tabitha had to wonder if the hospital got it all wrong and accidentally swapped the wrong child at birth. That there was some sweet kid with weird parents.
After grabbing a couple of cheese and pickle sandwiches, she and Daisy headed out of the clubhouse again.
“Your house or mine?” Daisy asked.
“Let’s go to yours. Mom keeps asking me constant questions. It’s freaking me out.”
“Why?”
“Because she wants so many answers. I think she’s worried Simon and I had sex.”
“Did you?” Daisy asked.
“Not you too.”
“What? You think I don’t know for a fact you keep things from me as well? I do.”
“Daisy, you’re my best friend.”
“I know, but even BFFs have secrets. Don’t worry, I’m not mad or sad, or anything. I accepted it long ago.” Daisy finished her sandwich, brushing her hands. “I think my mom’s working at the salon, and Dad is doing something. We’ve got the house to ourselves.”
“No, we didn’t have sex. In case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t exactly thinking about it, you know,” Daisy said. “It wasn’t on my need-to-know basis.”
“Shut up, nerd,” Tabitha said, hitting her arm.
“What? You think it’s impossible for me to go a day when I wasn’t thinking about you or sex, or Simon?”
“That’s a lot of someones,” Tabitha said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love you and