Crossroads (Beautiful Biker MC Romance Series) - DD Prince Page 0,125
as he gave me a squeeze and kissed my forehead. “Congrats, Joelle. You won.”
I smiled. Rider had known for a while that I was after Christian. “I knew I would.”
“Don’t get cocky, there, polka dots,” Christian told me.
I chuckled and then my gaze swung to Dad.
“Dad?”
He gave me a long look and flexed his jaw muscles. “Go pack, Joelle. Let me have a word with your fiancé.”
My heart was about to explode with happiness. I kissed my dad, who kissed me back, but it still felt like he was stiff.
“I love you, you’re the number one dad forever and ever, but if you hit him again, Daddy, we’re gonna have a problem,” I said into his ear low but knew everyone heard.
Dad’s eyes dropped to his boots and his palm went across the back of his neck. He massaged it.
I gave all my brothers hugs, Deacon first (a big one with a whispered, “thank you for being cool about this”, that got me a kiss on the top of my head) and then I walked into the arms of my biker and put both hands to his jaw.
“I love you,” I said.
He tucked my hair behind my ear. “Love you, baby.”
I felt everyone’s eyes on us, and it felt fucking great to say it, to hear it back, and know that they’d all heard it, too. My man loved me and claimed me fearlessly just as I suspected he would. From now on, I wouldn’t be the one in the group staring at all the happy couples wanting it for me, because finally, finally, I’d have it, too.
I skipped to the staircase that led upstairs. Ella followed, asking Spencer if he could hold down the fort until closing. Dad, my brothers, and Christian all went to the bike dealership. Jesse had already gone back to the garage at some point, I didn’t see when.
***
Jenna and Pippa showed up a few hours later, after the salon closed, and they were both tickled for me. Pippa got all misty-eyed and Jenna was giddy with happiness. They arrived screaming gleefully.
“Kidnapped you! Oh my gosh. I wish I coulda seen it,” Jenna said. “We shoulda put a body cam on you!” She shook her head ruefully at us.
I nodded. “It was pretty awesome.”
They helped me pack while I told them about the Dan and Sam and calendar thing stacking up one on top of the other until my biker lost his ever-lovin’ alpha mind and kidnapped me, told me I was his, and then told me we were getting married.
It was decided we’d drive Christian’s truck out there so we’d have room to stow what we needed, hauling his Harley in a trailer and we’d ride back, taking our time. Rider and Jenna were going to fly out and drive the truck and trailer as well as our excess luggage back a few days later, enjoying a little road trip of their own.
“Gotta hand it to you, you certainly tamed that tiger fast,” Pippa said. “I mean… you guys went from zero to two hundred.” She was flipping through the Biker Babes calendar after I unearthed my copies to show them the straw that broke my biker’s resolve.
“Oh no. It was hard-won, sister. He fought it,” I said. “Thought he wasn’t good enough for me. I think he has a lot of demons I’m gonna need to unearth and slay. It took a whole fuckuva lot for his resolve to snap.”
“Uncle Will was hard on him,” Ella said, sitting cross-legged on my bed. “We didn’t get along when we were kids, but I noticed he was mean to Chris. Always hitting him and it made him angry, turned him into a bully. And that bully turned into an angry and surly biker.”
“Has he even been in a relationship? Or did he just do the biker bunny hop?” Jenna asked. “Other than Paige, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a girl more than once. Not that I think he was even serious with her.”
“We haven’t talked about his past relationships, really,” I said. “I mean, the word among the bunnies is he’s detached. He hasn’t been detached with me, though. I don’t think he let anyone get close,” I said. “Self-loathing and all…”
“Sounds like that,” Pippa agreed.
“Leanne said the bunnies all say he’s not interested in a connection, doesn’t even kiss, but---"
“What? That’s crazy. He kisses,” Jenna said, and all eyes swung to her.