Gunnar A Motorcycle Club Romance - Nina Levine Page 0,13

that reminds me of her brother and my heart squeezes with pain as his face floods my mind. It takes my breath away, and I fight the tears that threaten to fall. God, am I ever going to get over him?

“Chelsea,” Alexa says, “are you still there?”

I take a deep breath. “Yes, sorry, you just sounded like Mason and it caught me off guard.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry. I only told you because of our new no-elephant-in-the-room agreement.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Me too. Okay, so I’ll text you the address and see you in the morning. I’m excited you’re coming.”

“I’m sure I am too, but I’m yet to locate that excitement.”

I laugh again. “I love you, Alexa. Thank you for calling.”

“Love you too. Now I must run because I need some fucking sleep since I’m getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.”

We end the call, and I stare at my phone for a long moment. Thank God for friends like Alexa. Not that I have any other friend like her, but since I know what it’s like not to have any good friends, I know the blessing she is. I may be stuck in a marriage I never wanted, but I’m not going to let that dictate my happiness in life. I’ll find other ways to be happy, starting with lots more Alexa time. First, though, I need to get through this birthday party.

5

Gunnar

“How the hell did she get you to wear a suit?” Hayden asks when I join him and our brothers in Alexa’s kitchen on Saturday night.

I shrug. “She asked. I said yes.” I haven’t worn a suit for years, but I’m not against wearing one.

Our older brother, Adam, shakes his head and drinks some of his scotch before saying, “If it was anyone else who asked, you would have told them where to go.”

I grin. “Highly fucking likely.” I accept the beer Calder hands me and down some before glancing between all three of them. “How long are you all in town for?”

Adam and Calder divide their time between Sydney and New York while Hayden lives in Los Angeles.

“I leave tomorrow,” Adam says. “I’ve got a deal we’re pushing through in New York that I need to be there for.”

“I leave on Tuesday,” Hayden says.

“You’re starting a new movie soon, aren’t you?” Calder says.

Hayden nods. “Yeah, in two weeks. Although, there’s an issue with the contracts, so fuck knows what’ll happen there. That might hold us up a bit.”

“It’s so fucking difficult being a movie star,” Calder says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Hayden grins. “Fuck you.”

Calder returns his grin. “Maybe you could hook me up with a job. It’s gotta be easier than dealing with the shit I’ve had to deal with this week at work.”

“Oh really?” Alexa says, joining us. “Maybe if someone had listened to me about that system upgrade we needed, your week wouldn’t have been so hard.” Her eyes land on me and she smiles. “Oh my God, you actually did it. You wore a suit for me.”

I hook my arm around her neck and pull her close for a hug. “Happy birthday, sis.”

She snakes her arm around my waist and rests her head against me for a beat before looking up at me. “This is my birthday present, isn’t it?”

“You know me too well.”

She lets me go. “Maybe one of these days, one of you will actually remember to buy me a present when it’s my birthday or Christmas or hell, for any random occasion.”

“I bought you coffee yesterday,” Calder says.

Alexa rolls her eyes. “That was an ‘I’m fucking sorry I’m an asshole’ coffee.”

“I prefer to think of it as an ‘early birthday present’ coffee,” Calder says.

Alexa jabs his bicep. “You suck.” She looks around at the four of us. “You all suck.”

We all laugh, and I realise it’s the first time in months I’ve fucking laughed. It’s the first time I haven’t felt the crushing weight of devastation that I’ve carried with me since that fucked-up night shit exploded with Chelsea.

“Alexa, darling,” our mother says, entering the kitchen.

“Mum.” Alexa hugs her.

Mum hugs all her sons before making her way to me. It’s only been a week since I’ve seen her, but before that, it was a good six months. I cut all ties to my father because I want nothing to do with him; time with Mum was a casualty of that decision. She might look elegant in her fancy dress and expensive jewels, but my mother hasn’t been well.