“You’re a good daughter,” he says, nodding. “Putting your life on hold to take care of her.”
“What’s family for, right?” I reply with a small smile. “I mean, anyone in my position would have done it. Franks means a lot to her, and she means a lot to me. It’s that simple. All I have is my mom and Ivy, and I’d do anything for them.”
“Loyalty is one of the best traits that anyone can have,” he says, studying me. “I’m not surprised at all though, you’ve always shown nothing but kindness to everyone around you. I also like to think I’m a good judge of character.”
“I like to think I’m the same,” I reply, glancing up at him through my lashes. I take one of the breadsticks and bite into it. “But I don’t know if that’s why I said no all the other times you asked me out, or why I finally said yes.”
He laughs at that, a deep, musical sound. “You have nothing to worry about from me, Abbie.”
“And other people?” I press, raising my brows.
He flashes his teeth. “I can’t make any promises.”
“They should have called you trouble instead of Temper,” I mutter, helping myself to the food and serving it on my plate. “My mom would kill me if she knew I was here right now. She warned me to stay away from bikers.”
He places his hand on his heart like he’s offended. “Ah, come on. We’re not all that bad.”
“I know that,” I agree, smirking. “But you’re not all that good, either.”
“You’re smart,” he replies, lip twitching. He’s smart too, because he then changes the subject. “You should come and visit me sometime. This once or twice a year thing isn’t going to cut it anymore.”
“I’d love to do some traveling,” I admit. “Even if it’s just across a few states.”
“Then do it. I’m sure Ivy could hold down the fort for a week or so,” he says, brown eyes pinned on me.
This time it’s me who changes the subject. “How is it being president?”
He drinks some of his wine. “Honestly? I wish Hammer was still here. I miss him every day, and it’s hard trying to fill his shoes. But he trusted me, and I like to think I’m doing a good job.”
“It must be a lot of pressure,” I find myself saying. “I mean, you have to look after everyone, and make all of the decisions, right? That must be stressful sometimes.”
“It can be, yes,” he agrees, nodding. “It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. But like you said before, there’s nothing I won’t do for my family, either.”
We share a look.
I never thought I’d be sharing family values with someone like Temper, but he’s right, his MC brothers are his family, and they have each other’s backs just like I have Mom’s and Ivy’s.
“Why are you single?” I ask, tilting my head to the side and studying him. “Don’t women throw themselves at you? I mean, I’ve seen a few of them trying to talk to you at Franks, but you always ignore them.”
“I think I’m going to need another bottle,” he jokes, dips a cracker in some cheese and thoughtfully chews before responding. “I’m just too busy with the MC, and I don’t know, I did my fair share of sleeping around when I was younger, and it lost its appeal. Meaningless sex doesn’t interest me anymore. I kind of just stick to myself these days, if I’m being honest. I enjoy my alone time, and my own company.”
“So basically you’re a grumpy old man set in your ways?” I tease.
I’m pretty sure he’s not going without sex, but I don’t know how to bring that up without sounding nosy.
“Something like that.” He laughs, leaning back in his chair with a smile lingering on his full lips. “Plus it’s hard to trust people these days, you know? And being who I am, I can only be around people that I trust completely. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a little bit rough around the edges. Not everyone