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The woman loved the stuff.
“Yeah. Civility isn’t my jam. I prefer the kick ass, take names approach. So, you wanna tell me what last night was all about?”
“Thought King would have told you.”
“He did,” the woman said, looking over her shoulder at me before asking, “You mind?”
Shaking my head, I said nothing when she opened the cold freezer and took out the tub of double chocolate mint crunch, licking her lips. Placing the tub on the island, she walked over to my sink, grabbed a spoon, then dragged a stool over to where she left the tub. Taking a seat, she pried off the top, leaned forward and took a deep breath. “God, that shit smells delicious.”
For the next several minutes, neither of us said a word while I scooped out cookie dough batter onto a cookie sheet and she dug into the tub of ice cream.
Placing the sheet in the oven, I started cleaning up my mess when Bailey said, “You know I don’t care, right?”
Halting my movement, I looked at her and shook my head. “No. I don’t know.”
“I knew King wasn’t a saint when I married him. Just like Sarah knew when she married Gunner, and when Henley married Scribe. Hell, Sugar, every fucking misfit in that damn club has a colorful past. Well, all except Pyro, but we don’t hold that against him. As for the others, they are what they are. So, you and King have a past. I think what you are failing to forget is that it is in the past. It has no bearing on your life today.”
“But it does.”
“How so?” Bailey challenged. “You think I give a fuck? Because I don’t. Just like Henley doesn’t give a fuck. You should know that Scribe let the truth slip about Gunner. Not that Sarah cared either way. She married the manwhore of Rosewood. Girl knew what she was getting. What I’m trying to say is that everyone in the club loves you. We don’t give a shit who you fucked.”
“It’s more than that, Bailey.”
“Then explain it to me, because all I see is you making a big fucking mistake that’s hurting one of my boys.”
“Because of that one night, my life has been nothing but a series of troubles. I went from being a member of this community to a dirty whore overnight. I thought it would all blow over, but when Maggie died in that accident, Martha refused to let everyone forget. She really lost her shit when I married John. I stupidly believed everything would change. I should have known better, because when I found out I was pregnant with Benjamin, shortly after the wedding, the rumors amped up, and before I knew it, John was accusing me of infidelity, then demanding a paternity test.”
“That when he started hitting you?”
I nodded. “The Stanley’s are good friends with the Cohens.”
“I really hate that bitch.”
“You see, since I graduated high school, my whole life has been nothing but lies, rumors, snide comments, and dirty looks. My parents tried to get me to move back to Louisiana, but I refused. I love Rosewood. I couldn’t leave.”
“You stayed because of Enigma, didn’t you?”
I nodded. “He’s my best friend. I can’t imagine my life without him. I can endure anything as long as I have him. But I messed everything up. Now I’m alone and he hates me.”
“Enigma doesn’t hate you,” King said, making himself known, along with Scribe and Claudia.
“He’s hurt, Sugar,” Scribe said as Claudia walked over to stand in front of me.
“Do you have any idea how much my brother loves you?”
Slowly shaking my head, she continued, “Everything. The house you live in, this shop, the boys’ school, it’s all because of Eugene.”
“What are you saying?”
“Enigma owns everything, Sugar,” King stated firmly. “The house, this shop. He even paid off your parents’ house, so they could stay close to you.”
“All the medical bills for you and the boys. My brother paid them,” Claudia added.
“He bought the bowling alley because you loved the place,” Scribe admitted.
Stepping back, I shook my head. “What? Why?”
“Enigma has been quietly showing you for years how much he loves you, Sugar,” Bailey carefully said. “Now it’s time for you to wake the fuck up and see what’s been in front of you all this time.”
