“No. That won’t be necessary. I can rally for the drive home. It’s not that far as the crow flies.”
“It’s a twenty minute drive as the road winds, though,” I argued.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, Cass. If I see you swerve the least little bit, I’m going to intervene and won’t take your word for it next time.”
“Agreed,” she said as we both managed to climb out of the back of the truck. I don’t know how he managed, but Grunt managed to melt into the shadows before we got to a point where Cass might have scoped him out. I would have to thank him later for the assist and for being discreet for her sake. It sure as hell hadn’t been for mine. We’d seen one another in far more compromising situations over the last year.
We managed to make it to Cass’s place with no problems. She was staying at her old house, which was good. I knew the lay of the land there. When the time came - and it would be soon - I’d know exactly where to go to lay my claim on the woman.
Grunt stoodby the front door in the fucking cold waiting on me when I got back. My whole body was a damn popsicle. The temps had dropped a lot in the past hour and I hadn’t exactly been dressed for a longer ride, but luckily, no snow had fallen while I’d been out.
“Too cold out here to play watchdog, man,” I called out to him as I got off my Harley and headed to the front door.
“You really think that’s where you need to start this off with her?” Before I could answer, he put in his two cents anyway. “If you want her to take anything you have to gain her respect and trust. Don’t think that’s going to happen with a quickie in the back of her truck before you even have a conversation. Don’t sabotage yourself before you get a chance at something real.”
“It was the only way to get her attention, Jas.” It had been forever since I called my best friend by his given name - or the nickname I used to use for him anyway. Something about Cassidy being around made me revert to the friendship we had before we were involved with the club.
“She’s been through a lot,” he mentioned as he toed the dirt beneath his boot.
“And I haven’t?”
“YOUput her through a lot,” Grunt amended his first statement.
“I know. I have a lot to make up for, but she was always my end game, man. I promise, tomorrow, I am going to have that conversation with her. Hopefully, it will go better with her softened up for me a bit.”
Grunt chuckled. “If that’s what you think just happened, you’re fucking doomed, brother.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I could still taste Cassidy on my tongue and didn’t want to stand in the cold and argue the point with him.
12.THE DAY AFTER
CASSIDY
It was all a thoughtless blip.He was confused by our mutual pasts and seeing me again after all the years that had passed. There was no need to worry about what happened. It was a one-off while I was so tired I couldn’t think straight. Luckily, there was no need for me to see him again. It would suck because the asshole belonged to the Kings. The MC would have probably been my biggest customer, as he’d mentioned the night before, but I couldn’t take the chance of anything more happening between us.
“I need to figure out how to branch out sooner than later.”
“If you tell me why we can’t accept further business from the Kings, I’ll be happy to help look for alternatives.” Collette all but rolled her eyes as she put her foot down to let me know that my silence wouldn’t fly.
Fair enough.
We were all in this together, and I couldn’t make a decision that would affect us like that without giving my friends a good damn reason. She thought I was being dramatic. Maybe I was.
“Did one of them hurt you?”
I huffed in frustration because the answer was yes, no, and beyond complicated. If only James stuck to his usual script andpretended he didn’t know me in front of everyone. Then, I could have catered the event and left with a pile of cash for my efforts. Instead, there was also a boat-load of baggage that would keep me from signing the contract the club sent over this morning for my company to cater for them a few times a week as well as during other major biker events.
“Cass, some biker-dude is here to speak with you.”
I turned to acknowledge Amberlee as she pushed through the swinging doors that led from the dining area - that we weren’t using yet - to the fully-functional kitchen in the back.
“Long blond hair and beard? I asked.
“The embodiment of fantastic sex draped in leather - that’s him,” she agreed.
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “You don’t even like men,” I teased.
