Page 199 of Romeo

King still looked irritated enough to break something, but the accusation had gone out of his expression.

“Don’t fuck this up.”

I nodded. “I won’t.”

I walked into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

The parking lot had nearly emptied while King and I argued. Only a handful of bikes remained beneath the security lights, and the cool mountain air felt good after the tension inside.

I’d waited weeks for this.

One night.

Tomorrow morning, we’d ride south with Morgan. I had no idea how long Louisiana would keep me or what would happen after we arrived.

Tonight belonged to Fiona.

Not because I needed to convince her she was mine. King’s argument had made me hear how ugly that could sound when the choice only existed on one side.

I knew what Fiona was to me.

What I needed now was to let her show me what I was becoming to her.

I pulled out my phone.

Me: I’m coming to find you, Cher. Be ready.

Then I climbed onto my bike and headed toward Granny’s house.

For the first time all night, nobody stood between me and where I wanted to be.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Fiona

I was sitting on the porch when I heard the motorcycle.

The sun had started its slow drop behind the mountains, leaving streaks of orange and gold across the sky. I’d been outside for more than an hour with my phone in my lap, pretending I wasn’t waiting even though Jasper’s message from twenty minutes ago had made that impossible.

I’m coming to find you, Cher. Be ready.

Ready for what, exactly, he hadn’t bothered to explain.

The rumble grew louder until his bike appeared at the end of Granny’s quiet street. I sat straighter as he came toward the house, then stood when he turned into the driveway and cut the engine. He swung off the bike in one smooth motion and pulled off his helmet, his dark hair catching what remained of the evening light.

Something about him was different from when I’d seen him at the clubhouse earlier. The tension around his mouth was gone, along with whatever guarded look he’d carried into church. Now his attention settled entirely on me.

“Cher.”

“Hi.”

He climbed the porch steps without taking his eyes off mine. “You busy?”

“No.”

“Good.” He stopped close enough that I caught the familiar scent of leather and whatever it was beneath it that always made me think of him. “Come for a ride with me.”

I looked past him toward the motorcycle. “A ride?”