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“You’re so brave. You don’t need them. You’ll never need them. You have us, and we’ll be the best, most annoying and invasive family you’ll ever need. I promise.” I gave her a squeeze before pulling away to punch Scythe in the shoulder.

“That was great. Pretty sure Match is getting the full video from Keys now. We can watch it on the TV,” I told him as Roxie gave Lilah a hug.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything? We can make mimosas or something…Never too early for those…” Roxie offered. Lilah laughed.

“Yeah. That actually sounds really fun.”

“Yay! Drunk paint party!”

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of too much champagne and very little orange juice. Our boozy painting session ended with Lilah, Roxie, and I laying on the ground, hyping each other up like we just met in a bar bathroom.

“You two are so…badass. I’ve tried some classes, but I don’t think I could ever really fight anyone. I’m as intimidating as a baked potato. Slapping Lissette is the closest I’ve ever gotten to anything physical. Ohmygod. I can’t believe I slapped her!” Lilah’s eyes were glassy, her expression shocked as she remembered the incident.

“It was amazing! And she totally deserved it!” Roxie replied.

“She’s the worst. We all hate her,” I told her.

“Thank you. It’s nice to have people on my side.”

“On your side, or in the room underneath you while you’re getting railed by your big, scary boyfriend. Whatever it is, we’re here for it,” I told her, my eyebrows waggling as her face turned bright red.

“No!” She gasped, and Scythe and Match came running in, eyeing the three of us curled up on the floor like some sort of dogpile.

“What’s wrong? What did you do?” Scythe demanded. Roxie and I laughed, and I rolled onto my back, unable to stop myself.

“We didn’t do anything. It’s more like what you did to Lilah last night…twice,” Roxie replied, and Match snorted.

Scythe elbowed him in the stomach, his eyes checking to make sure Lilah was okay. She was embarrassed but didn’t seem offended. The way they looked at each other made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, like they could communicate without words.

Yeah, these two are gonna be just fine.

Chapter 29

Lilah

A few weeks later, we were at Charlie’s house having a No Brothers night. The house used to belong to Bash and was on MC property, walking distance to the clubhouse, but far enough that there was privacy.

“Think of it as a crash course in dating a biker. Club Life 101 for both you and Logan,” she had declared after inviting a bunch of us over. Everyone had seamlessly accepted Logan into the fold, proving that Bull had been worried about nothing. Logan always had a smile on, was friendly and funny. Never tired, never cranky, and down for anything. Like a golden retriever, I didn’t see how anyone could dislike him.

After a few hours, and many glasses of wine, Charlie was regaling the group with the story of my family’s “visit” after the Halloween party.

“You should have seen it. I swear, they almost pissed themselves.” Charlie’s eyes were wide with excitement and pride, holding court as she retold the event with extra flair.

“I saw the video. It was wild. Hot, though, they way he came storming out, shirtless.” Logan chimed in.

“So hot,” Roxie and Star agreed. My cheeks flamed as everyone discussed what happened at my place with unfettered glee.

“I told you, my boy wasn’t gonna let anyone get near you.” Beth puffed up with pride as Cece and Seph nodded in agreement.

“Have you heard from your parents or sister since then?” Fee asked, concern on her face.

“No. I mean, I don’t know how they would reach me without showing up in person again. And since Eliot upped the security system, I don’t know how they would get close. Not to mention I have all their numbers blocked, and I deactivated all of my social media.”

“I hate that. You shouldn’t have to pay the price for their idiocy,” Seph replied, and I shrugged.

“Social media was never really my thing. It’s just a precaution. Plus, now that we live together, I feel pretty safe. I know they’re not gonna try anything with Eliot around. They’re a bunch of cowards. They don’t know how to respond to someone like him.”

“Someone like him?” Logan asked, his brow furrowed.