AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before he could continue the conversation, Blade and Layla arrived, saving me from hearing more of his thoughts on this matter.
I gave Layla a hug and stood back to admire her dress. “I love this!” I said as I took in the flowing red maxi dress that was strapless and cinched at the waist with a thin belt. It looked so summery and comfortable.
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile and held out a container for me to take. “I made rum balls.”
“You weren’t supposed to make anything. You supplied all that alcohol. But thank you.” I took the container, secretly pleased she’d made them because I’d run out of time to make some.
“I tested them; they’re good,” Blade said, and I couldn’t help but notice the way his lips quirked up a tiny bit in a blink-and-you’d-miss-it smile, and the way his shoulders seemed less tense than they’d been last week when we’d caught up for breakfast. Layla was good for him, and when she looked up at him and smiled, and he returned that smile, happiness settled in my gut. My brother might have been wrestling with his demons still, but at least I knew he had a good woman by his side to help him through it.
I jerked my head towards the kitchen and said to Layla, “Come on, I want to show you something.”
She followed me as I led her through the kitchen and out to the back entertaining area where I’d set up for tonight. When she gasped, I turned around to find her rooted to the spot, staring at everything I’d done. Her eyes finally came to mine. “It looks amazing, Madison. Truly amazing.”
“Well, I can’t take full credit, Velvet helped me,” I admitted as I took it all in again. We’d decorated with white sheets and created a canopy of fairy lights. The lights were also dotted around the garden in the trees. Tables were decorated with white tablecloths, glass lanterns with candles and assorted red and gold decorations. In the corner, I’d set up our old Christmas tree and stacked presents underneath.
“You girls have created magic,” she said softly.
“I feel like we need some magic after the year we’ve had,” I murmured. “Actually, the last two years have been hard for everyone, especially our men. They need some good after all the shit they’ve fought through.” Ever since Dad’s death, the club had been dealing with the threat of Ricky Grecian as well as tension with the Sydney chapter of Storm. Some days, the worry overwhelmed me, so I could only imagine how the club members felt about it all.
Her eyes met mine. Cocking her head, she asked, “How are they coping? I know Blade struggles with it all.”
“It’s not good, Layla. J never relaxes; it’s like he’s on constant twenty-four hour alert, waiting for something to go down. And Scott is even worse, probably because of everything going on with Harlow as well. It’s Griff I worry about the most, though. I can’t figure out what it is, but he seems to be going through something personal as well as having to deal with some of the club members still holding a grudge over his deception with the whole Vice-Presidency thing.” A long sigh escaped my lips. “I just want them to all have one night off. I want tonight to be fun and to give them the opportunity to switch off for a moment.”
She reached for my hand and squeezed it. “We’ll make sure of it.” Her gaze dropped to my dress, and she gushed, “You look beautiful. Where did you get your dress? It’s amazing.”
I smoothed my hands over the rose gold, sequin dress I’d found in one of my favourite boutiques. J’s eyes had bulged when he’d seen it on me. He’d especially loved the plunging neckline and the length of the dress. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it? I’ll have to take you to the boutique one day. You’d love the dresses they have.”
“I bet J loves how short and fitted it is,” she said as she checked out the back. “Not to mention the way it reveals your back.”
Laughing, I nodded. “He’s so predictable.”
The sound of the back door opening grabbed my attention and I swung around to see Velvet step outside. Narrowing my eyes on her, I assessed her weary expression and the droop of her shoulders, and figured she still hadn’t sorted through her problems with Nash. I went to her and pulled her into a long hug. “Nash still not talking about it?” I asked softly while I held on to her.
“No, he’s still avoiding me,” she answered as she let me go. “I’m going to have to bring it up with him again. I’m beginning to think he’s not going to be the one to confront it, and now it’s out there, we can’t go on without figuring it out. There’s no way we can keep going the way we have been this last week, that’s for sure.”
I nodded, and looked up to see J, Nash and Blade coming through the door to join us. Sadness washed through me when I saw Nash. His face and body both revealed his torment, and all I wanted to do was wrap some love around him and take all his pain away. His eyes came to mine, and he shook his head. It was one quick shake, intended only for me to see because it accompanied a hard glare that spoke of his desire for me not to bring it up with him. He knows me so well.
Ignoring all the signals he gave me, I smiled and greeted him. “Hey, Nash.”
He returned my greeting with a jerk of his chin and a gruff, “Madison,” but he didn’t stop to talk with me. Rather, he followed J to the table and taking a seat, proceeded to do his best to ignore me.
Shifting my attention back to Velvet, I mused, “I see what you mean. He seems fairly moody today.”
“This is what I’ve been dealing with,” she replied, her voice teetering between sad and pissed off. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand this would have dredged up all his pain over his son, but I want him to work through that with me rather than without me.”
“I have faith he’ll come to his senses soon,” I said, feeling less confident of that than I was before seeing him, but determined to do my best to help him get there.
She listened to me but she didn’t seem convinced. “I hope you’re right,” she said.
As I opened my mouth to say something else, movement in my kitchen caught my attention, and a moment later, Scott came through the door, his hand firmly gripping Harlow’s who walked close behind him. “Holy shit,” I said under my breath.
Velvet spun around and was equally stunned. “Well, damn.”
I hadn’t seen Harlow look as happy or as good as she did today, or the two of them together like this in far too long. As he came to a stop, she easily moved into his side while he put his arm around her shoulders. Her arm snaked around his waist and she smiled at me. I took in her sexy, black dress, and the flush on her face, and knew something good had happened.
“Hey, you two.” I greeted them with a huge smile as I made my way to where they stood. Directing my attention to Harlow, I said softly, “You came.”
“Let’s just say I was kinda told I had to come but that by the end of the conversation, I wanted to come,” she replied, a smile on her face.
