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“Yeah, I wasn’t,” I admitted with a laugh.
Joni climbed off her stool and waved Colt to it. “Those pain killers are throwing me for a loop. I think I’ll go lie down.”
Colt took her seat but not before whispering something in her ear. She nodded and then headed upstairs.
“You ready to go?” he asked me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zip set his plate of food on the coffee table and stand up. He made his way upstairs, so discreetly that even Colt didn’t notice what was going on beneath his nose.
“Mia?” Colt pressed.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m ready.” I looked at him in confusion. “Where are we going?”
“Home so we can grab your clothes and whatever else you need. We’re staying in the clubhouse for the next few days.”
My gaze narrowed. “Next few days, huh? So that’s Colt-speak for ‘until the threat has passed’.”
He smirked. “You already speak my language. You must be some kind of savant.”
I rolled my eyes and pressed my hand to his chest, forgetting about his tattoo. He winced and I immediately pulled away. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“Wait a minute, you two,” Darcy said. “Hush, everyone!” The room quieted and all eyes looked to Gray’s wife. “We’ve got a situation here that no one has addressed.”
I shrank back into the wall of Colt’s chest, afraid that Darcy was going to call out Joni’s injury and what had had happened last night. She surprised me when she announced, “Mia and Colt got tattoos. We need to celebrate that!”
There was a resounding cheer that was deafening and made my eardrums vibrate.
“Tonight we rage!” Boxer yelled.
I looked at Colt and whispered, “Is this a good idea?”
“Is what a good idea?” Colt looked down at me, the smile lines at his eyes crinkling. “Living life?”
“But what about all the other stuff?”
“It’ll still be there tomorrow,” he said. He wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me to him. “You never know how long you’ve got, Mia.” His eyes darkened and his mouth clamped shut even though he looked like he wanted to say more.
He’d lost his parents young. I’d lost my family too. By all accounts, Colt and I finding each other, finding some measure of happiness in a chaotic world, was a miracle.
“Okay,” I said with a slight smile. “Let’s celebrate. One condition, though.”
“Name it.”
“I want Shelly and Mark to come.”
“Mia…”
“She was there for me, Colt. When Grammie died. She was there for me when no one else in the whole world was. She has to be here to celebrate this new life with me. Celebrateus. I know it will be weird, and she has thoughts about you and the entire MC thing. She won’t get to know you in a night, but it’s a start. Please?”
Finally, he nodded. “Boxer is right, though. Tonight we rage. You think she can handle that?”
I grinned. “Guess we’re going to find out.”
We headed home, leaving the party planning in Darcy and Rachel’s capable hands. While Colt showered, I packed a bag full of clothes. I went into the bathroom to gather some of my toiletries, but lost all sense of concentration when Colt stepped out of the shower, naked and wet.
Utterly gorgeous.
