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In need of a distraction, I eagerly jump at her question. “Always.”
Her ice-blue eyes assess me coolly. It’s a look I haven’t seen from her yet and it trips me up.
“Do you send messages to Candy?”
I do a double-take, unsure where this is coming from.
“I texted her today when I couldn’t get a hold of you. Sent one to all the bunnies, figuring one of them would inform you we were on our way home. But no, I don’t text any woman outside of you. I don’t need to.”
Opal narrows her eyes in thought, then a slow smile breaks across her face. “I thought as much. I’m sorry I missed your text. My phone was charging in the bedroom when I was baking.”
A light bulb goes on in my head. “Opal? Were you jealous I sent messages to the other MC women?”
“No…well, yes.”
I take her face in his hands, planting a gentle kiss on her lips. “Fuck, but your vulnerability is so sweet and honest.”
“Candy said you text her all the time.”
“No, Opal. I don’t text Candy. Even before you came into the picture, I didn’t text her.”
Opal looks down, her face flushed. “I figured she was lying to get under my skin, but…”
“But what, baby?” I want to hear her explain herself, though watching her squirm is humorous.
Opal chews on her full bottom lip. “I shouldn’t have doubted you, but I don’t want to make assumptions. I wanted validation from you.”
“You can always come to me for confirmation on where I stand in my relationship with you. I’ll set you straight every time. Don’t let Candy fill your head with bullshit. Okay?”
“Okay.”
With the air cleared, I look down at her keepsake box. “Why the trip down memory lane?”
Opal inhales deeply. “Because I had an epiphany today while Candy was spinning her web. For us to move forward, I need to be honest with you about what happened to me.”
I gape. “You serious?”
“Yeah,” she confirms, finally looking at me. “I want to tell you what happened to me. But, please, not here. I couldn’t bear it if the others heard. This place isn’t exactly soundproof.”
“No, I completely understand.” My nerves are running amuck. This is it. She’s finally going to confide in me.
“And Gauge, I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but don’t ask for his identity. I—I’m not ready to go there, and honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever be.”
My first instinct is to argue, but I realize how massive a step she’s taking. When Opal reveals a piece of herself, it’s never in baby steps. No, it’sBOOM—nuclear blast. Confessing she was abused as a child the night we met. Giving me her birth date and last name to identify her a month after meeting. And now revealing, after four months of being together, what abuse she suffered as a teen.
When she tells me—if she tells me—who he is, it will be as massive a bomb.
My plans to take her away this weekend seem more appropriate, with her wanting to share this sensitive information with me in private.
“Well, it just so happens that I have the perfect spot for us to spend some much-needed private time together. Got us a cabin an hour away over at Ramona Lake for the weekend,” I reveal.
Opal’s face brightens. “For real?”
“Has all the amenities. We’ll be plenty comfortable. It’ll be just the two of us, alone, far from interruptions. We’ll treat it as a birthday gift for the two of us.”
“But our birthdays are a month away.”
I shrug. “Who cares if we celebrate early? I can promise you this weekend, but I can’t promise you anything a month from now. My schedule could have me across the country or overseas by then. So, let’s enjoy this while we can. What do you say? Want to take a trip with me?”
