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I laugh. “Any one of them or a specific one?”
She shrugs. “I mean, you’re all pretty damn hot, so I don’t mind sampling a few before making a decision.”
Her words draw another laugh from me, and I fling an arm around Maven and drop a kiss on top of her head before returning to my unfinished dough.
“My advice is to be bold where it counts. If you see someone you like, tell him. Buy him a drink. Offer him a BJ.”
Willow laughs. “On-demand blowjobs isn’t what I had in mind this early in the game.”
“It’s just one of many options open to you. Better hurry, though. My brothers are falling like flies.”
Willow hip checks me out of the way. “I’ll ignore the comparison of women to shit, but only because that hot Viking is asking for you,” she smiles and shoos me toward the door.
Grateful for the escape from playing matchmaker for my brothers, I rush to the door.
“I’ll be back,” I say and leave with a smile on my face. Baking with Maven is more satisfying than I thought it would be when Ace gave me the job, but her treats are on point, and her company is all I crave these days.
I find Stone out in front ofFor Goodness Cakes,enjoying a smoke with a man who is at least ninety years old. He points his joint at me and grins.
“You must be Maven’s man if you’re here this early?”
“What makes you say that?”
He shrugs and points at Stone. “Like I was telling this young buck, Maven leaves leftovers in those fancy boxes for me in the alley, and I come around in the evening after I’ve gotten a few coins for cans and bottles. Seen a few sketchy sorts around.”
“What does sketchy mean?”
The old man shrugs. “Peeking around, not like robbers but like they were looking for weaknesses or somethin’. Casin’ the place. Don’t know, but it just didn’t sit right with me, and I know Maven can be too naïve for a woman her age. Figured you boys wouldn’t be.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I tell the old man and hand him a twenty-dollar bill. “You see anything else that don’t set right with you, let me know.”
He pockets the cash with a grateful nod. “Just keep Maven and this gem of hers safe, and we’re good.” He pushes off the curb slowly and stands with a grin. “Thanks for the joint. Haven’t had grass that good since the seventies.”
Stone and I watch the old timer shuffle off across the parking lot. “You think it’s the Iron Kings?”
I nod. “I know it’s not Cyrus,” I confess and look over my shoulder just to make sure we’re alone. “Where’s Joaquin?”
“Around back to make sure all the outer cameras are still in place.”
“If this isn’t about your girl, it’s about you or the MC,” Stone says in his patented serious tone.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too.” Which means I have put my feelings on hold and focus on keeping Maven safe.
Then, I can focus on making her mine.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Maven
I look at the free-standing white brick structure and shake my head. “Oh, no, I don’t think so, Wilder.” I shake my head again and take a step back toward the street.
He laughs and wraps an arm around my waist to keep me in place at his side. “Why not? What’s wrong with this place? Gia says it’s the best shop in Angel Harbor.”
My eyes go wide, and I nod. “Exactly! I need to replace a lot of stuff, Wilder, and this place isn’t in my budget right now. When you said shopping, I wasn’t thinking some fancy upscale boutique.”
He flashes thatoh socharming smile as if that’s going to get me to step foot inside that shop where the woman staring at us through the window is giving off seriousPretty Womanshop girls vibes.
“Maven, babe, you’re a grown-ass woman, a nice woman who deserves to have nice things.”
