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“Hey, gorgeous,” I say. “I thought my mom was going to be here doing all of this.”
She turns around and smiles at me with warm brown eyes, her braided hair framing her pretty face. “Welcome back, Natty. Yeah, she’s running a little late, so I thought I would start getting it all sorted. There’s not much to do, really, since the food is being delivered, so I’m just making sure we have enough snacks and drinks.”
“As long as we have some beer, I think we’ll be all good.”
She nods and barks out a laugh. Leah is the perfect old lady—nothing fazes her—and I know the degree in psychology that she’s working on is definitely going to come in handy at some stage. Hell, we could all probably use a few sessions with her now. “I think you’re right. It’s nice to see you. How’s life going?”
“It’s good,” I admit, helping her stock the drinks into the fridge. “It’s nice being near Cara again, but, of course, I miss you all here. Work is going well, though. I love my new boss.”
“We aren’t too far away,” she replies, tone gentle. “Sometimes to grow, you have to leave your comfort zone.”
“I know, and I’m so blessed to have so much support,” I say, stacking cartons of beer in the fridge. “How has everything been here?”
“Quiet, which has been nice,” she replies, tone amused. “I’ve been spending most of my time studying, and Dice has been here. You know how it is. There’s been a lot of change for everyone with Rhett taking over as president, and everyone still trying to locate Marko.”
“We’ll find him.”
And when we do, everyone will be able to relax.
Mom arrives and I hug her extra tightly. I miss her and Dad a lot, and even though I’m grown, it’s been a hard adjustment being away from them. We both blow up the balloons and hang up theHappy Birthdaysign for Dad.
“When are you going to tell me what you girls got him?” she asks, stepping down from the ladder and staring up at her handiwork, the beautiful balloon garland spreading from one side of the room to the other.
“You can see it when he does,” I reply, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. “What didyouget him?”
Her cheeks go a little red, and I wince. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”
She tells me anyway. “I bought some sexy lingerie and I booked a little weekend away for the two of us.”
My parents’ sex life is known to be a bit...kinky. It’s gross that people know that, but the one thing I love about them is that they don’t hide who they are. They are unabashedly themselves. It is definitely a trait that I did not inherit.
“I’m sure he will love that.” And the two of them can ride away on his new bike.
“I’m happy you and Cara are close by each other,” she says, studying me. “All I ever wanted were my girls to be close and look after each other, and I got that. Now if something were to ever happen to me, I know that you both would be okay because you have each other.”
“That got dark fast,” I reply in a dry tone. “Nothing is happening to you, Mom, and yes, we will always be there for each other.”
She smiles. “I must have done something well to raise two beautiful, strong women.”
“Yes, you are one yourself, so we just followed in your footsteps.”
She hugs me and kisses the top of my head. “Your father and I are very proud parents.”
“I know, Mom.” I grin. “And you both set the standard very high for who we end up with. I want the love that you both have and I’m never going to settle.”
“You’ll find the perfect person for you. It wasn’t all butterflies and rainbows for us, though. We had to fight for what we have.”
“I’m not afraid of a little fight.”
She laughs. “Don’t I know it.”
“There you are,” Atlas says, smiling when he notices my mom. “Hello, I’m Atlas.” He smoothly offers her his hand, laying on the charm, a completely different version of himself.
“Bailey,” she says, shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Atlas.” She glances over at me, confused.
“He drove me here,” I explain, shrugging. I should tell everyone how he’s been judging me, but I don’t need anyone to handle my battles. And if I’m going to be honest with myself, because I refuse to admit this out loud to anyone else, what he said to me actually hit a nerve. From the outside, he’s right. I did judge him because he’s a biker and for nothing more. I’d be really upset if anyone judged my father, or Rhett, or any of the men because of that. I like him even less now that he has me shining a magnifying glass on myself.
I will deal with Atlas.
