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I stroke her hair away from her face. “It’s not a good idea. First date etiquette and all that.”
“I thought you might want to see the place.”
I smile, kissing her on the cheek. “I’ve seen it, mia amata. I’m meeting your parents tomorrow. If you’d like to come, let me know and I’ll collect you.”
She shakes her head. “I know I’m being a coward, but I think you should see them alone first. I’m not ready to explain everything, and I’m still too hurt to answer the questions they’re going to fire at me.”
I nod in understanding. It’s my mess, I should sort it out. “Okay. I’ll call you when it’s done.”
The next day, Bear sits with his legs wide, his shoulders square, and his fingers pressed together in a steeple-like pose. Queenie sits by his side and twists the many gold rings that litter her fingers. She looks angry and uncomfortable. I place two drinks on the glass coffee table in front of them and take my own seat on the opposite couch. I invited them to my home rather than face the wrath of the club when everything is still very raw. It’s clear I’m not welcome there right now.
“So,” begins Queenie, seemingly sick of the silence, “have you brought us here to show off your nice house or to sit here in silence? Because if I was you, I’d be explaining myself right now.”
Queenie doesn’t scare me. In fact, she reminds me of her daughter. They have the same feistiness. I take a drink of my bourbon and smile. “I appreciate that I’ve done things differently to how you’d like,” I begin, and Queenie’s eyes bug out of her head.
“Yah think?” she huffs.
“But marrying Piper in my home country felt right.”
“Home country,” repeats Queenie. “Boy, you haven’t lived there since you were a small child, so don’t try and sell this to us like it was a sentimental dream of yours.”
“I have duties,” I begin.
“You took my only daughter and married her without our permission,” she cuts in. “I don’t give a crap about your duties or your loyalties. Nothing you say will make this right.”
I shrug, relaxing back in my chair. “So, what would you like from me? I can’t turn back time. Your disapproval will not change the marriage.”
“You haven’t even apologised,” she hisses. “You don’t think you’ve done anything wrong.”
Bear finally clears his throat, and his wife looks to him. “Let me ask you this, son,” he says, and his deep voice vibrates around the room. “If in the future, you have a daughter and she’s just like Piper,” I smile at the image, “and she runs off to another country to marry a man you don’t really know that well, what will you do?”
I nod in understanding. “I’d probably kill him,” I admit. “But we both know that’s not going to happen.”
“Don’t bet on it,” snaps Queenie.
I smirk. “If it’s an apology you’d like, then I am sorry for whisking your daughter away to a romantic country and getting swept up in the moment.”
“That’s not an apology,” she says. “The last time I spoke to her, she was going away with you. She didn’t call to tell me about the wedding. She didn’t rush to see me, full of excitement to announce how happy and in love she is. That tells me she’s ashamed.”
“Or she’s worried about your reaction,” I suggest.
“Or she realises she made a mistake,” she counters.
“We’re going around in circles,” says Bear. “Where is Piper?”
I stare down at my drink. “She’s not living here right now,” I admit, and they exchange a worried look. “She asked for some space. A lot has happened recently.”
“I knew it,” mutters Queenie. “My little girl isn’t happy.”
“She’s fine,” I say through gritted teeth. “Things got heated with Hulk, and I let my personal feelings affect how I’d normally handle business. She was upset.”
“Because she’s loved that boy since she was a teenager,” snaps Queenie. “Which is why we couldn’t understand why the hell she suddenly married you.”
“I realise that would be the preferred outcome for you,” I say, irritated, “for your daughter to marry into the club. But at the end of the day, Hulk isn’t the one for Piper.”
“And you know that, do you?” she asks, looking amused. “Because you’ve seen them together?”
“He treated Piper like crap,” I hiss. “He broke her heart over and over again.”
