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Our relationship had been a quiet one without all the drama and danger that had surrounded the other couples. I, for one, was glad of it. I wanted Avy to be safe and loved not worrying about threats and stalkers.
In October, she’d asked me to move in with her permanently as we mostly slept in her wing anyway.I’d happily agreed and moved, freeing up my cottage for someone else if it was needed.
In November, I’d asked her to marry me, my entire being had relaxed when I’d slipped both my ring and her cut on her that now showed that she was my Old Lady. It wasn’t something I’d ever thought I’d have or even want again.
We hadn’t planned a wedding yet, and I was impatient to get started on that, but something always seemed to come up and take Avy’s attention away from our plans. With that thought in mind, I sent a text out to Kate, Maggie, and Noni. Avy’s mum, aunt, and best friend asking them to make some time for me in their schedules in the next few days.
A glass of coke was put down on the bar in front of me and I looked up to see Avy watching me, her head tilted slightly, with a smile on her face. “You look very serious. Is everything okay?” she asked, nodding at the phone in my hand.
Leaning over the bar, I threaded my hand in her hair, pulling her closer and laid a kiss on her lips. “It’s all good, Sweets, just the brotherhood checking in.”
“Okay,” Avy smiles at me, not asking further questions, “I’m nearly done here. Barry is going to close tonight. Do you fancy going for a ride before we head home?”
It was the first dry day we’d had in weeks, and while it was freezing, I hadn’t been able to resist riding the bike out today.
“Not too a long one though, it’s too cold for you to be on the bike for long. But yeah, we can take the longer way back home,” I agreed, knowing the long way only added an extra ten minutes to the ride.
Avy grinned in delight. Standing on the step behind the bar, she reached over and pecked a quick kiss to my lips, saying, “Give me ten minutes and we can go.”
It was more like twenty minutes, but we’d got our ride in, although we were both freezing by the time we’d arrived home. I’d hurried her up the stairs and into our room. It hadn’t taken long for me to warm us both back up.
CHAPTER 2
AVY
I’d caught Hawk watching me tonight with a contemplative look on his face and wondered what he was thinking. Our romance had been a quiet one compared to the others, but I was happy for that. I wasn’t a drama driven woman and could do without all the drama that had followed the other couples. I was happy with my man and the life we were building, although it was slower than I would like.
I knew Hawk wanted to get married sooner rather than later, but I’d been struggling to find the time with all the new businesses opening, running the pub and all the new babies set to arrive in the next few months.
Hawk’s Tattooshad opened, and he was just as busy as me. Although he was far better at making time for us to spend together than I was. I felt awful that he was the one always having to make allowances. I sometimes wondered if he’d get fed up with my time always being taken from him. So far, he hadn’t complained about it, and I know he did what he could to help and ease my stress. It’s how we had ended up spending so much time together, although he’d later admitted he’d initially done it to get to know me. I’d found it sweet. And hot. I’d never been anyone’s priority before, and I found it a heady experience.
I’d started to make changes in my life when we’d moved in together in October. For one, I’d started to encourage the family to sort their own business problems out and had started to say no if I felt they didn’t really need me. And the second thing I’d done was I’d hired a day manager and a night manager at the pub. That had freed me from some of the responsibility. My team knew where I was if they needed me. So far, it seems to be working. It had taken me a while, but I’d finally found staff that were good fits for the pub.My day manager was a friend of the family, Keith, who’d been made redundant and had not been able to find work as he was in his late fifties. While his background was in engineering, he hadn’t wanted the stress of travelling for work and had tried to find work in the towns just out of our village, but there hadn’t been anything in his field. He’d been happy to learn the roles of running the pub as my manager and he didn’t care that he’d be working for a woman.‘Yeah, I still had to put up with that.’Once he got his feet under him, the pub ran like clockwork during the day, and I only had to cover for him on his days off.
My night manager, Barry, had found me by wandering into the pub with a backpack, looking for something to eat and drink. We’d got to talking; he was from Scotland and had been backpacking around Europe and was now making his way around the UK but had run short of funds. I’d had Skinny do a background check and had offered him the flat upstairs and a job. He’d been quick to make me understand it was only temporary. I’d asked him to give me two years because by then Booker would be eighteen and I could start to train him. I’d told Barry he could still travel as long as he gave me a week’s notice to fill his shift. That way, he’d earn money and have a base to keep his stuff in.
We’d shaken on it, and he’d moved in. So far, it was working out. He said he wouldn’t start to travel again until the spring, so we’d sat down and made a plan that we were both happy with. Having two managers meant that I had free time to spend with Hawk which made us both happy campers.
Grabbing a coke, I walked over to Hawk, who was looking at his phone with a serious expression on his face and I wondered what had happened now. Thankfully, it had been nothing to worry about. I’d persuaded him to go for a ride. I knew it was cold, but there was nothing like the wind beating at you and the nip of the cold to make you feel alive. Plus, the side benefit of us both being freezing was that we’d warmed each other up when we got home.
And if there was one thing my man was good at, it was warming me up!
CHAPTER 3
HAWK
A few days later, I walked into the café to find it bustling with customers. Maggie caught my eye and tilted her head towards the family table at the back of the café. Lifting my chin at her in acknowledgement, I walked past the serving counter and to the table, sitting down as I waited for the Maggie, Noni, and Kate to join me. It wasn’t long before Noni was slipping into a seat opposite me with a grin on her face. “Hey, Hawk, this is very cloak and dagger.”
I returned her smile with an amused grin but didn’t say anything as Kate had just walked in. Seeing that we were already seated, she walked towards us with a smile on her face. Kate was close to sixty and was gorgeous. She had long blonde hair that she wore swept back from her face in a bun thing. I could picture Avy in thirty years’ time looking exactly like her except for the blonde hair.
Bending, she pressed a kiss to my cheek in greeting, “Sorry,” she muttered, wiping what I figured was a lipstick stain off my cheek with her thumb. Grumbling about a new lipstick that left stains everywhere.
“Don’t worry, Kate,” I responded with a smile before standing so I could pull out a chair for her to sit. Seeing Maggie approachwith a full tray of food and tea, I waited for her and helped her with the tray before pulling a chair out for her as well.
“Thanks, love,” Maggie smiled at me as she sat.
We waited for her to greet everyone and make sure we all had a cup of tea or coffee depending on what our preferences were.
Once we were all settled, Kate looked at me, “So, son-in-law-to-be, what’s going on, and why the secrecy?”
