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Lennon chuckles under her breath and shakes her head. “While I like dressing up when I get the chance, I’m not someone who needs frills all the time. I’m more than okay with casual.”
With a nod, I step back so she can walk through the door and lock it behind her. When I offer her my hand, I’m thrilled she doesn’t hesitate to slip her hand into mine. Fuck. I can’t remember the last time I’ve held hands with a woman, and it never felt more right than this does right now.
I’m kind of in awe at the way our hands fit together and how right it feels. Lennon is looking up at me with a sly little smile on her lips while I struggle to get my shit together. It takes me a moment, but I manage.
I shake my head and murmur, “You’re perfect for us, baby girl.”
Lennon bites the corner of her mouth as she looks away from my gaze like my words are hard for her to take in. It’s okay, I’ll keep saying it until it sinks in. I’m sure I won’t be the only one who does. My brothers are all in as well and the sooner she realizes it the better.
I lead her away from her door and then downstairs until we’re at my car. It’s a fully restored muscle car I love with everything in me. The engine is loud and there’s something sleek and mean about the look of it which I’ve always loved.
“This is yours?” There’s a hint of awe in Lennon’s voice which has me puffing up my chest.
“I’ve always had a thing for old, restored cars. This one is my baby,” I tell her honestly.
“Hot,” she mumbles, but not softly enough that I miss it.
I can’t help but smile as I open her door and she slides into the leather interior. The sigh she lets out has me practically sprinting around the car because I don’t want to miss any more of the sounds she makes.
I glance over at her before I focus on pulling out into traffic. “You like Mexican?”
She scoffs, “Who doesn’t?”
I shrug one shoulder as I start to drive. “I don’t know, but if you didn’t then I might be tempted to turn right back around.”
Lennon laughs again and I wish I could capture the sound in my car for it to echo around me every time I’m driving. If only, right?
“How are you settling in?” I glance over at her out of the corner of my eye and quickly add on, “And I’m not just talking about work. I know moving down here was huge for you. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to leave your life behind.”
Lennon leans back and settles into her seat like she’s letting the weight of the world drop from her shoulders. “It was a big decision and one I didn’t take lightly. I had a good life in Seattle. My best friend in the whole wide world moved back not long ago. I hadn’t seen her in years and was fucking thrilled to reconnect.”
“You lost touch with each other?”
“Yeah,” she sighs, and I reach over to give her knee a squeeze. Sure, I have this burning need inside of me to touch her, but I also want to give her comfort. “For years I didn’t know exactly why she just up and left the day after graduation. She moved all the way to New York City. When your lives change drastically like that, it’s hard to keep up.”
“I could see that,” I murmur. “But she moved back? Did you get the answers you needed?”
Lennon laughs, more to herself than to me, but I still soak up the sound. “I did. Turns out her stepbrother was being a total dick to her, and she decided running was the right thing to do.”
Her words make me freeze and swallow hard before I gently prompt her, “Oh?”
“Yeah. It also turns out he always had a thing for her. He’s now a member of the Devil’s Saints MC and he made his move when she moved back to town. They’re disgustingly happy and married with a baby on the way.”
I can’t help myself and ask, “So, she’s happy?”
“Blissfully,” there’s a dreamy quality to her voice. “I’m so damn happy for her.” She sits up a little straighter before informing me, “I’ll have to go back to Seattle when she gives birth. There’s no way I’m missing it.”
“Of course,” I promise her. I want to tell her my brothers and I will make the trip with her, but I don’t want to push too much. I’ve already bulldozed my way into her plans for the night as it is. “You can take time off whenever you need to, Lennon.”
“Thanks,” she whispers and lays her hand over mine where it still rests on her knee, giving it a squeeze.
“Was it hard reconnecting with her after the years you weren’t in contact?”
Her laugh is bright and full. “Not at all,” there’s amusement lacing her tone. “At least not after we got over a few bumps.” Before I can ask her what she means, she waves her hand dismissively and interjects, “Those details aren’t important. But once we dealt with the drama, it was like no time had passed at all.”
“You grew up an only child, right?” As we pull up to the best Mexican place in the city, which is saying a lot, she looks at me with curiosity. “I just ask for clarification because as much as my brothers and I have had some good friends over the years, we were really each other’s best friends. I don’t know if it the same for all siblings, but it was for us. No one could ever get closer than that.”
“I get it. While we were growing up, Evelyn was as good as my sister. I guess she still is now that we’re back in each other’s lives. I only had Mom and she was working so hard, and she only had her dad. He worked hard as well. We spent a lot of time together and mom was kind of her surrogate mother figure when she needed one.”
