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“Guess, we’ll never know.”
I wanted to scream but I reeled in my emotions as we boarded. Nobody would ruin my visit with my folks. Not Jake and definitely not Cade.
Jake wouldn’t even be in my life if I hadn’t spoken to my sister during the Labor Day festival in Long Beach two years ago. After briefly catching up and pleasantries, the real reason she’d called had hit me straight in the heart and pushed me to get out and find me a man…
“I’m helping at the town picnic. There’s been a swarm of desperate, horny-ass women around Cade since he arrived with the brisket and burgers. Except, they clearly don’t want that meat!” Liv growled like a vicious mama bear. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Oh, come on. He’s easy on the eyes, and women have always been after him. Just ignore it.” I dug my feet into the warm sand, while sitting on my beach towel, and let the shimmering ocean blind me. The last thing I wanted to see was Martina flirting with a guy in black board shorts, tanned skin and sporting a six-pack of abs.
Why, after almost a decade, were we still discussing Cade? He’d let me go just as he promised, and we hadn’t spoken or seen each other once. I’d dated other guys, and he’d probably been with other women, especially now that he’d joined an outlaw biker club. I’d gotten curious about MCs after Liv had told me the news a few years back, and read a few romance books, and watchedSons of Anarchy. If the MC life was what Cade wanted, then he wasn’t the man I’d known long ago.
“Ignore it? Hell no. I charged over there and gave him a piece of my mind.”
“Please tell me you didn’t.” I rolled my eyes at her dramatics.
“Of course I did. I refuse to believe you two are never getting back together.”
“It’s been almost ten years. You need to let it go, sis.”
“You’re supposed to move back, marry Cade, and pop out the cutest babies in the world for me to cuddle!”
“I’m sorry, Livvy, but I’m not moving back. How many times do I need to tell you? And having a baby is at the bottom of my to-do list. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”
“Shit, Shelby. You’re thirty-one. Mom’s going to be heartbroken if you don’t settle down soon.”
I sighed. “I will, when the right guy comes along.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Wow, thanks.”
“You already had the right guy, and you tossed him away like yesterday’s trash.”
“That’s not fair. We had different goals and dreams.”
“Well, as long as you’re at peace with your decision, I guess it’s time I give up the fight.”
“You’ll feel better if you do.” I darted my gaze in Martina’s direction. She and the hot Latino weren’t talking anymore. They were making out in the sand. Why now when I was feeling like a failure and lonely? “Swarms of women are around him, huh?”
“I don’t know. I turned my back to him.”
“Good girl.” I pressed my hand against my aching heart. Chicks had pursued Cade his whole life. He could have his pick, but like me, he hadn’t settled down. One day he would, and so would I.
“I couldn’t stand it any longer. When the hottest man in town appears in a black Stetson, the whole fucking population of single women comes out in mass! Crazed, desperate women with their panties in hand, hoping to snag him.”
“Wow…” My chest tightened. A Stetson? Since when? Bikers wore leather cuts. And when I was with Cade, he’d worn a ball cap.
“I hate it! They’re your girlfriends. Lori Kramer and Trinity Johnson. You should see them hovering around him in tight jeans, Lucchese boots, and their breasts spilling out of their V-neck shirts.”
I choked down a gasp at the picture she’d painted.
“We all know you were the one with the first Luccheses in town. They’re all freaking sluts for trying to emulate you just to attract him. Even older ones are trying to catch his attention. Thank God Kris keeps redirecting them away from him!” Whoa, she was fired up.
“Older ones?”
“Yeah, Jessie Howard, and Sally Davidson. It’s disgusting. Sally’s in her fifties like mom!”
“I’m sure he’s enjoying the attention.”
