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“But you are beautiful,” I tell her.
“Yeah, but after a day in a hot kitchen or being up all night when Romeo is sick, I don’t feel very pretty. But one single solitary moment with Risk, and I feel gorgeous. He does that for me every day.” Hanna glances across the room to Sofia. “You’re up.”
“Mine’s easy. He sings to me. When I get stressed or upset, if I have a tough case and feel less than adequate, he sings to me. He even wrote a song just for me. It makes me cry, it’s so beautiful. Demon refuses to record it because he says he wrote it for my ears only.”
I’m close to tears myself and I haven’t even heard it.
“It’s Izzy’s turn,” Ava says.
“She can’t,” Camille replies. “He’s right there.” She thrusts out a hand toward Saint. Saint smiles and covers his ears, his chest heaving with laughter.
“Saint’s dedication. He loves me and would do anything for me. His brothers and all of you are so important that he would lay his life on the line for all of us. But I see how he is with his elderly patients too. The time and attention he shows them is above and beyond.” She catches her husband’s eye and blows him a kiss.
“I’m safe!” Camille says, then lowers her voice in a hushed tone. “Steady’s not here.” She giggles. She clears her throat and says, “Steady gets me. I don’t have to say a word and he knows when I’m up or when I’m down. He knows when I need time to myself or need him to hold me. The nice thing is, I can do that for him too. We just fit.” Camille links her fingers together and looks around the room. “Who’s next?”
“Go, Abigail,” Izzy urges.
Abigail runs her finger over the rim of her wineglass, seemingly in deep contemplation of the question at hand. “Hmmm, let me think.” It takes her a second, then she does a simple shrug and says, “He saves me from myself. He’s taught me that being quiet isn’t a hindrance, just part of who I am. I used to want to be outgoing and fearless. I thought there was something wrong with me. It didn’t help that I was kidnapped. It almost killed me. But Ghost proved that I have a quiet strength, and I have it in spades,” she says sweetly.
Ghost can be a scary guy. Yet the way Abigail talks about him, he sounds more like a giant teddy bear.
“I guess I’m next,” Willow chimes in. “Roscoe lets me be me. I was just passing through on my way to nowhere. He gave me a reason to stay. He gave me balance. He’s my reason to wake up and smile and know that we have it all.” Willow snuggles next to Charlotte, who is next to her. “You go next,” she tells her.
I haven’t gotten to know Charlotte as well as I have the others. I understand that she’s a wonderful seamstress. She specializes in wedding dresses and even made Willow’s dress. I’ve seen pictures of her work; she’s fantastic. She’s been really busy since it’s been wedding season, but I’m glad she took the time to come tonight.
“There’s so much that I love about Wildcard. I don’t know what to choose,” she starts. “Okay, wait. I got it. Wildcard stood by me through the worst of times, and he makes it seem like it was the easiest thing in the world. He takes care of me and Noah, and I take care of him.” She shyly tilts her head to one side.
“He makes you smile. That’s what I see,” Quinn says. “Right. I guess I’m next. My guy buys me warm socks. He knows my feet get cold, so once a week, he buys me fuzzy socks. Even in the summer. He puts little notes in them. When I wear them, all I can think about is how much he loves me. Seems like a silly thing, but it means so much.”
Aww, that is so sweet. Makes the totally tatted Priest seem not so frightening. Rose and I are the only ones left. Rose volunteers to go next. “Thunder’s not the frills-and-flowers kind, but he sits in my flower shop surrounded by pinks and purples and sparkly lights and he still looks like my badass biker. He’s so comfortable in his own skin. He’s so sure of himself. It’s sexy as hell,” she says, her cheeks turning a hot pink.
“What about you, Francesca? Ready to tell us a little something about Hammer?” Vi says. “Inquiring minds need to know.” She chuckles.
“I’m a mess. I’m scared all the time. I wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. Hammer instinctively gets up and stays awake with me. He makes me talk about it. At first I hated doing that. I thought it showed how weak I was. But now I get it. He wants to share the good times and the bad. I’m still working on it. I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel normal, but I’m not doing it alone anymore.” I sigh. Then I add, “And he gave me a bunch of new friends who mean the world to me. Thanks for making me feel welcome.”
Ava wraps her arms around me for a hug. I notice that she hasn’t had a turn. “We save the best for last,” I said.
“When Guard and I first met, I used to escape into my own head. When I do, I don’t even see it coming, but he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me.” Ava mimics the motion by wrapping her arms around her middle. “Then he says, ‘You can tell me anything.’ It’s not what he says, but the way he says it. He means it. Every single time. The thing is, he already knows what I’m thinking, but he gives me time to say it in my own way. He says, ‘It’s your story. It should come from your voice.’ I love him so much. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.”
We all fill our glasses one more time and toast to the men who have stolen our hearts. With great wine and loving whispers, and wonderful new friends, this has turned into a wonderful night.
Eventually, Saint calls to have the women picked up, and they’re all safely dropped off at their homes. Izzy insisted that I stay the night and set up the guest room for me. I’m just getting into bed when my phone rings.
“Hey, baby. Did you have a good night?” Hammer asks.
“I miss you,” I tell him.
“Miss you too,” he replies. Hammer stays on the phone with me until I get sleepy, then blows me a kiss through the phone before he hangs up. Even from a distance, he’s taking care of me.
NINETEEN
Mafia and Bikers Unite
HAMMER
The meeting is organized for this morning at one of the casinos owned by Reno and his brothers. Sebastian is the main operator of their gambling side of the businesses. Dante is in charge of security and of Nostra Casa’s dealings, and, well, Reno, he does everything else.
Reno’s a powerful man, and he’s allied Nostra Casa, his family, with some other formidable families. Their alliance has made them all very wealthy. You’d think that a bunch of Mafia men wouldn’t give a shit about our problems, but the connection between Reno and Risk is a debt that can never be repaid in Reno’s eyes.
