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I shook my head. “Only that I had a family emergency. I called him last night while we were at the hotel and let him know I’ll be back on Monday.”
“We?” Her brow furrowed. “Hotel?”
I nodded. “Tank showed up in Philly. He’d been there for a week trying to find me. He found me, helped me finish the job, and we flew back yesterday.”
She smiled softly. “I’m glad he was there for you.”
“I didn’t want him there,” I replied truthfully.
“They wanted to help you. We all did. You should’ve trusted them.”
I grinned. “That’s what he said.”
“Hotel?” she repeated.
“On the way back to New Hope, we took an old route to avoid traffic and found a woman walking along the side of the road. We offered her a ride. Found out she was supposed to be in her sister’s wedding but bailed because her sister was marrying her ex-boyfriend.”
Becs’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”
“Can’t make this shit up.” I chuckled. “Anyway, she used Tank’s phone to call and let her family know she was okay. Then her mom called back while we were driving and yelled at her. Tank hung up the phone. Called her ex a douche and her sister a bitch.”
Becs laughed. “Oh my god, that’s awesome.”
I loved seeing her laugh. Loved that the anger and resentment were starting to fade and we were getting back to a good place. I wanted to keep that going, so I continued. “Her dress was pink and had one of those big skirts, but it was covered in glitter. By the time we got to the hotel, Tank was covered in glitter.”
She threw her head back and laughed harder, tears actually in her eyes because she was laughing so hard. “I’m just trying to picture six foot four of solid muscle, built like a damn tank, Tank, covered in glitter.”
I laughed along with her. “The best part was when she pointed out that he uses the f-word a lot. And she said f-word just like that. She did not say fuck.”
Still laughing, she shook her head. “I love this girl. Please tell me you’ll find a way so I can meet her.”
“Oh, I definitely think you’re going to meet her,” I replied. “Tank seems to have made it his mission to protect her from her family.”
Becs wiggled her eyebrows, and I chuckled. “Hmm…isn’t that interesting? I’m surprised she stayed at a hotel, and he didn’t talk her into staying in his room at the clubhouse.”
“He tried.” I pushed to standing again and took a drink. “But she was not having it.”
“Another one bites the dust, huh?”
I thought about Tank and Jane, but somehow, I couldn’t see it. I didn’t see it with Bear and Josie either, though, so what the hell did I know. “Maybe.”
When I didn’t say more, her smile slowly dropped, and she watched me closely until she finally spoke. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know that.”
“But I understand why you did what you thought you needed to do.”
My eyebrows rose because I hadn’t expected that. Although I should have. She grew up in clubs and accepted a long time ago that she was going to be protected however the men in her life saw fit and nothing she said would change that. I didn’t want her to feel that way with me. I wanted us to be partners in everything. This was just a time when her safety had to be a priority.
“I need you to understand that this was a special circumstance. I don’t want to keep things from you, Becs. I like when you give me your opinion.” I smirked. “Even if I don’t agree.” Reaching across the counter, I grabbed her hand and wrapped it up in mine. “I want this. I want us, and I want us to be partners in everything. Not just the shit I think you can handle.”
She smiled softly. “Me too.”
I squeezed her hand. “I told my dad about you.”
Her eyebrows rose. “About me?”
“And Wyatt.”
