“If you don’t want them, I’ll take them.” Izzy held out her hand.
Finlay pushed Izzy’s hand down. “You’ve had about a dozen cookies. Let Dixie eat them.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me. I love them. Thank you.” Dixie hugged Josie.
Bullet barreled through the kitchen doors and said, “What’s going on, Lollipop?”
Shit! All the girls crowded around Dixie as she shoved the cookies in her mouth.
“Nothing!” Izzy said.
“Cooking!” Finlay added.
“Have a cookie!” Tracey shoved a male gingerbread cookie toward Bullet, waving it so close to his face Dixie was afraid he’d swat it away.
Dixie tried to swallow, but the cookie got stuck in her throat and she started to choke. Bullet pushed one huge hand through her gaggle of conspirators, hauling her forward by the front of her shirt. He began swatting her on the back, hard, while holding her still with one hand around her upper arm.
“Water!” Finlay dove for a cup.
“What the hell did she swallow?” Bullet demanded, his giant arms circling her like he was going to do the Heimlich maneuver.
“Cookie!” the girls said in unison.
Dixie shook her head, trying to tell Bullet she could breathe, but all that came out was a squeak. He crushed her back against him so fast and hard, the cookie shot across the kitchen, causing all the girls to gasp.
Dixie sucked air into her lungs as they all talked at once, making sure she was okay.
“Holy crap, Bullet.” Dixie rubbed her sternum. “Thank you, but I think you broke my ribs.”
“Would you rather I let you choke? Shit, Dix, learn to chew.” He grumbled something indiscernible. “I know you women love your cookies, but seriously…” He strode toward the door, shaking his head.
“Bullet,” Finlay said sweetly. “What did you come in for?”
He cocked a grin, his features softening with adoration as he swept his arm around Finlay’s waist, hauling her in for a passionate kiss. When their lips parted, he grinned lasciviously at his wife and said, “I needed a little sugar rush.”
“God, she’s lucky,” Tracey said softly.
Finlay reached up, stroking his bearded cheeks, melting a little right before their eyes as she said, “Then give me a little more, please.”
Dixie melted, too, as Bullet kissed Finlay again, more tenderly this time. She loved when their family came together for the good of others, but it was moments like these, when the love in the room was so thick it was palpable, that made her long for her own man to love. Her mind traveled to Jace. She tried to fight it, but when she thought of herself with a man, it had been his image she’d conjured for so long, their connection felt real. It wasn’t, of course, especially after yesterday, when Jace had shown up at Whiskey Automotive while she was working. He’d spent the better part of an hour trying again to convince her to do the calendar shoot. She’d shut him down so firmly, she was sure he’d never want to see her again. She knew it was time to let her fantasies about them go, but she wasn’t ready to just yet. She didn’t even know how to begin to erase the beautiful badass man from her mind, much less to replace him with anyone else. Maybe tonight she’d get lucky and there would be a new man in town, someone she was destined to meet. A virile, interesting man her brothers hadn’t had a chance to scare away, someone who would win her at the auction and sweep her off her feet.
A girl could dream…
And for now dreams were all Dixie had.
JACE SAT WITH the heels of his black leather boots planted in the sand, forearms resting on his knees, holding the phone between his hands as he FaceTimed with Jayla. He’d hung out with Jared earlier but hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Dixie. She’d turned him down again yesterday, and he’d come to the harbor to try to clear his mind.
“Did I tell you we’re going to spend a week with Kurt and Leanna at the Cape later this summer? I can’t believe their little boy, Sloane, is a toddler already.” Kurt Remington was one of Rush’s younger brothers. “I know Thane will be too young to remember the visit, but I think it’s important for cousins to grow up spending time together. It’s never too early to start traditions like that…”
Jayla had always been a chatterbox. She went on to catch Jace up on each of Rush’s siblings’ lives. She and Rush were both Olympic skiers, but after hurting her shoulder a few years back, Jayla had cut back on competitions, though he had a feeling it would take an act of God to keep his determined sister off the slopes for long. She had always been strong and determined. She’d been the face of Dove for the past three years and had several other sponsorships. But for now she’d put her other obligations aside to focus on Thane, her adorable son, who was currently fast asleep in his mama’s arms.
It was strange seeing his baby sister with a baby of her own, but she was an amazing mother and Jace was proud of her. She was the first of their siblings to get married, and it had been strange for Jace to step back and allow Rush to be the one to watch over her, even though Rush had been her best friend since they were kids and Jace trusted him.
Jayla was still talking a mile a minute. “Let me tell you about Rush’s new training program! He’s kicking ass, of course…”
As she talked, Jace’s mind returned to Dixie. His thoughts hadn’t veered far from her since Jillian had handed him that picture, which was now safely tucked away in his wallet. He’d stared at the damn thing for hours the past two nights, seeing Dixie through much different eyes than he ever had. He was trying like hell to convince himself that seeing her differently had everything to do with how badly he wanted her to be the face of Silver-Stone, but Jace had never been good at fooling himself. He’d known the gorgeous firecracker was the woman he’d wanted to represent his company for years, but he’d been pushing away thoughts of her as anything more than Bear’s younger sister for so long, he’d pulled the wool over his own eyes. Now, after going head-to-head with her, he couldn’t help but see the green-eyed vixen for what she was—a fiercely determined, truly brilliant, and unfailingly strong woman.
“Are you even listening to me? Jace? Jace!”
His sister’s raised voice snapped him from his thoughts. “Shit, sorry, Jay Jay. I, uh, yeah. I’m here.”
“You never zone out. What are you doing? Designing a new bike in your head? Debating opening a shop in Peaceful Harbor again? I know how much you like it there.”
Although Silver-Stone had locations all over the world, they had only one headquarters, and it was in LA, where their largest manufacturing plant and most of their designers were located. When Jace wasn’t traveling, he worked out of that office. Last year at this time he and Maddox had considered opening a second headquarters and manufacturing plant on the East Coast. They’d looked at Peaceful Harbor but had tabled that venture when another deal had come up for space they’d previously tried to secure for offices and retail space in Colorado, and they’d jumped on it. Now they were once again looking for an East Coast location for their second headquarters and manufacturing plant.
“No. We found a place in Boston. I’m meeting Maddox there next week for a final review of the properties.” Although Peaceful Harbor would be less expensive, the property owners in Boston were offering a sweet deal that would include another prime retail location for a second Boston store in addition to the manufacturing plant and offices. If they went through with the deal, Boston would become Jace’s home base. He liked his nomadic lifestyle, but spending a few months closer to his family wouldn’t be a bad thing, especially now that he had a nephew.
“Sorry for zoning out earlier,” he said. “I was just thinking about the photo shoot.” He’d already filled her in on what had gone down with Sahara and how he was pursuing Dixie to take her place.
“If you can’t get Dixie, Mia would probably model for you.” All of the Stones had inherited their parents’ olive skin and attractive features. Mia was five years younger than Jace and for the past several y
ears she had worked for Jillian’s cousin Josh Braden and his wife, Riley, who were famous fashion designers. Mia knew the ins and outs of modeling, and she’d do anything for him.
Unlike Dixie.
“Mia’s beautiful, but she’s not what I have in mind for the face of Silver-Stone.”
“God, you have such ridiculously high standards. Mia is stunning. In my opinion, she’s much prettier than that Sahara woman you were going to use.”
Shea had given him the same lecture about his standards an hour ago, after he’d snubbed his nose at every model she’d presented. They were either too hard, too soft, or too…not Dixie. The only person who seemed to understand his need for excellence was Maddox, who had supported his decision to go after Dixie relentlessly. It was no wonder they made great business partners.
“Mia is beautiful, and for that matter, so are you and Jennifer, but she’s not right for my company. And you’re damn right I have high standards, but so do you. It’s who we are, Jay. Mom and Dad didn’t raise pussies.” His parents had unknowingly done them a favor by making them fend for themselves for the things they wanted or aspired to be. Working for everything he wanted, from his leather jacket to his college degree, forced Jace to figure out what was important to him, to strategize the best paths to success, and pushed him to excel. “Besides, when has anyone gotten anywhere settling for a damn thing?”
“Well…Jen doesn’t have such high standards, at least not in the male-companion department.”
“Don’t get me started on Jenny.” Their sister Jennifer had an affinity for playing around with men, and she wasn’t the least bit shy about owning it. It had long been a bone of contention between her and Jace.
“I know, I know. Do you think you’ll be able to get the woman you want? Dixie? I love her name, by the way. Is that her biker name or her real name?”
“When have you ever known me not to get what I go after? And I have no idea if Dixie is her real name.” But now that she’d brought that up, he wanted to know the answer.
Jayla brushed a kiss over Thane’s forehead. “From what you said about her, it sounds like she’s as stubborn as you are. You might have met your match. Then what?”
“I don’t do what-ifs. You know that. I’ll convince her to do it.” His jaw clenched tight at the thought of Dixie continuing to turn him down. There was no way he’d let that happen. She wasn’t second fucking fiddle to anyone, and he’d sure as hell prove it to her.
The alarm on his phone went off, and he quickly silenced it. He’d set it so he didn’t miss the auction. He hadn’t planned on going. He hated shit like that, buying dates with people based on looks, even if for charity. But the event was important to Dixie, and that kicked it to the top of his priority list in a way that hadn’t registered before. Attending the auction was not about getting her to accept his offer. He had plenty of time to focus on that tomorrow. Dixie’s comment about his donation telling her who he was had been eating away at him. She’d pointed out a flaw in him that he hadn’t realized existed, and he didn’t like it. When Jace didn’t like things, he fixed them. Tonight was about showing Dixie that he wasn’t a self-absorbed prick.
“I can think of one way to get Dixie to agree,” Jayla said, drawing his attention away from his thoughts. “Have you tried flirting with her?”
“She’s not that kind of woman.”
Jayla laughed. “Are you kidding? All single women like to be flirted with by hot, rich guys.”
“She doesn’t give two shits about money. I’ve got to get going, Jay,” he said as he pushed to his feet and brushed the sand from his jeans. Dixie’s voice slammed into him, her words grating on his nerves. Whiskeys don’t play second fiddle to anyone. He had no idea when proving she had always been his first choice for the face of his company had turned into proving he was better than she thought he was. But it had, and the more he thought about her comment, the more it bothered him. He wasn’t some privileged kid who had ridden Daddy’s tailcoats to success. His parents hadn’t had two nickels to rub together. He’d worked his ass off to get where he was, and he was still working his ass off, growing the company, building better bikes. He’d always been proud that he gave a large percentage of everything he earned to charities, and he didn’t like the way her comment made that feel dirty.
There was no way in hell he was going to let Dixie believe he thought he was too good to give of his time.
“Date?” Jayla asked hopefully.
“Auction.” He headed for the parking lot.
Her eyes lit up. “I thought you weren’t going?”
“I wasn’t. Now I am.”
“Good! Then you can video Jared when he’s auctioned off. Pleeease! We can watch it when you come for dinner Sunday night with Mia and Jennifer. They’ll be so excited to see it. Please, Jace? Please, please, please?”
He gave her a knock-it off look, knowing she wouldn’t. He was looking forward to seeing his sisters, who all lived in New York City.
“Come on!” Jayla pleaded, her brows knitted together so tight a deep vee appeared between her eyes. “I’ll stop bugging you about finding your soul mate!”
It didn’t matter that Jayla was thirty years old; she’d always be his baby sister, and there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for her. Some things just took more negotiating than others.
“Done.” He chuckled.
She did a silent happy dance, being careful not to wake Thane, grinning from ear to ear. “I love you so much right now!”
“I love you, too. Kiss my little buddy for me.”
“He misses you.”
“I miss him, too.” He knew she was just buying time to keep him on the phone. Jace traveled so often, they sometimes went for long stretches without seeing each other or even talking on the phone, catching up with texts as he was able.
“Fingers and toes crossed for Jared to get won by a great woman who loves to eat and for Dixie to fall prey to your charms and agree to do the shoot!”
God, he loved her enthusiasm. He stood by his bike, surrounded by the scents of the sea and sand, missing his family, and said, “I’ll let you know when she says yes, because she will, Jay. Now I really have to go.”
“Okay,” she said quietly, wiggling her fingers in her usual wave. “Good luck, Jacey.”
She didn’t use the nickname she’d called him since she was too young to walk very often, but she always did when they said goodbye. And it did him in every single time.
He said goodbye, missing her even more as he pocketed his phone. He pulled on his helmet and straddled his bike. He had a fleet of bikes, but this one was his favorite. It wasn’t his fastest or his sleekest motorcycle, but it was the most important model he’d ever built. It was a slightly upgraded version of the very first motorcycle line he’d ever developed, the Stroke, which had catapulted his company into an elite level of an industry that had once seemed untouchable.
His bike roared to life. Even though it was more than a decade old, it still purred like a tiger, underscoring how much quality mattered.
And there was no higher quality than the frustratingly stubborn green-eyed woman he was going to see.
Chapter Three
THERE WAS STANDING room only at Whiskey Bro’s. It was amazing what the promise of hot single men and a good cause could do to a place. Beyond the usual bearded, tattooed bikers and black leather vests boasting Dark Knights patches, there was a sea of conservative men and women, yuppies sporting perfectly coiffed hair, and hipsters who worked too hard at looking cool. Most of the women carried bidding paddles with numbers on them. The Rebels, a band made up of members of the Dark Knights, played in the back of the bar. The main stage was lit up like it was an award ceremony, with black and white curtains and hundreds of lights. Jace picked up a brochure from a table by the door and shoved it in his back pocket, scanning the dancing and mingling crowd for Dixie.
His gaze skirted over women in short dresses and tight jeans who were ogling him as they sucked down drinks.
He saw a group of Dixie’s girlfriends and sisters-in-law huddled by the stage talking animatedly, but Dixie wasn’t with them. He spotted Biggs, Dixie’s father, standing by the bar talking with Diesel and Bullet. Biggs was a rough and gruff biker to the core, rivaling Bullet’s size and attitude. Though a stroke had stolen Biggs’s ability to ride his motorcycle and left him with a slight droop on one side of his face, the need for a cane, and slow speech, Jace knew Biggs would step into a brawl without an ounce of fear to keep his town safe.
Jace’s face broke into a wide smile when Dixie’s mother pushed through the crowd in front of him. Red was a dead ringer for Sharon Osbourne, and as usual, she was dressed in black from her blouse and jeans all the way down to her biker boots. She was the coolest mother on the planet, and Jace was honored to be treated like one of her own. Then again, she treated just about everyone that way. Jace’s mother was kind and generous, but she was also conservative. Although she was proud of Jace, she didn’t like tattoos or leather, and she didn’t understand why he had loved motorcycles for as long as he could remember. He didn’t understand it, either, but even as a little kid he’d been captivated by the roar of their engines and the sleek images in magazines.
Red’s green eyes brightened. “I knew you’d come. Get in here and give me a hug, you big, handsome devil.”
“How’s it going, Red?”
“The community has come together, I have all of my babies under one roof, and our family continues to grow. Life is good, Jace.” She slipped her hand around his arm as if he were going to lead her onto a dance floor and said, “And now you’re here. You let a lot of women down by not signing up to be auctioned off.”
“Sorry, Red. It’s not my style.”
“Yes, I know. You’re like a mix of all my boys: tough, smart, funny, with no patience for bullshit. I get it. And I know how much Dixie appreciated your donation. She raved about how generous you were.”
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