by Sam Crescent
Grace smiled. “I can help.”
“I’ll call Chloe and see if she can take your shift while you cook for me.”
She watched Teri leave the room.
Letting out a sigh, Grace sat down on the bench and put her head into her hands. In that moment she thought about Dwayne. He’d never made her feel anything like Drake did. She loved Drake, and she’d never loved Dwayne.
When her thoughts didn’t settle down, she got to her feet, and made her way into the kitchen where Teri was hanging up the phone. “Chloe’s on her way in.”
“Great,” Grace said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get started.”
For the next hour, she followed Teri’s instructions, and started firing up the breakfast menu. Chloe entered half an hour into the preparations, and she got the congratulations to which she smiled.
What is your problem?
You love Drake.
You want to marry him.
She was scared. That was it. She was scared of making that final commitment. From in the kitchen, Grace heard the ring of the bell, and glanced over at Teri. “It’s all about to begin. Are you ready for this?”
“I’ve got no choice. How is that head?”
“I’ll be fine just as soon as the throbbing ends.” Teri sipped at some water, and the first order rang through.
Showtime.
****
Drake walked into the diner to see Teri and Chloe serving with no sign of Grace. Her torn up clothing was still on his bedroom floor, but there wasn’t a sign of his woman. Teri waved at him before making her way over.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Why are you not cooking?”
“Can we take this outside?” Teri said.
He nodded, and they made their way out of the diner into the open warm air.
“What’s going on?”
“Grace is cooking for me. I was too ill to even use the ovens today. I’d have ended up burning myself before I actually achieved anything.” Teri dropped her sunglasses over her eyes. “So, you’ve proposed to Grace.”
“Yeah, but I’m a little concerned right now. She sneaked out of my bedroom, and there’s no sign of the woman I took to bed last night.”
“She’s having second thoughts,” Teri said.
“About my proposal?”
Teri nodded her head. “Grace is a delicate kind of flower. She just doesn’t jump into shit, and she is scared.”
“Fuck. Let me go and talk to her.”
“Can I give you a little bit of advice?” Teri asked.
“Yes!” He’d had no intention of proposing marriage to her. Last night, he’d just done what felt right, and he didn’t want to make Grace scared of herself.
“Take your time with her. Don’t rush her, and give her the space she needs.”
He started to pace up and down and faced her. “Do you want me to leave her?”
“No. Just don’t crowd her. Give her a chance to breathe.”
“I’m not squashing her.”
“You are by constantly surrounding her.” Teri grabbed his hand. “You’re a good man. I know this. You know this, but you also need to see that relationships take time. Grace is not like that whore who gave you herpes. She’s not like the women who are fucking you for a leather cut and a title. Grace enjoys being around you. I’ve seen the way she has developed just by being with you. She cares about you, and is probably the only woman who will ever love you for you.”
“Charming,” he said. “And it wasn’t herpes, it was gonorrhea.”
“Whatever. You know I love you, and the club loves you, but this isn’t about that kind of love. This is about the kind of love that will last a lifetime. Now, I didn’t think it was ever going to be possible to love someone like that, but you have proven me wrong. That kind of love exists. I see it in the way you look at Grace, the way she looks at you.”
“I’ll take my time.” He grabbed her arms. “I know Grace, okay. She may not think I do, but I know my woman, and Grace is scared because she thinks something is going to change. She’s probably wondering what the hell we’re going to do, but have a little faith that I won’t go crazy.”
He kissed Teri’s head and made his way back into the diner. Entering the kitchen, he watched Grace stirring a pot of blueberry sauce.
“Hey, baby,” he said, moving toward her.
Grace glanced over her shoulder, and she smiled at him. “Hey.”
Drake saw the concern in her eyes, the fear.
“So, I woke this morning to find my woman had left my bed.”
“I had to come to the diner early, and I didn’t want to wake you.”
He moved behind her, gripping her shoulders. Kissing her neck, he nibbled on her pulse. “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of. Nothing is going to change.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do know that, baby. I know everything.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his cock against her ass. “Now, you may think I’m going to demand shit of you, but nothing is going to change. If you want, I won’t even get you a ring if you’re not ready.”
“Do you think I’m crazy?”
“Of course. You’re completely crazy, but you know what, I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He turned her to face him, and he cupped her face.
“Do you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you.”
“Most women would be so damn happy right now, and I am, but I’m just … I don’t know.”
“You’re having doubts.”
“We don’t really know each other.”
“We know each other, but that’s okay, I can wait.” He kissed her head, breathing her scent in. “I’m going to let you cook, and do your thing. I’ll see you later.”
****
Later that night Grace was curled up on the sofa with Chloe on the floor, and Suzy holding her feet.
“Why are you here and not with your man?” Suzy asked.
She glanced down staring at the luminous pink nail polish that Suzy was putting on her toes.
“I wanted to spend a girly night.” She rested her head on the sofa.
“You’ve become engaged, and you’re having a girly night instead of screwing your man’s brains out?” Chloe asked. “That is messed up.”
“It’s not.”
“It is,” Suzy said. “If I had a guy I’d be at home with him.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “You don’t even know what you’re missing out on.”
Suzy opened her mouth, and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“If I was getting married to the guy, I’d be with him so no other bitch would take what belonged to me. I guess we’re all different.”
“You think I’m doing the wrong thing?” Grace asked.
“I don’t think anything,” Chloe said. “We’re two different people.”
“I’m scared. The only other relationship I’ve been in was with Dwayne, and you both know how that turned out.”
“First, Dwayne was a loser, and you shouldn’t be putting Drake in the same category as him,” Chloe said.
“I’m not.”
“You totally are,” Suzy said.
“Okay, what about the club?” Grace asked. “There are always willing women around them.”
“Relationships are based on love and trust. If you don’t love Drake, then trust is never going to come into it,” Chloe said.
“I’m in love with Drake.”
“But do you trust him? Has he done anything to make you think otherwise?”
Grace shook her head. She was being a complete and total idiot. “He’s the one. I’m in love with him.”
Chloe and Suzy screamed. “We knew it. We knew you were in love with him. Now, you just got to stop being afraid, and realize you’ve got a hot piece of ass who wants your hot piece of ass. If another woman comes sniffing around, stand up, tell her to back the fuck off, or you’re going to bitch slap her.”
Grace laughed. “I’ve been a bi
tch, haven’t I?
“Yep, so stop being a bitch, and let things happen. Stop being afraid of what could happen, and enjoy what is actually happening. Come on, let’s dance.” Chloe jumped up, and turned on the radio. “It’s time to party.”
Music filled the apartment, and it was exactly what Grace needed. She threw her hands in the air, and screamed out happily.
“I’m going to get married.”
In that moment, Grace didn’t know why, but everything just seemed to come together in her mind. She was going to get married to Drake, a member of the Dirty Fuckers MC, and she was in love with him.
Chapter Twelve
Three weeks later
Chloe was humming to herself as she cleaned away the table that the family had just vacated. Everything in her life was going great. She now had Grace’s room in the apartment. Grace had moved into the clubhouse, and was currently looking for a house or apartment with Drake. There were also all the plans of the wedding. Teri was baking up a storm in the kitchen, and with fall almost upon them, things were slowing down in the diner so there was more than enough time for Teri to bake. Grace had asked for Teri to bake her wedding cake.
Drake and Grace sat in the corner of the diner looking through wedding magazines. Grace wanted a church wedding, and Chloe was so damn happy as she’d been asked to be a bridesmaid.
Whistling to herself, she carried the plates into the kitchen, handing them to Daniel. The young man was still prospecting for the club, and was doing a good job. Chloe hadn’t gone back to the club apart from that one party three weeks ago. She hadn’t even slept with anyone that night either.
The club was changing, and more men were finding women of their own while she was left out in the cold. The man she wanted, she couldn’t have. It had been a long time since she’d seen Richard, and many of her nights were spent thinking about him. Even when she promised herself she wouldn’t give him a thought, she always did.
“Hey, Chloe,” Richard said, appearing as if he’d been reading her very thoughts. Spinning around, she saw him standing there, holding a briefcase.
“Richard, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Why?” She stared at him dressed in his business suit looking rather dashing. Arousal hit her instantly at the sight of him. He looked so handsome and sexy, and she knew exactly what those clothes hid.
Get a hold of yourself.
“I want to ask you out on a date.”
She stood up, giving Richard her full attention.
“I’m not sure I heard that properly.”
“You heard me properly.” Richard sighed. “I want to go on a date with you. I want to be with you, and get to know you.”
“You’re asking me out on a date?”
“Yes. I’m asking you out on a date, and it’s not to come to the diner. There’s this sweet little French restaurant, and I’d love for you to come with me.”
Chloe’s heart pounded as she stared at him. “A date.”
“Yes. I will pick you up around seven, and we’ll have some dinner, maybe go dancing, and then I’ll take you home afterward.”
“A proper date?”
“A proper date with no expectations.” He held his hand out. “I miss you, Chloe, and not just the sex. I miss you.”
Chloe stared down at his hand, and the temptation to put her hand in his was so strong. She kept her hands to herself. “I will accept your date. I won’t be fucking you or anything.”
Richard laughed. “I figured I’d have to work up to actually being with you.”
“Will you be coming to Drake and Grace’s wedding?” Chloe asked, needing to get onto a topic that actually made sense.
“Yes. I’ve been invited. That was something else I wanted to ask you. Will you be my date to the wedding?” he asked.
“Wow, when it rains it pours.” Blowing out a breath, she ran her hand down the front of her uniform. Glancing down, she saw that there was a tomato ketchup stain, mustard, and even a coffee stain. She had to look the most unattractive she ever had in her life, and yet Richard was asking her out, not once, but twice. “Yes, I will be your date.”
There. She had done it.
Richard nodded. “I will see you at seven, and I’ll send a dress.”
“You’ll send a dress?” she asked.
“I want you to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Okay, then I will accept.”
****
“So, our friends are having this big thing going on.”
Suzy turned around to find Pixie standing in the back of the shop while she was going through orders. “What are you doing here? The shop isn’t even open.” She had to close due to the delivery, and several colleagues had phoned in sick. Most of the time Suzy was more than happy to watch the shop, and deal with the deliveries all on her own, but they were going through a season change. The extra help would have been appreciated. In the end, she’d had to close the doors to go through the supplies.
“You left your keys in my car?” He held her spare keys between his fingers, and heat filled her cheeks. The one night they were supposed to have spent together hadn’t exactly worked out as she planned. Pixie seemed to touch buttons she didn’t even realize that she possessed.
“You should have given them to me.” She took them back and stepped away from him.
“What’s wrong, my little virgin? Are you afraid?”
“Stop it.” When it came to Pixie, she was weak. He said all the right things, and made her want everything that she had once denied herself. Pixie was her addiction, and worse, he knew it. Three weeks she’d been sneaking around with him, and yet no one even had a clue that they were fucking every chance they got.
“Stop what? Stop tempting you? Stop teasing you?” He walked up behind her, gripping her neck, and tilting her head back. His lips covered hers in a searing kiss that had her pussy getting wet. “Stop making you so wet that you want to be fucked so hard?”
She pushed away from him, not having a clue where she found the strength.
“What do you want?”
“Do you want to go to Drake and Grace’s wedding with me?”
Suzy stared at him. “Why would we do that?”
“We’re fucking, Suzy. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds out.”
“Yet no one knows. Why ruin something that is working for us? Besides, there’s probably plenty of club women there.”
“I’m not fucking club women, Suzy.”
“What?”
“I’ve not touched any other woman but you since that first night. I want you to go to the wedding with me.”
Suzy was speechless. “I don’t want to ruin what we’ve got.”
“How is going to a wedding going to ruin that?”
She rubbed her temple. “I don’t know.”
“Then go with me.”
In that moment, she was tempted.
****
Grace wiped down the table in the clubhouse and pushed some hair off her face. She had gotten off work an hour ago and already cleaning. So far she and Drake hadn’t found anywhere to stay, which sucked. She didn’t want to stay at the clubhouse forever.
“You could leave it,” Cora said, coming downstairs looking like she had spent the whole morning fucking.
“I can’t leave it. Look, it’s a mess.”
“James would make the guys clean it. He’s not one for too much mess, or he’d hire one of those firms. You know the ones that clean.” Cora moved toward the kettle. “How are the wedding plans going?”
“Good, I think. Drake wants to have the wedding in the yard of the clubhouse.”
“Where do you want it?”
“In the church. I always wanted to get married in white, and in a church. You know, the traditional stuff?”
“He doesn’t want that?” Cora asked.
Grace shook his head. “He said it would be bad for his biker image.”
“So?”
“So, compromise. Find something that he’ll want more than the wedding in the backyard, or forfeit sex.” Cora took a sip of her coffee. “You’ll come to see there are ways for us to win. Just think it over.” She glanced down at her watch. “I’ve got to go. I’m helping Sharon out at the school.”
“Wait, Cora,” Grace said, stopping the other woman. “Suzy has agreed to be my maid of honor, and Chloe is going to be my bridesmaid. Would you also be a bridesmaid?”
Cora squealed, wrapping her arms around Grace. “I wouldn’t miss it. Thank you so much for asking me.”
Holding onto the other woman, Grace felt a lot happier for asking Cora. They were both old ladies in the club.
“Remember, compromise,” Cora said, leaving her alone.
Taking a seat at the counter, Grace thought about what Drake wanted at the wedding. He wanted to be surrounded by his club, and the bikes, and she wanted to be in a church with the dress. Drake hadn’t disputed the dress, even though she’d not been a virgin with him.
“Hey, baby,” Drake said, startling her out of her thoughts.
She noticed several of the brothers walked into the clubhouse, giving her a nod of acknowledgement. Licking her suddenly dry lips, she took a deep breath. “I want to get married in a church.” Drake groaned, and she held her hand up. “You’ve got to hear me out before you start complaining. You’re hearing church and being ignorant. Now, I want to marry you because you asked me. I think I should get a say where we marry.”
“A church? We’ll burn entering the fucking place.”
“I’ll be willing to forgo the tux if you want to wear your leathers. Also, no limo, and we ride on your bike.”
“The dress?” Drake asked.
“I’m going to be wearing a white dress, and only once. If it ends up dirty, I’ll not be saving it.”
“That’s fucking extravagant.”
“One expense, one church, and you get your bikes, your club, and your leather. Please, please, please.” She ran her hands up his chest, circling his neck. “I’ll do that thing with my tongue you like.”