Blazing Hot Bad Boys Boxed Set - A MC Romance Bundle

by Glass, Evelyn

“It has been a long time,” Melina admits.

  “It will do you good. Get you some new clothes. Give you a chance to forget your troubles for a while. We used to love to shop.”

  “I know. And I still do, but now it is mostly for kids clothes. But it feels… wrong… somehow, to go out shopping for clothes so soon after…”

  “Melina, listen to me. You can’t sit in the house and mope all the time. It’s not good for you. I know it’s hard. I know it is! But you can’t live your life as the grieving widow forever. An afternoon out with a friend doing something you love isn’t being unfaithful to Tim. You need this. If you don’t want to shop and have lunch, that’s fine. Pick something else. But you’re leaving this house for a few hours this morning if I have to drag you. Capiche?”

  Melina has a flicker of a smile before it disappears. “But what will my friends think?”

  “If they’re really your friends, they will be over here helping me shove you into the car. If they don’t approve, then fuck ‘em,” Rose says, before covering her mouth in shock and embarrassment for throwing the F-bomb in front of Melina’s children. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” she says before looking at Michael. “Don’t tell anyone that your aunt Rose uses bad words.” She then turns her attention back to Melina. “When did you start caring what anyone thinks, anyway?”

  Melina offers Rose a slight smile. “Okay. Let’s go shopping. I haven’t had a girl’s day out since you were here the last time.”

  “Now that that’s settled,” Rose says, turning to Kimberly. “You want to go for a ride with aunt Rose?” she asks, leaning in close and speaking in the false excitement of baby talk. “You want to go see your grandpa and grandma? You do?”

  Melina’s smile widens slightly as Kimberly shrieks in excitement, reaching for Rose. “You should have kids. You’re a natural.”

  “Someday,” Rose says, pulling the tray back, freeing Kimberly from her prison and picking her up. “I’ll bet you a strawberry milkshake you can’t be ready before I get back from dropping the kids off.”

  Melina smile broadens even more. Rose knows just where her weaknesses are. “You’re on.”

  ***

  “Would you tell her that looks good on her?” Rose says to the sales clerk in exasperation. This is only the first stop and already Melina is being a pain in the ass.

  “It really does look good on you,” the sales clerk agrees. “The blue compliments your coloring and it has an understated sexiness about it. Perfect for romantic night out on the town.” Rose grins at Melina in triumph.

  “I don’t know Rose,” Melina waffles. “It seems so…”

  “So what?” Rose asks in mock annoyance. “Sophisticated? Trendy? Sexy? What?”

  Melina grins again. Rose keeps picking outfits for her that are all of those things, but… “It just doesn’t seem appropriate right now, somehow. And I’m a mother of two, for God’s sake!”

  Rose glances around. Except for the sale clerk, they are alone in the store. “Ever heard of a MILF?” she asks quietly.

  Melina gasps, her mouth falling open in surprise and shock, before she giggles. “Rose! You’re horrible!”

  “You don’t look like the mother of two in that outfit,” the snickering sales clerk adds.

  “She’ll take it,” Rose says with finality. “In fact, wrap up the clothes she wore in. She’ll wear it out. We need to get you some shoes too.”

  “Rose! No!” Melina objects.

  Rose puts her finger to her lips and then gives her the stink-eye, wagging her finger in playful warning. “If you won’t buy it, I will. And after all I have done for you, too… running your restaurant, dropping your kids off at your mother’s, buying you lunch later—with a strawberry milkshake I might add—you’re going to make me buy your clothes too?”

  Melina looks at herself in the mirror again, smoothing the dress over her hips once more. “It looks good?”

  “Melina, honey, it looks fantastic! You look great!” Rose steps up behind her, putting her lips close to her ear so only she can hear. “You are beautiful, Melina. Never forget that. Someday you will be ready to wear this. I want you to have it for when you are. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.” Rose watches Melina’s face in the mirror as it twists with grief, but then she sniffs and her face relaxes.

  “You’re such a good friend,” Melina whispers, her face wrinkling again as she struggles once more to not cry.

  “So are you, Melina. The best.”

  Melina smiles at Rose, her eyes full of tears before she blinks several times and turns to the clerk and smiles. “I’ll take it.”

  It requires Rose threatening to withhold the coveted milkshake, but Melina finally agrees to wear the dress out of the shop. “You can’t wear your sneakers with that dress. The fashion police will arrest us both… you for wearing them and me for letting you,” Rose states, dragging Melina into the nearest shoe store.

  As the clerk in the shoe store waits on Melina with polite puppy-dog eagerness, Rose fades into the background, allowing Melina to enjoy his attentions. Melina finally selects a set of pumps with two-inch heels, dropping her sneakers in the bag with her pants and blouse. “What do you think?” Melina asks as she poses for Rose outside the shoe shop.

  “I think, Melina, that only that little band of gold kept him from asking you out,” Rose says, holding up her left hand and rubbing her ring finger with her thumb.

  Melina smiles, slightly sad. “Yeah. Well… maybe some time in the future. I’m not ready to even think about that right now.”

  “I know you aren’t. But he had to still be in college, and he was lusting after this hot momma with two kids. Remember when you were feeling alone and that no one would want you?” Rose asks kindly. “Do you see now that you are still beautiful? That you still have a lot to offer?”

  “Maybe,” Melina finally allows with a slight smile.

  “No ‘maybe.’ Don’t make me come back up here and kick your ass, Melina. You know I will.”

  Melina snickers. “Yes, I believe you would.”

  They stop in several other shops, buying nothing, before they enter one that specializes in lingerie. Melina tries to demur, but Rose insists. “Well, I want to look for myself then,” she states as she enters the store.

  Rose looks through the racks, showing several to Melina. She resists buying anything else, and Rose doesn’t press, until she holds up a black silk number that catches her eye. “This,” Rose states firmly, holding the sexy nothingness to Melina.

  “Rose, no,” Melina says quietly, but Rose can read the want in her eyes.

  “Oh poo,” Rose tsks, taking the bag of old clothes from Melina. “Do you have something like this already?”

  “No… but…”

  “No buts,” Rose interrupts. “You can’t wear granny panties under that dress. It’s not allowed. Here, try it on,” she says, forcing the garment into Melina’s hand.

  “But Rose! I can’t wear this!”

  “When you are ready to wear that dress again, you will be ready to wear this. Melina, please. For me?”

  Melina hesitates, clearly torn between wanting the negligee and not wanting to appear shallow.

  “It will be okay Melina,” Rose encourages gently. “You will know when the time is right. Until then, no one but you and I will know you have it. Do something nice for yourself. Tim wouldn’t want you to give up on life.”

  Rose follows Melina to the changing rooms, waiting in the outer area until Melina steps out. “What do you think?” she asks shyly.

  “I’ve changed my mind. Don’t buy it. I don’t want the competition.” Rose says, then smiles. “You look great. Very sexy.”

  Melina smiles at the compliment. “It just seems so wrong to be buying something like this so soon after… so soon.”

  “It’s not though. It is part of the healing process. I want you to feel good about yourself. I want you start getting on with your life. I know you miss Tim. I know you aren’
t ready now, but I want you to remember that you still have a life to live. Every time you look in your closet and your drawer, every time you see that dress or this negligee, I want you to remember how beautiful and special you are. I want you to remember that you are too young and vibrant to withdraw from the world. Please Melina. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want you to go through life like this, never doing anything fun, never doing anything nice for yourself.”

  Melina looks at Rose for a long time, saying nothing. “Okay. For when the time is right,” she says quietly.

  Rose smiles, fighting the desire to cry in sympathy. “Good. The world needs more Melina, not less.”

  They leave the mall and enjoy a lunch at the Silver Peak, a Reno micro-brewery known for their good food. As the meal progresses they talk and laugh and Melina begins to come out of her shell slightly, showing some of the spunk that Rose knows she has. She knows it is only temporary but Rose delights in the fact that, for a while at least, Melina can forget her pain. As they leave the restaurant, Melina even has a little sway in her hips, causing Rose to smile.

  “Thank you Rose,” Melina says as they make the forty-five minute drive back to Eagle Valley. “I really enjoyed today.”

  “So did I, Melina,” Rose replies. As they drive Melina becomes pensive again, her head resting against the seat back, staring out of the side glass. “What are you thinking?” Rose asks.

  “How short life is. How you take people and things for granted. I think I took Tim for granted. I just assumed he would always be there, and now he is gone,” Melina says as she continues to stare at the passing scenery. “There is so much I wish I had said to him. I wish I had told him every time I saw him how much I loved him, how much he meant to me, but I didn’t. And now I will never be able to.”

  “I’m sorry Melina.”

  “Nothing for you to be sorry for. I think it happens to everyone. They think they have all the time in the world, and then before they know it, the time is up. Life is too short to take for granted like that, but you don’t realize it until it is too late.”

  They ride in silence the rest of the way to Melina’s house, the words “life is too short” replaying over and over in Rose’s head.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Rose is in her office later that afternoon signing checks when Joseph knocks softly at her door. She looks up and smiles. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite anarchist. Come in. What can I do for you today?”

  Joseph smiles, refusing to rise to the bait. “It’s the end of the month. I’ve come to pay my phone bill.”

  “Oh! Uhhh…” Rose stammers, unsure of what to do.

  “Do you have the bill?” Joseph asks. “Tim would normally just tell me the amount, but I can look for myself.”

  “I… uhhh…”

  “Probably top filing cabinet drawer,” Joseph suggests.

  Rose steps to the cabinet, opens the door, and quickly locates the phone bills in the neatly labeled folders. The first one is January, so the last one… she pulls it out and hands it to Joseph. He flips through it a moment, then hands it back.

  “One-seventeen thirty-eight,” he says before peeling off one-hundred twenty dollars.

  “You want change?” Rose teases.

  He grins. “Apply it to the next bill. Oh, wait, there won’t be another one. Sorry. I think Paul down at the hardware store is going to host my phone for me. He’s a good guy.”

  “And your P.O. Box?”

  “That is paid through the end of the year. The box is in Tim’s name, not the restaurant’s. I’ll just keep that. I can take the key now if you like.”

  Rose starts to reach into her drawer for the keys, then stops. “No, that’s alright. If Melina sells or hires some to manage the Goose you may have to come up with something else, but you’re right. It is no trouble at all to collect your mail, so I will keep doing that. Same for the phone.”

  Joseph smiles. “Thank you Rose. It gives me an excuse to come see you.”

  “Do you need an excuse?”

  “No. But…”

  “But what?”

  “But… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Did I say you make me uncomfortable?”

  “No,” he says before pausing. “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  “I can’t Joseph. Not tonight. I’m covering. But thank you for asking.”

  “If you weren’t covering, would you?”

  Rose thinks about it a moment then smiles. “Yes, I guess I would.”

  Joseph all but beams. “That’s all I want to know,” he says before standing, taking his mail, and walking out.

  ***

  “Have you eaten?”

  Rose starts at Joseph’s voice as she locks the door later that night. She hadn’t noticed him sitting on the bench beside the door. “Jesus! You scared the shit out of me, Joseph.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. So, have you eaten?” he asks again as he stands.

  “Why?”

  “I was wondering if you would join me for dinner.”

  “Now? Where would we go? No place is open. Well, no place I would eat.”

  “I have a place in mind. But you didn’t answer the question. I asked if you have you eaten.”

  “No. Not yet. I have something to take with me,” she says, hoisting a take-out carton so he can see.

  “Then have dinner with me. You said you wanted someone to cook for you. I have.”

  “You haven’t!”

  Joseph smiles. “I have. I can cook, Rose.”

  Rose can feel herself smile. “What are we having?”

  “Nothing fancy. Spaghetti. The sauce is made and it only takes a minute to cook the noodles. Please, Rose. It would mean a lot to me.”

  Rose stands, torn between wanting to go with him and being afraid of what it means if she does. “It’s just dinner?”

  “That’s all I’m asking for.”

  “Then… I accept. Thank you, Joseph.”

  Joseph’s face splits into a huge smile. “Thank you. Get on,” he says, stepping toward his bike.

  “Joseph, no. Let’s take my car.”

  “What’s the matter? It’s a beautiful night. You used to ride behind me all the time.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “So?”

  “So… I have this meatloaf with me,” she says, trying frantically to think of a reason to not get on the bike with him.

  “I have an idea,” he says as he saunters over. He takes the container from her, walks to the dumpster, and tosses it in.

  “Hey!” Rose cries in annoyance.

  “Would you have thrown it out anyway?” he asks as he walks back.

  “Well, yes. But still!”

  “So what’s the problem? Get on. Live a little,” he says as sits on the bike and thumbs it to life.

  Rose stands her ground a moment. “I don’t have a helmet.”

  Joseph grins, reaches down beside the bike and lifts a helmet off the hook for her.

  Rose bursts into laughter. “Ok. Fine,” she says, taking the helmet and slipping it on. “You know, I’m surprised you wear a helmet with all that talk of freedom.”

  “I wear a helmet because I want to, not because I’m required to.”

  “Ah. An important difference,” she says as she mounts the bike behind him.

  “Very,” he agrees, putting the bike into gear as she grips him around his waist. As the bike begins to roll he feels her tuck in tight, her breasts pressing into his back, and he smiles, a pleasant warmness spreading through him.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Rose leans in, snuggling in closer than strictly necessary. She has ridden a lot of miles behind Joseph and she quickly becomes comfortable on the bike again as they lean through the turns, the Harley thundering through the night.

  “This is Tim and Melina’s old place!” Rose exclaims as Joseph turns off the road and juices the bike up the steep drive and into the garage.
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  “That’s right,” he says as he shuts the bike off, waiting while Rose dismounts before leaning the bike over onto its stand.

  “You bought it from them?”

  “Buying, yes. They are financing it for me.”

  “What… the bank would give you a loan?” she teases, but at his look she remembers. “Oh, that’s right. No bank account, no credit history. Sorry. Nice truck,” she says, admiring the big white Ford parked in the other stall. “Paid cash for that, did you?”