by Jani Kay
“Sparrow?” I laughed. “What happened to bitch and Princess?”
“Today, you’re Sparrow. I need to take care of you and get you fattened up.” He leaned closer to my ear. “You’ll need your energy for when I fuck you . . . which is going to be all the time. And I like you with meat on, something to hold on to. It makes you feel soft, and I like that. Don’t fade away on me.”
Ryder. He was never going to change. Brutal honesty was his trademark, and I loved it. I'd already thanked the staff and said my goodbyes, so when Ryder picked up my bag to leave, I hooked into his arm and left without looking back.
Stubborn as always, Ryder had chosen to discard his crutches, walking with a slight limp. I chuckled: it would take more than a bullet in the thigh to slow Ryder Knox down.
He lifted me into the SUV and kissed my hair before closing the door. I buckled up, looking forward to finally being with my man again.
As we drove up to the house, I noticed my parents’ car in the driveway.
“Ryder? What’s going on?”
He grinned and placed his hand on my knee, squeezing it. “Surprise. I invited them over for lunch. They’re eager to see you.”
I swallowed hard. “You . . . called them?”
He grinned. “Yeah, babe, I got your mom’s number off your phone and called. Since it's a Sunday, she was more than happy to come over and drag your dad along too.”
“Wait. Let me get this straight . . . they’re both here? For lunch? Is there food in the house?” I clapped my hands with glee—finally we were taking a step in the right direction. But every celebration needed good food. And drinks.
He pushed his chest out. “I called Mia. She’s organized it all.”
“Wow. You surprise me every day, Ryder.”
“I just want to see you happy, Sparrow. And well-fed. Hospital food sucks.”
I laughed. “Best diet in the universe. But I don’t want to be on it again, okay?”
He got out of the car and came around to open my door and help me out. He leaned over and kissed me. “You can be damn sure of that, babe. I'm going to take real good care of you. In every way.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he squeezed my ass.
Mom and Dad were out on the patio, relaxing with a glass of wine each and staring over the ocean. I kissed them both, painfully aware that they now knew that I’d been living here and not at an apartment with a friend. I let out a slow breath, relief washing over me that I didn’t have to pretend or lie any longer.
Dad shook Ryder’s hand and Mom gave him a hug. Wow. Am I hallucinating? Maybe I was still in hospital on those damn drugs and this was just an illusion?
I heard voices behind me and turned to see Harrison and Eva. Shit, those drugs were strong . . . this was surely a dream . . . one I hoped wasn’t going to turn into a nightmare.
They had just arrived, Harrison steering Eva with his hand on the small of her back, then circling his arm around her waist as they came to stand in front of me. That was a sign of possession if ever I saw it.
“Jade. I'm so happy to see you.” Eva kissed both my cheeks, smiling. I really liked her. She handed me the bunch of flowers she was holding. “From both of us.”
My mouth formed an O. I was speechless, something that didn’t happen too often. Harrison and Eva? How did I not know anything about this?
Harrison lifted his chin at Ryder and kissed my cheek. There was something different about him. The aggression he always carried with him was somehow missing. He looked at ease; the dark circles and bags under his eyes had faded and he was offering me a sheepish, lopsided grin.
Ryder lifted his brow, his lips thin as he saw my brother touching his sister in such an intimate way. “Summers. Something you need to tell me?” he growled.
“It's really none of your business, Knox,” Harrison replied, his voice calm and even.
“Like hell it isn’t. I didn’t invite you over. I only invited my sister to meet Jade’s parents. Now she brings you . . . like a date?” The muscles in Ryder’s arms flexed as he clenched and unclenched his fists a few times.
Eva stepped between the two men. “Ryder, I'm truly happy to have you as my brother. But I'm a grown woman—I date who I want to. I invited Harrison. You said it was fine to bring someone.”
Ryder narrowed his eyes and nodded his head in Harrison’s direction.“I didn’t mean him. I had no idea . . . why didn’t you tell me, Eva?”
Harrison answered for her. “We thought this would be the perfect time to tell everyone that we . . . are seeing one another.”
Mom stepped closer to greet Harrison and meet Eva. Her eyes were wide as she put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Harrison . . . this is a . . . surprise.” She turned to Eva, appraising her.
“Owen, come meet Eva,” Mom called over her shoulder.
Dad placed his empty wine glass on the table and shuffled closer, resting his arm around Mom’s shoulder as he held out his hand to Eva. “Hello, Eva. Dark hair runs in the family, does it?” He turned to Harrison. “Great catch son, she’s a beauty.”
What? They accepted Eva just like that? And all this time I’d been afraid of introducing Ryder to them because of Harrison’s reaction? I sighed—I’d always believed they’d judge my biker as harshly as what my brother did, but it appeared I was completely wrong.
Chapter Sixty-Eight — Ryder
Seething, I glared at Summers. This was meant to be about Jade and I today. I had a few announcements of my own I wanted to make, hence why I'd invited Eva to meet Jade’s parents. Had she told me she planned on bringing him, I would probably have talked her out of it. His presence wasn’t going to stop me from saying what I wanted to.
My blood boiled. What a two-faced bastard. Causing shit between Jade and me, yet here he was with my sister. The fucking tables had turned.
Is he good enough for Eva?
In my opinion, Summers was bitter and twisted and fucked—damaged beyond repair. All his actions had proven that. Why would Eva waste her time on a man like him, who lived for revenge? She deserved better.
Jade, Sylvia and Eva had gone to the kitchen to bring out the food. Harrison was busy on a call to his partner, Savage, and had taken it inside, where the conversation couldn’t be overheard.
I got a beer from the bar fridge and opened it, taking a few sips before I turned to Jade’s old man. “Owen, let me refill your glass,” I said, building up the courage to talk to him, man to man. He held out his glass and I poured chilled wine into it. He was onto his third glass and pretty relaxed, so this was my chance.
I cleared my throat. “This is a bit backwards . . . I kinda asked Jade already . . . but I know it would mean a lot to her if you gave us your blessing. I want to marry your daughter, Owen. Then we’ll try for a family.”
He lifted a brow. “Are you asking for my daughter’s hand?”
I nodded. This was fucking awkward. Thank fuck I only had to do it once. “Yeah, if that’s how you want to put it.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “She kinda already said yes. That was before I knew you. She’d feel better, though, if you and Sylvia were okay with it.”
He thought about it for a while, swirling the wine in his glass. He took a sip, savoring it, making me wait for his answer. If he was trying to make me sweat, he was doing a fine fucking job.
Finally he looked straight at me. “Look, I’ll be honest here. You . . . aren’t exactly the kind of man we thought Jade would end up with. You don’t have an education like she does, or a decent, stable job. Who knows when you’ll get the urge to get on your bike for a long ride—”
I shrugged. “I can’t help my childhood. It is what it is. But I sure can work on my future. I have some ideas for a legitimate business. One my wife and kids can be proud of. Yes, it will still include the MC club, because those people are my family and I don’t quit on them. But Jade and our kids will be safe. I will take care of her and our family.”
“Hmmm, noble words, Ryder. But how do I know you won’t renege
on that? Leave her in the lurch?” He stroked his chin, his narrowed eyes pinned on me.
I took another sip of my beer. “Look, Owen, I'm going to be brutally honest with you too. My mother left my brother and me when we were just boys. I know what it feels like. There is no way in hell I’d do that to the woman I love, or my kids. That’s a fucking guarantee.”
Owen stared into the distance, deep in thought. “You are now aware of Jade’s . . . condition—the defect in her heart? It's possible her babies could have it too. And Jade will always be a lot more fragile than most people. She hates to admit it or make a scene about it, but it's reality. How will you handle that?”
I leaned toward him, looking him straight in the eyes. He had to see how serious I was about this. “Jade is perfect to me. Her condition is something we will work around. Now I know about it, I will take extra care that she doesn’t place herself in danger.” If he thought it was going to scare me off, I had a surprise for him. “Jade is my woman. I love her. There is no other way.”
The women’s chattering became louder. They were headed this way, and Owen still hadn’t said what I wanted to hear. “So what’s it to be, Owen? Are you going to make Jade happy?” He didn’t understand that asking for his blessing was simply a courtesy from my side—something to make Jade feel better. I was marrying her regardless of the outcome of this conversation.
He looked me squarely in the eye. “You make my baby girl happy. So I guess that’s a yes. But . . . believe me, if you don’t keep your promises, I will be the one cutting your balls off. Just so we totally understand one another.”
“I like my balls. I plan on keeping them.”
My gaze was trained on Jade’s ass as she set the plates on the table. Fuck—the lengths I was willing to go to for her . . . but she was worth it. Yeah.
She came to stand in front of me and placed her arms around my neck and kissed me sweetly. “Why the frown, baby?”
“Man talk,” I muttered. Fuck me. At least that was out of the way.
We dished up and ate the spread that Mia had organized. I had to remember to thank her again for doing this. She’d made me look good, so I really owed her.
Before we had dessert, I pulled Jade into my lap, taking care for her not to sit on the wound, and hugged her. Harrison was so busy talking to Eva that he didn’t even give me the stink-eye like he usually did. Good. If Eva was going to keep his attention off Jade and me, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea for them to date after all.
I wonder how long it will take Eva to realize what a dipshit Summers is and to kick his ass to the curb? She was smart. I didn’t have high hopes for Summers being with her for long.
I cleared my throat. “Princess, you’ve already said you’d marry me, so you don’t have any chance of escape now. I asked your ol . . . dad for his blessing, and he said yeah, he’d love for me to take you off his hands. I had to promise to pay him big money of course.” I laughed at her pouty expression, loving that I could tease her.
She looked at her parents, tears glittering on her lashes. “Really?”
Owen swallowed hard and nodded. Sylvia gaped at him, then at me, smiling.
“I'd like to set a date as soon as possible. What do you say to three months from today?” I turned to Sylvia and grinned. “Does that give you ladies enough time to organize all the things you want?”
“Three months? That’s not enough time,” Jade squealed. “There’s so much to do.”
“Three months is all you get, Princess, ‘cause I ain’t waiting longer for you to be Mrs. Knox.”
Sylvia beamed. “Three months is plenty. We’ll have it done.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely help with the arrangements. I love organizing . . . and weddings,” Eva said, smiling.
It was wishful thinking that Summers would just shut the fuck up and say nothing.
“Three months? What’s the rush here? I don’t get it. Unless—” His eyes darted to Jade’s stomach.
“No, Summers. There’s no baby—yet. We plan on changing that as soon as we’ve moved into the house.”
“What house?” Jade’s eyes widened as she searched my face.
“The house Uncle Eric is helping me buy. We’ve put in an offer subject to your approval, Princess. If you like it, we move in two weeks before the wedding.”
“Oh my God, seriously?” she shrieked. “Our own house?”
“Yeah. All ours.” I grinned.
She kissed me all over my face, laughing. “Thank you . . . thank you . . . thank you,” she said between each kiss. “Baby, you’ve made me the happiest woman on the planet!”
Yeah. I planned on spending the rest of my days doing that.
This was only the beginning.
Chapter Sixty-Nine — Jade
Finally I had my closest family together and nobody was getting killed—for now. Ryder and Harrison glared at one another, neither believing the other was good enough for his sister. Eva and I had our work cut out for us. A man was only as good as the woman behind him.
We’ll fix this, make them come around eventually.
“Jade, I'm so happy for you!” Mom was the first to hug me. She beamed as she pulled Daddy closer and hugged him too.
“What’s that for?” Daddy asked her, a soft glint in his eyes.
“Because you looked beyond the exterior at what would make our baby girl happy. That’s what.” She laughed up at him and pressed a kiss into his cheek.
Ryder joined us, placing his arm around my shoulder and kissing my cheek. “Happy, babe?”
“I’m happy beyond words. Getting married and moving in to our own house! Finally I’ll be able to decorate just like I’ve always wanted to.” I squeezed his arm and smiled up at him, unable to contain my joy. “ What about you?”
“I'm happy if you’re happy,” he said simply.
Daddy chuckled. “Wise man, Ryder. You’ve got this all worked out, huh?”
Eva stepped up to embrace me. “Jade, we’re going to be family! I've always wanted a sister.”
I hugged her. “Me too. Too bad I’m over Barbie dolls. Would’ve been nice to have known you when I needed someone to play with. Harrison sucked at playing Ken.” I pulled back and smiled at her. “I'm so glad you’re going to help me plan the wedding. We’ll get to know one another a lot better.”
“Oh, it's going to be so much fun. Three months isn’t a lot of time, but we can do it. I know a few people in L.A. who would be happy to help us.”
I laughed. “I think Mom has it covered. She’s wanted to host a wedding for a long time, and seems I’ll be beating Harrison down the aisle.” This was my chance to fish for more info on her and Harrison. I quirked an eyebrow as I studied her face. “So you and my brother . . . he never breathed a word about dating you. But I’m not really surprised, you’re exactly what he needs . . . a woman who won’t tolerate his bullshit.”
Harrison took a step closer and snaked his arm around Eva’s waist, pulling her back against his chest. “I heard that, little sister. Yep, I'm not proud of some of the things I’ve done lately—Eva has shown me that I need to change a few things—but am I really that bad?”
I nodded my head, my grin softening my words. “Uh huh. You can be a pain in the butt. Eva just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Oh, I have a fair idea what Harrison is capable of. I've gotten to know a few things about him that really surprised me.”
“Yeah? Like?” I asked, curious as hell.
She laughed and told me all about the dog incident. Harrison stood there grinning, pleased with himself, gently caressing her arm as she spoke.
“You stole a dog?” I held my stomach laughing as I imagined the whole scenario. Big angry cop with a small dog under his arm. It was so out of character for my brother that I knew he was smitten beyond anything I’d ever known. Even Ryder laughed out loud.
To my surprise Harrison didn’t react like he normally would have. He didn’t get angry —instead he took a playful bow. “Anything for y
ou, Eva,” he said, a twinkle in his eyes. I didn’t doubt that he meant it for a minute. I hadn’t seen him smile this much in years. It made a pleasant change—one I'd welcome any time.
“Tomorrow we’re going to look at the house, Princess. And if you like it, we sign on the dotted line.”
I clapped my hands with glee. “Where is it?”
Ryder shook his head. “That’s a surprise. But I have a good idea you’re going to love it. It fits the bill perfectly. You may want to redecorate a few of the rooms though.”
“Oh, she’s going to love it,” Mom said, winking at Ryder. “Guaranteed.”
Ryder winked back at her. “How do you know? Wait—” I narrowed my eyes and studied their broad smiles for a moment before I gestured between the two of them. “You’ve been planning this behind my back?”
“You were in hospital, honey,” Mom said, “and Ryder called me to ask my advice. Let’s just say, your man knows what you like.”
“Give me a clue? You can’t leave me hanging like this—” I pouted, secretly loving that Mom and Ryder were getting on well enough that he’d ask for her opinion.
Ryder stroked his chin playfully. “Well, it's in a lovely neighborhood. It has a chef’s kitchen and the perfect garden for kids to play in—”
“Oh my god, are you serious? The house in Beverley Hills? You’re buying that house?”
“Well, yeah. I know the owners; they’re letting me have it for a steal. And I'm paying cash too—uncle Eric likes that.” He wiggled both eyebrows at me.
I gasped. “It's way too expensive, Ryder.”
“Princess, you let me worry about that stuff, okay? Some of my best memories of us are in that house, and it has everything a princess needs—including gigantic showers. Besides, it's close to where we’ll be opening the first steakhouse, so the commute to work will be easier.”
“Can we have the wedding in the garden? I'd love that.” I said as I let it sink in that I would be living in the house that Ryder first rented from our agency. It was the perfect house in which to raise kids and I’d always liked it. My throat burned as tears welled up in my eyes.