He takes my left hand and rubs his thumb over my engagement ring. Oh, now I get it. Gary was the one reading eyeballs. He must have seen me sitting in the parking lot and knew what I was coming here to do today. That sentimental old fool, he fired me so I didn’t have to quit. He was making my decision easier for me.
“I still want to give you a two-week notice and help train someone for you,” I say.
“What part of you’re fired didn’t you understand?” he says with a smile.
“Gary, can I ask you something?” I say, taking the bar rag from him to clean up the soda I spilled.
“You can ask me anything,” he replies, taking the bar rag back.
“Will you do me the honor and walk me down the aisle?”
Chapter 13
Aiden
My cell phone buzzes on my desk. I look at the display and see that it’s Max calling.
I smile to myself and answer, “Yo,” just because I know how much it irritates the fuck out of him when I say it.
“What did I tell you about answering your phone that way? I was calling to say I owe you a beer, but now I think you owe me a beer,” he says.
“Why do you owe me a beer?” I question.
“Savvy just left, she’s taken her old job back. I wanted to say thank you for talking to her about it by buying you a beer.”
“That was all Savvy. I had nothing to do with that. But I’ll still take that beer,” I tell him. “Is Savvy still there?”
“No, she left a little bit ago, is there anything else?” he asks.
“What do you mean is there anything else? You called me,” I remind him.
“Right, later,” he says.
“You’re still going to buy me that beer, right?” I ask, but Max hangs up on me.
I smile and shake my head while I pack up my briefcase, then I head to Deuces to meet up with Savvy. I park my bike next to my car and head inside. Just as I enter the bar, I hear Savvy ask Gary if he’ll walk her down the aisle. Gary just stands there stunned silent. I watch as his eyes fill with tears. I don’t know much about Gary’s life. I don’t think he’s ever been married and I know he doesn’t have any children. His eyes move from Savvy to me, as I walk toward the both of them. Savvy swivels the stool around to see what Gary is looking at. Gary quickly wipes his eyes with his bar rag, Savvy’s face lights up, then she jumps off of her stool and runs into my arms.
“I didn’t expect to see you here. Hey, guess what? Gary fired me!” she says excitedly.
“That’s great news,” I answer happy for her, then look at Gary like she’s lost her mind.
Savvy takes my hand, then leads me back to her stool. Gary smiles, then winks at Savvy. She bends down to grab her purse from the floor, quickly opens it like she’s lost something important, smiles and closes it back up holding it to her chest.
“I’ll talk to you soon, Gary, about the wedding, alright?” she says, then downs the rest of her drink.
“Yeah, sure, no problem. If you need anything, just ask,” he says, taking Savvy’s glass and napkin from the bar.
I can tell by the look on Savvy’s face that she has the weight of the world lifted off of her shoulders. I thread my fingers in hers as we walk to Jade and my bike. Now I’m calling my own car Jade.
“Bike or car?” I ask looking at Savvy.
“Really? Bike for sure!” she says excitedly.
I reach in the saddle bag and retrieve a second helmet, then hand it to her as she jumps up and down on the balls of her feet.
“Chloe has a sparkly purple helmet. Do you think they make a sparkly orange helmet,” she says, taking it from me.
I straddle the bike, then hold it steady for her and answer, “I’m sure they do, babe.”
She brings the helmet down over her smiling face, places her hand on my shoulder, then gets behind me. She wraps her arms around my chest and presses herself to my back. I take off out of the parking lot and onto the road, and head to a restaurant for lunch.
All through lunch, Savvy talks about organizing her desk at Max’s and how she pretty much just hired herself back at his firm. She also talked about what a great guy Gary is. She told me she told Ava about Palisade, and I’m sure by now Amelia and the rest of the women know, too. I’m surprised they’re not blowing up Savvy’s phone bugging her about planning. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of them has the Alani room and the courtyard terrace at Palisade already booked.
After lunch, we get back on my bike and head to her condo. I pull up and park directly in front, at the exact same spot her and Ruby pulled up the day my world stood still. Not because I needed to have a full circle moment, but because there wasn’t anywhere else to park. It’s the exact same spot that I watched Savvy get shoved in her trunk at gunpoint. Savvy still doesn’t know that I saw it all on video surveillance. I turn the bike off and my heart skips a beat. The thought of a different outcome floods my brain. The thought that I really did lose her that day flashes through my brain. I shake it off and place my hands over hers around my chest just to make sure she’s really there, and that my mind isn’t playing some sick, twisted game.
“I guess we didn’t think this thing through when we took the bike. How are we supposed to take stuff back to the house on your bike?” she asks, getting off.
She flips the helmet off her head and places it back inside the saddlebag.
“Babe, I needed to see for myself that you’re really alright coming back here. We can pack things up today, then I’ll borrow Max or Jax’s truck and we can move it all this weekend,” I tell her, calming my own breathing.
I take off my helmet and set it over the handlebar.
She steps closer to me, puts her hand on my cheek and smiles.
“You want to know what I think?” she asks.
“What?” I reply, getting off.
“I think I love you more and more each day,” she replies, then kisses me softly.
The front door opens, and Quinn comes out wearing an apron, waving a dish towel in the air. Black smoke pours out of the condo.
“Is everything alright in there?” I ask.
Quinn’s eyes come to us; she flings her dishtowel in the air, then squeals.
“Savvy!” she shrieks, as she runs down the walkway.
She wraps Savvy in her arms, then drags her into the condo.
I follow behind them and enter a smoke filled condo. The smoke detectors are blaring, but neither Quinn nor Savvy seem alarmed.
Quinn turns back around and says, “Oh, leave the door open for a bit. I burned some cookies. Don’t tell Jax though. It’s a good thing I want to be a dentist, because the chef gene clearly skipped right over me.”
The girls head into Savvy’s room while I head to the oven. I put on a pair of oven mitts and pull out two sheets of cookies. I walk over to Savvy’s room and see the two of them talking while they pack up Savvy’s stuff. I’ll just leave them to it. I head back into the kitchen and pick at the cookies on the sheet. I pop one into my mouth and they aren’t all that bad, just a little well done.
“You didn’t just eat one of those did you?” Quinn asks, coming out of Savvy’s room carrying a box.
“These aren’t that bad,” I say, grabbing another cookie.
Quinn rolls her eyes, then heads back into Savvy’s room.
After about thirty minutes, the girls have a small stack of boxes and a few bags lined up at the front door. Savvy has a small backpack and her purse in her hand.
“All ready,” she says to me in the kitchen. She leans in, gives Quinn a hug goodbye, then walks to the front door.
“See you Saturday,” Savvy says to Quinn.
“See you,” Quinn replies, resting her hand on the open door.
Savvy and I walk hand in hand to the motorcycle. I stop in front of the motorcycle, then look at the trashcan. The trashcan Savvy’s purse was thrown into.
“Are you alright? You’ve been acting kind of strange since we got here?” she asks.
“I’m fine,” I tell her, grab my helmet and get on the bike.
She grabs her helmet out of the saddle bag and puts it on. I steady the bike for her as she gets on. She wraps her arms around me and again, I squeeze her to me.
“Aiden?” she questions, squeezing me when I don’t start the bike.
“I saw it,” I tell her in a quiet voice.
“You saw what?” she asks in a cheery voice, completely unaware of what I’m talking about.
“I saw what happened right here that night. Max had your condo under surveillance and I’ve seen the footage. I saw what they did to you. Savvy, I thought I lost you,” I whisper.
Her arms loosen around my chest and she gets off the motorcycle. She removes her helmet, then walks in front of me. Her eyes fill with tears as she searches my face.
“No, please tell me you didn’t see the whole thing,” she whispers.
I look into her eyes and see pain like I’ve never seen before. It’s breaking her heart knowing that I saw it. I wish I hadn’t have told her. I wish I hadn’t have seen the whole thing, but I did. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen if the building were burning down around me. I held onto that hope that at some point she’d get away. I felt like I had to tell her, though. I felt guilty, like I was keeping a secret from her.
“I wish you hadn’t have seen that,” she whispers. I tear my eyes from hers and look at the ground. “Aiden, I’m fine. I really am, look at me,” she says, stepping closer to me.
If I look at her, I may lose my shit. I don’t know if I can look her in the eyes right now. She sets the helmet on the ground, then straddles the bike in front of me, tossing her legs over mine, facing me. She wraps me in her arms tightly and squeezes as hard as she can. I should be the one doing this for her. She’s completely fine being back here. How can she be completely fine, and I’m not?
She takes my helmet out of my hand, turns around and puts it on the handlebar. She pulls me into her and holds on tight again. In that moment, I let it go. Her warm body on mine in this spot gives me the reassurance I think I needed to let it go.
I return the squeeze, then pull away from her.
I put my forehead on hers and say, “I love you, Savvy.”
“I’ve collapsed in love with you, Aiden. Oh shit,” she says.
“What?” I ask, pulling all the way away from her again.
“This morning, in the garage while I was looking at you sitting all hot and sexy on this bike, I was thinking of doing this exact position with you. Except I was naked and your pants were unzipped.”
I wrap my hands around her upper arms and pick her up, then set her on her feet on the ground, grab my helmet, and put it on my head.
“Get your helmet and get on, we need to get home, now,” I tell her buckling the strap under my chin.
She giggles, picks her helmet up off the ground, puts it on and jumps on the back.
Savvy
Since I started working for Max again, my nights and weekends are free. I feel like I can breathe again. I didn’t realize just how much going to school during the day and working at night at the bar really took out of me.
It’s Saturday morning, and believe it or not, it’s after ten and Aiden and I are still in bed. We’re lying on our backs, Aiden’s arm is under the back of my neck and wrapped around me. I have my fingers threaded in his and we’re talking about our week, when there’s a loud banging on the front door. Only about ten people bang on our door this early in the morning, and they’re all related to Aiden.
“I’ll get it, you get dressed. It’s probably Ava and Quinn,” he says, kissing me.
He puts on a pair of basketball shorts, then leaves the room.
I pull the sheets over my head and sigh. But it’s not just Ava and Quinn’s voices I hear. It’s all of them. The entire Wellington clan is in our house.
“Wake up, sleepy head,” Ava’s voice says, as the bedroom door is opened.
Two seconds after that, she plops on my bed next to me.
I flip the sheets off my head and tightly hold them up to my chin.
“Dude, I’m naked under here,” I say, looking at her like she’s crazy.
“Last time I looked, we’re both girls and have the same parts, and besides that we’re sisters. It’s not a big deal. Hurry up and get dressed and get your ass out here. Jax made us an amazing brunch. The girls are unpacking everything right now. We’re all hungry and eager to get this wedding planned,” she says, getting off the bed.
She closes the door behind her and I flip the sheets over my head again.
God, I love this family.
I brush my teeth, get dressed, and throw my hair up on the top of my head in a messy bun. I walk into the family room and not only are all the girls here, but all the men are here, too. Are the men going to help plan the wedding? There are magazines stacked on the coffee table, and binders of wedding invitation samples lying all over the couch. Jax is in the kitchen setting out trays of food, kids are running around crazy, squealing and having a good time. This . . . this right here is what I was talking about. This is what I want for my own house one day!
I walk into the kitchen and look at the food. It smells amazing. And of course, Ava brought wine and Champaign. She’s mixing together a pitcher of mimosas, as I stand there with my mouth hanging open. I walk over to the cupboards and start taking out plates, and setting them on the counter.
“Oh, we don’t need that many. We only need seven,” she says, setting the pitcher next to the yummy smelling quiche.
“Seven? There are at least twenty people in this house right now,” I reply.
“Yeah, seven. Me, you, Shay, Chloe, Amelia, Quinn and Willow. The men and the kids are leaving. This is only for us girls,” she says with a smile.
“Well then, eight. Aiden hasn’t eaten either,” I tell her, putting the rest of the plates back in the cupboard.
“I’m not staying in this house with all of you. You all together scare the crap out of me,” Aiden says, kissing me on the back of the head.
“Why don’t you go out to brunch with the guys, then?” I suggest.
Asher and Max laugh from the other side of the room.
Aiden looks at me with a serious face and says, “Babe, bro’s don’t do brunch.”
“Bro’s don’t do . . . what kind of crazy nonsense is that?” I ask him confused, setting the extra plate back in the cupboard.
“I’ve got to go to the hardware store, among other manly places today. You ladies have the house to yourselves to plan, gossip, talk, cluck, or whatever it is that you ladies do together,” he says.
“No badass get-together planning,” Max warns, looking at Chloe.
“I need to go to the hardware store, too. You mind if I tag along?” Max asks behind me.
“Let’s roll. We can grab a burger or something after,” Aiden says.
I stand there with my hand on the counter, cock my head, and look at Aiden like he’s nuts.
Ava comes up behind me and whispers, “Isn’t that the same thing as brunch?”
“That’s what I was just thinking,” I whisper, turning around to look at her.
“Lunch isn’t the same thing as brunch,” Aiden clarifies.
“Brunch date, lunch date, what’s the difference?” I ask.
“It’s not a date. We’re two men going to the hardware store, doing manly things, then grabbing a burger afterward. And the difference is about an hour and the word brunch,” he clarifies.
“It’s brunch,” Ava whispers so they can’t hear.
We’ll let them have their hour so the macho men can remain macho men and do manly things.
“Anyone else need to go to the hardware store?” Aiden asks. “Then to grab a burger . . . and a beer,” he adds.
All the men turn him down since they’re all on kid duty.
“You don’t need Jade then, do you?” Aiden asks me, then he closes his eyes, hangs his head, and sighs.
“Who’s Jade?” Adrian ask
s.
“Nobody, never mind,” Aiden says, trying to cover for himself.
I smile and recall that this isn’t the first time he’s called his car by her name.
“No, I don’t need the car. You boys have fun on your non-date at the hardware store, and non-brunch cheeseburger and a beer lunch,” I tease, making sure I emphasize the word car.
“Oh, my God, you let her name your Tesla, Jade?” Max asks, laughing, then punches Aiden on the arm.
“What are you talking about? Why don’t you tell the boys who Rhiannon is?” Chloe says.
“Who’s Rhiannon?” Kyle asks, coming into the kitchen.
“No one,” Max growls, giving Chloe his famous death stare. She bats her eyelashes at him, grabs my hand, and pulls me over to the other side of the kitchen. Max stalk’s behind her, gets right up to her ear and whispers, “Don’t be surprised if you can’t find your leathers when you get home,” he says, swatting her on the ass, then he kisses her on the lips.
Chloe giggles, then he winks a wink at her that sends goosebumps down my arms, then he turns around and heads toward the garage.
Aiden comes over to me, kisses me, then says, “Call me if you change your mind and you need the car.”
“You mean Jade,” I reply with a smile.
He pulls away and does a low growl in the back of his throat that sends goosebumps not up my arms, but straight to my core.
“Have fun today,” he says, then follows behind Max out the garage door.
The rest of the men and the kids, except baby Sammy, leave. Adrian is so sweet. He offered to take Sammy with him and bring him back in a few hours so Shay could nurse him, but Shay insisted it was alright, she’d keep him.
In a matter of a few hours, we got everything planned for the wedding. Everything except my wedding dress. Chloe needed to leave for a shift at the hospital. Sammy started to get a little fussy, so Shay left too. Quinn had a study date planned, and Willow and Amelia also needed to get home. That left only Ava and I.
“I know some really nice dress shops we can go to,” she says, straightening up some of the wedding magazines on the coffee table.
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