“It’s absolutely perfect,” she whispers, curling her arm around my back and holding me tight. “I just can’t believe you went to all this trouble.”
“Princess, you only graduate once.”
“Well, technically, this is my second,” she teases, squeezing me.
“First one with me, and college is a huge freaking deal.”
Tam shrugs. “I guess it is. I never really thought about it. We all graduated high school and went off to college.”
“My buddies didn’t. We all joined the military. It may seem like everyone goes to college, but it’s not true. But you did it. You achieved something that’s still rare and impressive.”
“Tam!” Gigi and Lily screech, finally seeing us standing on the patio, overlooking their handiwork.
“You’re finally here.” Gigi pulls her from my arms, hugging her. “We’ve been waiting forever.”
“Do you like it?” Lily asks, rubbing her pregnant belly.
“I love it,” Tamara tells them as she releases Gigi, glancing around the yard, soaking it all in again. “I can’t believe you two did this for me.”
“We had help,” Gigi says, pitching her thumb over her shoulder toward Jett and Pike, who are busy near the grill. “Couldn’t have done it without them.”
“You four really outdid yourselves,” I add, smiling at the three women I met not that long ago but feel like I’ve known my entire life. “You’re amazing.”
Gigi raises an eyebrow, tilting her head. “You’re just now realizing this?”
“Will someone give me a little push?” Lily asks, wiggling the fingers of one hand and resting the other on top of her belly. “I have to pee, and if I move too slow, I won’t make it in time.”
I try to keep the horrified look off my face but fail. I know I fail because Tamara smacks my chest as Gigi gives Lily a gentle little push against her back.
“Come on, Weeble Wobble. Let’s get you to the little girls’ room.”
“I remember when I was little,” Lily whines, stalking toward the house. “Now, I look like I ate a watermelon.”
“Eh, more like a beach ball,” Gigi teases her.
“Shut up, asshole,” Lily replies. “I can’t stop to smack you because I’ll never make it in time, but just know, I’m doing it in my head.”
“I really feel the blow,” Gigi says, glancing over her shoulder, rolling her eyes in our direction. “You pack quite a punch, babe.”
I shake my head, laughing because I love those two as if they were my own crazy and sometimes annoying sisters. “You ready to celebrate?” I ask Tamara.
“Hell yeah.” Tamara smiles. “Where’s your ma?”
“She ran home. She’ll be here soon.”
“We’re here. We’re here,” Tamara’s grandmother says, walking through the house, carrying a tray of food almost as big as her.
I rush to her, grabbing it out of her hands. “You should’ve sent me to grab this. Don’t carry such heavy things. That’s what men are for, Mrs. G.”
She peers up at me as she reaches for Tamara’s arm to steady herself. “When are you going to call me Grandma or Nonna?” she asks me, smiling.
“Well, I…” And now I’m speechless and stupid. I’ve never called anyone Grandma. My mother’s parents died before I was born, and my father’s parents didn’t like my mother, and before I was old enough to track them down, they died too.
“Say it with me,” Mrs. Gallo says, speaking slowly. “Grand-ma.” When I don’t repeat her words, she reaches out with her free hand and gives me a light smack on the stomach. “Say it. Make this old woman’s day.”
“Oh Lord,” Mr. Gallo mutters, coming out of the house a few seconds later, walking right into the middle of her request. “Baby, he doesn’t…”
She turns to him, glaring.
He throws up his hands, glancing down. “None of my business. Got it.”
I laugh, unable not to. Damn, I love them, and if I could’ve picked my grandparents, they’d be it. “Grandma,” I whisper, the word sounding so foreign on my tongue.
Mrs. Gallo smiles so damn big, the corners of her lips almost touch her eyes. “Again.”
“Grandma,” I repeat, feeling like a little kid learning a new word.
Mrs. Gallo flattens her palm on my chest, looking so damn happy. “Nothing else but Grandma anymore. Got it?”
I nod. “Nothing else, ma’am.”
I get a hard stare.
“Grandma,” I correct myself quickly.
The woman is tiny with her head of gray hair and searing brown eyes, but I am not about to mess with her. It will take getting used to, and I already know I’ll mess it up more than once, but I’ll do my best and remind myself often she’s Grandma and not Mrs. Gallo or, God forbid, ma’am.
“Now, your old grandma is parched and could use a drink. Mind getting me something?” she asks me, not her granddaughter.
“Water, or something else?” I ask
“Something stiff that packs a punch.”
“Make that two,” her husband adds. “We’d like a moment with the new college grad if you don’t mind.”
I don’t say another word as I head inside, leaving Tamara with her grandparents, finding half the kitchen counter set up as a self-service bar with every type of liquor one could ever want.
“Hey,” Max says as she walks in the front door.
“Everyone’s out back,” I tell them, motioning toward the sliding glass doors with my head.
“Drinking already?” she asks, eyeing me with so much judgment.
“Making a drink for your in-laws,” I reply as I grab two glasses and fill them with ice.
“Do you know what they like to drink?”
I shake my head.
“Ma will take vodka with a splash of tonic water and lime. Dad—” she pauses for a second as her eyes take in all the bottles “—just give the man a cold beer. He’ll be happy.”
“Thanks,” I tell her, grabbing the vodka bottle and starting to pour.
“What do you want us to do?”
“Damn,” Anthony mumbles. “Every freaking time. The Cubs just don’t have it this year.”
“The season’s just started.” Max rolls her eyes, shaking her head. “This family and the Cubs. Anthony, go outside and say hi to your parents and take Asher with you.”
They don’t even look up or reply before walking out the sliding glass doors to the backyard.
“You doing okay?” she asks me.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” I ask her back as I fill the glass in front of me.
She leans a hip against the counter, handing me the tonic water. “There’s something off.”
“Nothing’s off.”
“Ma,” Tamara says, walking into the kitchen and saving me from whatever Max was about to grill me about. “Come outside. You have to see the decorations.”
“Okay, baby. I’m coming,” she says, staring at me for one more second before pushing off and heading toward her daughter.
“Thank God,” I mutter to myself under my breath and finish the drinks.
When I walk back outside, the yard is bursting at the seams, with most of the family having arrived in a short time and walking around the house instead of through.
I stand there for a moment, a drink in each hand, staring at everyone. Not that long ago, I didn’t have much of a family besides the guys of the club, and our parties looked very different and clothing was usually optional. Now, I am surrounded by a group of people connected by blood or marriage, oozing with so much love, I can only consider myself one lucky son of a bitch.
“Honey.” My mother’s voice is soft.
I turn, still holding the drinks, seeing her standing behind me. “Hey, Ma.”
“You okay?”
“I’m great. Just taking it all in,” I tell her. “Sometimes I’m still shocked by how much my life has changed.”
“I’ll take those,” Max says, plucking the beer and vodka drink fr
om my hands. “Hey, Jess. Lookin’ good in that dress, babe. Tits are top-notch.”
Mom blushes, waving her hand. “Oh, stop.”
“No, really. I don’t know what you did, but they’re like pow. Right in my face.”
“Just tryin’ something different,” Ma tells her, winking. “Glad to know it’s working.”
“Ma,” I groan, wanting to talk about anything in the world other than my mother’s breasts.
“Oh, hush,” Max says. “She’s single and not getting any younger, Mammoth. Let the woman have some fun.”
“It’s fine, but I’d rather not talk about her breasts, or at least, not have you two talk about them in front of me.”
Max rolls her eyes, whispering, “Pussy,” before stalking off with the drinks and heading toward Anthony’s parents to deliver the beverages.
“I really like her,” Ma says, wrapping an arm around me. “I can respect a woman who speaks her mind.”
“I must too because her daughter is a carbon copy of her, and I’m crazy about her.”
Ma laughs. “Tamara’s your perfect match. I see the way you look at her. I see the way your entire demeanor changes when she walks into the room. She’s the one, honey.”
“She is, Ma.”
She reaches into her purse and fishes out a small box. “I ran home to get this for you.” Ma holds out the box to me in the middle of her palm.
I glance down, staring at it. “What is it?”
“Open it.” She pushes it toward me.
Peeling back the lid of the tiny box, I hold my breath. The sunlight shines off the ring inside, scattering in a million directions. “It’s beautiful, Ma.”
“It was your grandmother’s. She left it to me to pass on to my firstborn son.” She smiles, touching my hand as I hold the ring. “I know you’re going to ask for her hand soon, and I felt it was right to give it to you now in case. There’s no one else I’d rather have wear my mother’s ring than Tamara.”
I bend, kissing my mom on the cheek. “Thanks, Ma. You’re the best. This means a lot to me.”
“You made me a good mother, honey. If you were any other type of child, I might not have been as good as I was. Being single, trying to raise a little one while mourning your father wasn’t easy or anything I ever thought I’d have to experience.”
I’d already had my eye on a ring but hadn’t purchased it yet. I had plans on going this week and picking it up, knowing I was going to put a ring on my girl’s finger, making it official.
“I love you,” I tell her, curling my fingers around the ring before anyone else can see it. “I can’t thank you enough for trusting me with this.”
“Honey—” she smiles up at me, touching my beard “—who else would I give it to? It’s you and me, but hopefully soon, there’s going to be a small army.”
“Ma,” I warn.
She pulls back and puts her hands up. “I won’t pressure you, but this old lady isn’t getting any younger. I’d love at least one grandbaby in the next five years.”
“We can do that,” I tell her, knowing five years is something Tamara would be down with. We’ve already talked about it and agreed now isn’t the time, but soon we’ll start putting babies in the mix, or at least, start trying to make babies.
The sound of Harleys rings through the backyard, vibrating off the house. “Who the hell?” I mumble, turning and seeing no one.
“Hey,” Tamara says, walking toward me with a mischievous smile. “Gigi and I may have invited a few people.”
“Who?” I ask, scowling.
“Oh, you know.” She grins, batting her dark eyelashes. “Eagle and Ginger.”
“Is that all?”
“Possibly,” she says, drawing the word out.
“Tamara.”
“Okay,” she groans. “I invited Morris and Tiny too.”
I roll my eyes, growling.
My mom claps. “I just love Morris.”
“You better walk that statement back,” I say, jamming the ring into my pocket as the two women peer toward the side of the house, waiting for the guys to get here.
“Come on. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them, and I know Jessica would like to see them too. Am I right?” Tamara elbows my mom and laughs.
“The guys here?” Pike asks, clueless to the girls inviting them.
I nod. “Gigi and Tamara asked them to come.”
Pike shrugs. “Can’t stop them. You know how they are. You okay with that?”
“I have to be,” I tell him.
“Oh, stop. They’re sweet boys,” Ma replies, smiling like a love-sick idiot.
“They’re not boys, nor are they sweet, Ma.”
She waves her hand at me. “They’re sweet to me.”
“I’m sure they are,” Pike mumbles, covering his mouth with his hand.
Dear God. Between my mother and Tamara, I swear they’re trying to put me in an early grave. I saw the guys a month ago when they showed up at the garage, checking up on me and wanting to discuss business.
For the most part, they’ve left me alone, knowing I’m not going to be doing anything to put my freedom in jeopardy. Since the day Tamara walked into my life, I knew I was walking out of the club. There was no future for either of us there, but I’d be damned if I’d end up in jail because of some bullshit.
Even though I am pissed about Morris and Tiny being here, I am happy to see Ginger and Eagle, my two closest friends from the club. I’d been very careful with Morris, making sure he didn’t know where my mother lived, and I made damn sure she was never around the shop when I knew he was going to pop in for a quick chat.
“Sugar,” Morris calls out, leading the pack into the backyard. “You’re even prettier than I remembered.”
“Fucker,” I growl, getting a smack from the back of my mother’s hand to my gut.
“Shut it,” Ma says through gritted teeth while smiling at Morris.
Tamara laughs again, squeezing my hand as she plasters her body against me. “I think it’s cute. Look how happy they are to see each other.”
“It’s not cute.”
Ma wraps her arms around Morris, and he lifts her off the ground, twirling her in the air, causing her sundress to fly up. She tips her head back and giggles like a schoolgirl, looking extra small in his big, burly arms.
“Relax, sparky. They aren’t going to fuck here in front of everyone.”
My stomach rolls. “Princess, if he ever sticks his dick in my ma…”
“You’ll what? Ground her?” Tamara teases, laughing harder.
“One of us isn’t going to come out alive.”
Tamara smacks my ass playfully. “You’ll do no such thing. I talked to your mom. They’re just friends. She isn’t interested in him that way, but she does like when he flirts with her. She said it makes her feel beautiful. And as a woman, I can understand the need to feel pretty sometimes, especially when your life is a shitshow.”
“Her life isn’t a shitshow.”
“Now, it’s not, but it was, and he was kind to her during that time. Let them flirt. Morris and your mom will never be a thing. I promise you that.” She motions toward them with her hand. “Just look at them. Two people have never been more opposite, but there’s respect between them. So, just relax. This is my day and not yours.”
She is right. This day isn’t about me. It’s about Tamara and celebrating her graduation. Whatever makes her happy, even my mother flirting with Morris, I’ll have to find a way to be okay with it.
I won’t ruin her day no matter how much it kills me on the inside to see my mother soaking up Morris’s praises.
“Dude, I’ve missed your sorry ass,” Eagle says, stalking toward me with his cut over a clean black T-shirt and a new pair of jeans. “Look at you, living like a king.”
We forgo handshakes, giving each other a hug in the manliest way we can, followed by a hard backslap. “You could have this too if you’d come over here and work with me.”
E
agle shakes his head, pulling back, finishing with a handshake. “This life isn’t for me. I’m built for the open road and nothing but trouble, brother. You know this. If you need me from time to time for a special job, I’ll be here. But other than that, I have to stay where I am. Where I’m meant to be.”
“Hey, Eagle. You gonna share some of that lovin’ with me?” Tamara asks from behind us.
Eagle laughs, pushing me to the side to get at her. “The big college grad. All that beauty and brains too. Mammoth’s lucky he found you first because I would’ve snagged you in a heartbeat, baby.”
Tamara slaps his arm, laughing. “You’re a liar. You couldn’t handle all that’s me, big guy. You know it, and I know it.”
“You’re a lot of attitude to deal with, but I’m sure we could’ve found a way to make it work,” he tells her, staring down at her.
“New men alert,” Tamara’s aunt Fran announces, marching toward the patio after exiting the sliders from the house. “Let me get a good look at them.”
“Watch her. She’s handsy,” I whisper to Eagle.
He laughs, but when Fran gets right up to him and reaches out, groping his pecs and then sliding her hands to his stomach, he shifts his eyes in my direction as I laugh.
“Told ya,” I mouth.
“This is my Great-Aunt Fran. She’s the best,” Tamara tells Eagle. “Frannie, this is Eagle.”
“I know a damn good nest he can roost in,” she says, squinting and moving closer to him, trying to get a better look, and pretending like she’s blind when she isn’t.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Frannie,” she corrects him. “It’s nice to touch you, Eagle.” She laughs, but she doesn’t stop groping until Bear pokes his head out of the house and barks at her.
“Her husband.” I tick my head toward Bear, who’s watching her with his lips twisted.
“Well, fuck.” Eagle grimaces.
“Pay no attention to him. When he gets jealous, that’s when he gives it to me best.”
Eagle almost chokes on his own spit, pounding on his chest with his fist. “What the…”
I wave him off and shake my head.
Tonight has the makings of being one hell of an epically fucked-up night.
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