Page 43 of Between Brothers

Chapter 17

Hayley

When we stepped into the back door of the club a peal of masculine laughter filtered down the hall from the front of the clubhouse and I froze. It was one thing to be with the two men I’d just been intimate with… safe, and cared for in their presence. It was another to face the potential judgment of their peers.

“You’re cool, darlin’, just keep walking,” Cell urged.

“There’s history here,” Blue murmured before coming around to face me.

“What history?”

I pursed my lips together and shook my head. I didn’t want to think about that now. Blue touched the side of my face, drawing his thumb down in a light caress and asked, “Do I have your permission to fill him in later?”

I nodded. Yes, I would like that. Spare me from having to say it again. I knew it was a coward’s way, but sometimes it was better a small act of cowardice now than a larger act of cowardice when it really counted, so I allowed myself this small indulgence so that I could go in there with all those people looking at us and paste on a smile while the panic seized my guts and tried to steal my appetite.

I took a deep breath and put my feet into motion and when I cleared the archway but the curtained glassed in room, it was to find a full house. Just about the entire club plus babies and children were here.

“Hey!” Reaver crowed, “Was wondering when y’all were going to get out of bed.”

I swallowed hard and pasted on a smile, quickly scanning the room for any looks of reproach or stares but all I found were legitimately carefree and friendly faces.

“Get you some breakfast boys and girl,” Dragon grunted and stabbed his fork at the bar which was laid out with a veritable buffet of all things breakfast.

Cell stepped around me and went up to it, handing me back a plate. I went the rest of the way into the room and took it, handing it to Blue behind me and taking the next one that Cell handed me.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

“You bet,” he said and started down the line, loading up his plate.

We filled our plates with what we wanted to eat and I felt some of the unease and tension leave me with having a task in front of me to do. When I turned back around to follow Cell to a seat, no one was looking at us, all of them involved with their food and individual conversations.

There were three seats open at a table with Dray and Everett and Cell took one. I went over and sat next to Everett and Blue pulled out a chair across from me. Everett was smiling and rubbing her baby bump and I couldn’t help myself.

“When are you due?” I asked.

“March, but I’m hoping he’ll take his sweet time coming out. I’m kind of crossing my fingers for a St. Patty’s day baby.”

“He?” I asked and she grinned and moved a shiny piece of paper over to me to have a look, I could see a baby on the scan, but there was truthfully no telling what sex. At least not to my untrained eye.

“Aww!”

“I know! We’re so excited.”

“I’m so happy for you!” I cried and dug into my food, cutting my syrup soaked pancakes with a fork.

“You riding with us?” Dray asked and I pursed my lips.

“Um, I don’t know… We hadn’t talked about it.”

“Blue left his bike at Hayley’s last night like a dumbass.”

“Mandatory ride.”

“It’s only nine, and we don’t leave until eleven, right?” Cell asked.

“Right.”

“Then don’t worry about it, we’ll be here.”

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