Page 16 of Unveiled Wishes

No, but I’ll make sure Meredith buys you a collar that says “My Bitch”.

We have to stop this before she leads him around the counter for the third fucking time.

If Sabre buys the place, is everyone in to help pay for the renovations?

I need a group vote.

The “ayes” had it.

***

Sabre

“Why don’t you buy her what she really wants?” Pretty popped up at my elbow. “The Old McMillan Place. She wants to turn it into one of those fancy event centers.”

“How do you know that’s what she wants?” Grace wasn’t stealthy. She had been working on the business plan in the mornings and leaving the pages on the kitchen counter.Did she want me to see them?

“How do you know?” he parroted me.

I turned to look at him, and the saleswoman stopped to listen in. “If I bought that place, I could cover the cost of the building. However, it needs a lot of work. Where am I going to get the money for her to start a business?”

“You know where. We’ll go rob some banks, and it’ll all be gravy,” Pretty said as he patted my forearm. The saleswoman nearly choked on her own breath. Pretty shot her his womanizing smile, and it seemed to work. She looked like robbing a bank was the best idea, and she’d drive the getaway car. “The club’s willing to partner on the business aspect.” He smiled at me.

“You can’t say shit like that without a vote.” I fully turned towards Pretty. He had better not be fucking around.

“I asked them while you were being a douche canoe, looking at the cases.” He turned back towards the saleswoman. “I am sure you have a lot of pretty stuff.” She preened at him. Turning back towards me, he said, “The consensus was that if she ran it, it would be a gold mine. The brothers will take that bet. If you put it up to a vote, they’ll approve the spending. A few even said they would chip in to help fix it.”

“How did you talk to all of them?” I was skeptical. Pretty was well-liked, but he wasn’t one to work quickly.

“Group chat.” He beamed at me.

“Show me.”

“Uh, no. First rule about group chat: you don’t talk about it with the president. That’s you. Now, grab one of those charm bracelet thingies, and let’s get the fuck out of here. My work is done.”

Chapter 7

Christmas Threw Up

Thunder

I heard the commotion in the main room as I walked out of the kitchen with a soda in my hand. Stopping to watch, I couldn’t help my amusement.

“It’s not straight.” Flo was standing in the middle of the room looking at the fireplace where Meredith was pinning a Christmas stocking.

“Do you want to hang them?” Meredith snapped over her shoulder.

“Not really, but if you’re going to do it, make them straight,” Flo chuckled.

“I am making them straight,” Meredith reiterated, placing one hand on her hip and flipping Flo off with her middle finger behind her back. I didn’t appreciate the gesture toward Flo, but I’d cause more drama if I said something.

Drama was the last thing on my mind when I noticed the back of Liz’s head as she sat at a table, facing the girls. She had been watching them with JR in his bouncer on the other side of her.Making sure that Slate was nowhere near, I pretended like it wasn’t a big deal as I sat in the empty chair next to her.

“Were they always like this?” I asked her, but she didn’t respond. I had noticed that her mind was slipping, but I had tried anyway. If I wanted to have an actual conversation with her, I’d have to wait until she was lucid again. Instead, I placed my soda on the table and bent over so that I could see JR. “Hey, buddy. You watching the drama?” I asked him. “Who you going to bet on?”

“We can hear you,” Meredith said over her shoulder. “The whole clubhouse can hear you.”

I didn’t pay any attention to her as I stood up from my chair and picked JR up from his bouncer. The motion caught Liz’s attention, and I watched out of my peripheral view as her eyes refocused on the world around her. When she’d first arrived from the hospital, it would take her hours to be aware of her surroundings, but she wouldn’t remember any of the conversation. They said she was getting better and could make a full recovery, but it still took her a few minutes on a good day.