“I told him that was going to backfire,” I whispered into Meredith’s ear.
“Aww, fuck.”
It was the wrong thing to say, and I could have told him that, too. Instead of being excited, he’d just given Grace the impression that he didn’t want another kid. I knew differently, but she didn’t. Her knees gave, but before she could hit the floor, Sabre gathered her in his arms.
“I’m fucking this up. I bought a ring, and I wasn’t sure you would say yes, so I figured if you wanted another kid, you’d be good on marriage. That’s why I’ve been asking. It never crossed my mind it would actually happen.” He held her tight against his body. “Marry me, mama, because you don’t want anyone else, not because I’m a dumbass with shitty timing.”
I held my breath. This was a train wreck, and none of us could look away as it raced toward derailment.
“Yes,” she laughed, and the tension in the room evaporated. “Are you excited?”
“Scared shitless,” he said, burying his face against the crook of her neck.
“What about you?” I asked Meredith, trying to take the attention away from them for a minute.
“We’re already married, and I told you I didn’t want a ring.” She scrunched her nose up at the idea.
“Glad to know that’s how you feel about it.” I tapped the end lightly. “No. Would you go if I asked you?”
She thought for a second before laying her head back against my shoulder. “I’ll do whatever you think is the safest, but if you ask me to leave, you have a problem, Jonathan.”
There were a few chuckles floating around the room.
“What’s that, baby?” I’d fix it for her, no matter what it was.
“I don’t handle car rides very well, so I was thinking about getting a bike. They’re much safer.”
The room exploded, the attention firmly off Sabre and Grace as they held onto each other at the bottom of the stairs.
“I can rig the door for one of the club cars so it never locks,” Grease offered.
“If you’re buying a new bike, I want to go with.” Pretty plopped down next to Dead.
“Why? So they can tell you to your face you’re crazy? Pumpkin’s too little for a bike,” Meredith said. She titled her head up, batting her eyelashes. “I’m not though.”
Chapter 33
Round One - Fight
Meredith
Grizz didn’t have a right to look that good. His jeans hugged the curves of his thighs as he stretched out on the bed, his legs crossed at the ankles. His t-shirt stretched tight against his biceps as he propped his head in his hand. Grizz was already hot, but then he reached over to tickle Pumpkin’s belly where she lay next to him. My pulse skyrocketed, and if I hadn’t been packing, I’d lure him to my love den—the ensuite.
Grizz had waited until we were alone to ask why I had agreed so easily. I could have lied, told him I was deferring to his judgement as my Old Man. I should have, just to see his reaction, but it wouldn’t have lasted long. He wouldn’t have bought the excuse, and the truth had been a lot simpler. Grizz had always put my safety first, and this time hadn’t been any different.
The women were heading out to one of the club’s safe houses, but no one knew what condition it was actually in. There hadn’t been enough time to send a prospect or two to check, so we were all assuming the worst. I had told Grace we should pack cleaning supplies and have a stress party. She hadn’t found me funny.
“Take enough for a few days,” Grizz said, watching me.
“We’re only going for the night.” It was a lie. No one knew how long this was going to take, but I’d said it so often this week, Grace had believed me. This was all going to be one big “speed bump”.
“I’d rather you have too much than not enough.” He tickled Pumpkin’s tummy again, and her little legs kicked up.
I said nothing as I turned back towards the closet to grab a few more things.
“Things have been busy, but once this all calms down, we should go for a ‘moon.”
“A vacation?” I asked, folding my leggings in half and rolling the legs up to make them smaller in my suitcase.