Page 16 of Fearless to Love

It wouldn’t be good if she got some stalker or some crazed fan found out where she lived.

“I’ll talk to her.”

“And don’t be cheap. Even with a good one…trust me, I know from experience they aren’t infallible.”

Shit. Now I was worried.

“Maybe when I convince her, you can help us pick one out. I want to make sure she’s safe when I can’t be around.”

“And how often are you going to be around?” Jax gruffly asked before he took a swig of his beer.

“As much as I can. Right now, my club is…not doing the best, I guess you could say. We’re understaffed and until I find someone to manage it, I need to be there quite a bit.”

“What’s the name of your club?” Luke asked. So far, he seemed to be the one most open to me which wasn’t what I expected.

“Flux.”

“Flux.” I heard one of the girl’s shout. Alex came running around the table all excited, her eyes big.

“You own Flux?” She bounced on her toes.

“I do,” I laughed. I’d never had that reaction before.

“That is so awesome,” she squealed. “We’ll all have to go one night. That’s where I went the night that totally changed my life.”

Luke pulled her close, looking down at her adoringly. “I thought it was our lunch?”

“If it wasn’t for my night at his club, I never would have met you. It’s what started our story, but our lunch is one of the best days of my life.” By the end, they were staring at each other and looked as if they’re going to jump each other in front of us.

“Get a room,” Jack grumbled.

Luke hugged Alex to him, laughing at Jack. “Dude, you need to get laid more.”

“Don’t I know it.” He looked down at his feet.

The poor guy acted as if he hadn’t gotten laid in years.

The chicken, steak, and vegetables didn’t take long to grill and soon we were all sitting at a long table digging into our Mexican feast.

As I looked at everyone enjoying everyone else’s company, I could see they were a family. Something I’d been missing for far too long. I was glad I asked Franca to help me out and I hoped once Flux was back to what it was, she’d stick around. I also hoped to one day count everyone here as part of my family. Especially Lily.

The food was amazing. The marinade Lily put on the steak and chicken made these the best fajitas I’d ever had. She was an amazing cook.

The banter kept me on my toes. They loved to tease each other but loved each other just as much. I answered the few questions they asked me, though they didn’t ask much or pry too far into my life. Maybe they were afraid they’d scare me off, but nothing could have been further from the truth. There wasn’t much that would get rid of me.

As I was taking in the platters and dishes to help clean up, Alex dragged me off into a corner. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, nervous. “I haven’t known Lily long, but I wanted to let you know this is the first time I’ve seen her smile so brightly. You’re good for her. I can tell.” She giggled and quickly looked around to make sure no one heard her. “Tommy was an asshole to her. I didn’t know her until afterward, but she opened up to me and I’ve observed the impact he’s had on her. I’m sure she’ll tell you all this eventually, but I wanted you to know. Don’t fuck over my girl. I don’t think she’ll be able to handle it. For some reason, she stayed with Tommy for over two years and during that time he cheated on her through most of it. That’s not the worst of it though. The things he said to her made her feel as if she wasn’t good enough. Ugly.” Tears filled her eyes, but she pushed through. “He always made her feel as if her writing was trash. She couldn’t do anything without running it by him.”

“Thank you, Alex. She hasn’t opened up to me about him, but I did meet him today at the grocery store.”

“Really?” She looked alarmed. “What was he doing here?”

“He said visiting friends.” Alex snorted, shaking her head. “I knew the instant he spoke he was the one who tarnished her self-esteem. I’m going to do everything in my power for her to see herself as the beautiful person she is.”

“Good luck. I just wanted to give you a heads up, but it looks like you’ve got it handled.” Her smile grew with each word until I wasn’t sure her cheeks wouldn’t split. “I’m so happy she found you.”

“You and me both.”

Now I only wished I had punched Tommy when we saw him earlier. I wasn’t sure when I’d get another chance, but the next time he wouldn’t be so lucky.

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