Page 1 of The Biker's Hidden Obsession

Chapter One

Sienna

“My buddy says you’re looking for a date.” A giant biker with a long beard and tattoos stands at the front door of my shop. He looks like the type of guy you’d hire as personal security, but who also moonlights as a stripper on the weekends.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a man this built. His biceps are the size of… well, bigger than anything I can think of at the moment. He steps inside and suddenly the thousand square feet I’ve been using as an event shop shrinks immensely.

His eyes lock onto mine. They’re sharp and dark, as though he’s waiting for a response.

Oh yeah, I need to talk back.

“Umm… yeah.” I smooth down the fabric of the floral dress I ordered a few months back. I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet, and I’m not sure how I feel about the A-line cut, but it’s rocking every shade of pink, which makes it my new favorite dress. “I wasn’t aware that you’d be dropping by.”

“Well, I was down here grabbing a few things and figured I’d stop in and say hello.” He drags his massive hand down over his face and stares at me with the same hardened look he was rocking before.

“Yeah. I… you’re here, so lets…” I have no idea why I’m stammering. I’m not a stammerer. I’m a talker. Ask anyone. I’ll talk a stranger's ear off about anything. Heck, I once spenttwenty minutes in line at the grocery store talking to the woman in front of me about ketchup brands. She was impressed by how much I knew, and truthfully, so was I. Apparently, it’s not mainstream knowledge that ketchup is used for polishing metal and the rest can be used to bake a cake.

“Is this a bad time?” the giant continues.

“No, not at all. It’s not a bad time. It’s… I’m a little shook up this morning is all. My cousin sent all these texts last night with last-minute changes to the guest list, and there’s a fountain issue. So… distracted.”

“Is this the same wedding you’re looking for a date to?”

Somehow, this idea sounded less humiliating when I was abstractly talking about it with a friend and thinking about finally losing my virginity instead of valuing rational decision making. Now, in real life, it’s just… weird.

“I mean,” I pause and close my eyes, trying to conjure up the words to answer his question without sounding like a complete loser, though I’m thinking that’s exactly what I’m looking like, “I guess I don’t really need a date. I was just being crazy and weird. I’ll… it’ll be fine.”

The giant watches me closely, weighing my words as though he’s deciding whether I mean them or not. His stance is relaxed, but the way he stares at me makes me feel all kinds of gooey inside. “So you were looking for a date, and the second you see me, you’re not?” He laughs under his breath as he crosses his massive arms over one another. “You’re giving me a complex.”

“No, I’m sorry. You’re great. I mean, look at you. You’re so big. I mean… you’re good looking.”Why am I still talking?“You seem like a nice guy, but, ugh, I’m… I don’t think I need a date. It’s complicated.”

Wow! What the hell was that?I never act like this.

He pulls a chair out from the table and lowers himself down carefully until the seat disappears and it looks like he’s floating in thin air. “I’ve got time.”

Oh, great. He’s got time.

I don’t know why I thought maybe he’d be a little less attractive. This guy is like action-movie attractive.

I lean back against the counter awkwardly. “Umm… weddings are weird. My assistant quit a few days ago to run off to California, I’m missing a bunch of flowers, I have an issue with a fountain, and my family… especially my mother. She didn’t believe in this whole business venture thing of mine, and now I’m putting on my cousin’s wedding and everything is going wrong. I didn’t want to show up without a date too. So, I figured a big, rough, tough, biker dude would keep her quiet. But… I was overthinking it. She’ll see straight through all this, anyway. I’m better off just biting the bullet.”

He grins and I swear I hear the smirk in his voice as he says, “You sure? I’ve been told I clean up really nicely.”

I’d love to see how well this man cleans up, but going to a wedding together would mean acting normal around each other, and clearly I’m not as capable of that as I thought I was.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t want to deal with my mother. She’s an evil witch from Planet Zargo, and she has no remorse for anything or anyone.”

The man laughs. “Planet Zargo, huh? Sounds like a challenge.”

I widen my gaze. “More than a challenge. She’s got a perfected side-eye that destroys souls on contact. It’s a mess.”

“No offense, but I’ve handled far worse than a perfected side-eye.”

I wrinkle my nose and glance toward the action star at the front of the store. “Oh, you haven’t felt her side-eye. It’s deadly, trust me.”

“Look,” he stands from the chair and steps toward me, one heavy boot at a time, until he’s so close that I can smell the motor oil and leather that surrounds him, “I gotta be honest with you. I’m backed up on good deeds, and this one’ll count for like eight… at least. You gotta let me do this.” He shifts his weight to the right and flexes his arm, showing off a horseshoe tattoo with an eagle in the center. “Think of me like an assistant. These are workin’ muscles. I can lift and carry whatever you need, including your mother, to the door if necessary.”

I smile and stare down at the ground at thoughts of this massive man protecting me from everything, especially my mother, but now I’m a little concerned by the hard sell. I mean, why does he want to be at this wedding so badly? I know who these bikers are. There’s chatter all over town that these guys are ex-hitmen. That said, I really could use the help.

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