Page 20 of The Biker's Hidden Obsession

Her mother laughs. “If you cut us out Sienna, don’t think you’re getting a cent from us ever again. Not even a penny. You could be struggling at our doorstep, begging for a cracker and a glass of water, and I’ll remind you of this moment.”

Her head tilts to the side as she stares back at her folks. “I’ve lived in your wreckage since I was a kid. You built it brick by brick. Your threats, your violence, your selfish pride.” She squeezes my hand tighter. “I’m done pretending silence is love. Tennessee may not be perfect, but he sees me. He sees me like you never did.”

Her father’s mouth opens, but the words catch somewhere he can’t reach. For once, he’s not the loudest voice in the room.

I watch my girl with pride. Not only for standing up to her father, but for standing up for herself, for giving herself freedom from their ways.

“You ready?” she asks without looking away from her parents.

I nod. “Always.”

Finally, we step past the man who used to control everything, past the woman from Planet Zargo, past our history and into the future… and no one says another word.

Chapter Eleven

Sienna

Well, this is a mess.

“I’ll handle the hotel manager. You talk to Mae.” Tennessee kisses the top of my head. “We’ll make all this better. I promise.”

I know he didn’t mean for this to happen. Given the choice again, I’d gladly let him shove me into every room in this place and fuck me just like he did, over and over again.

“Sounds good. I love you.”

“I love you more,” he murmurs, brushing a thumb across my cheek before heading for the hallway like a man about to go to war in a peaceful, woodland lobby.

Mae is tucked into a corner at the bottom of the stairs with her face buried in her hands. My stomach churns as I make my way toward her. I really wanted today to be special. It still can be. No one really saw what happened except the manager, my parents, and the cleaning lady. Sure, people will talk, but if we don’t make a big deal out of it, no one else will either, right?

I tuck down next to Mae and lower my tone to a soothing whisper as I say, “I’m sorry about all that. I don’t know what came over me.”

She glances up, tears rolling down her face. “I do. That dude is hot. I’m glad you finally had your way with him. How big was it?”

I can’t figure why she’s crying if she’s also playfully excited for my very public romp. “Wait, what’s going on? Why are you hiding and crying? I thought you’d be mad at me or something. I mean, I did screw up. The manager is pissed.”

She grins widely and wipes away a tear. “He sure is. But if my next romance isn’t pissing hotel managers off, I don’t want it.”

My heart tightens. “What?”

“I went through Rick’s phone. He’s got like three nudes of some girl at his office in this text chat thing. I don’t know. I called the wedding off.”

I don’t know what to say. I’m not even sure I’m comprehending what she’s saying yet. “What?”

“My thoughts exactly. He’s such a fucking asshole. He threw a bunch of money at me to pay for the wedding, so I guess it’s his loss, right?”

I stare at her, mouth half-open. “Wait… you actually called off the wedding?”

She nods, letting out a laugh that’s half relief, half chaos. “Yup. Right after I screen-shotted the receipts and emailed them to his mom, ‘cause I’m classy like that.”

My jaw drops.“You did not.”

“Oh, I did, and I wore white while doing it.” She wipes a tear with the bottom of her dress. “Honestly, it felt kind of amazing.”

I let out a long breath, half in awe, half ready to high-five her into next week. “Damn. I thought I was the drama.”

“Youarethe drama. I’m just catching up.”

There’s a beat of silence, then we both burst out laughing the kind of laugh that hurts your ribs a little, but feels like letting the light back in.

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