Page 44 of Stone
She hesitated. “Okay, you got me there,andyou might have made me fall a little in love with you, too.”
She said it as a joke, but his heart stuttered, then leaped. He grinned. “Second, doing what you need to in order to stay aliveisbrave. It’s easy to give up hope. It’s easy to lose your cool. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about when I say it’s muchmuchharder to stay focused, use your brain, and remember you have something to live for. Even if it’s just a chance to read the next release of your favorite author.”
She stilled, then bobbed her head from side to side. “You know, in all the hoopla, I never did hear the end of the Lisa Roberts book I was listening to.”
He laughed. Calling the mess they were in “hoopla” was an epic understatement. “Connect your phone,” he said, nodding to his Bluetooth audio system. “We have about thirty minutes before we reach the restaurant.”
They rolledinto the Falcon’s Rest clubhouse parking lot at ten minutes to three. Juliana had her eyes open by then. In fact,ten minutes into the ride she’d felt comfortable enough to stop squeezing the living daylights out of Simon.
It helped that the coordinated switch had gone off without a hitch and that the large group of forty riders who’d met them at the café had welcomed her like one of their own. When the time came to leave, two of the bikers took the truck and headed north while she and Simon had roared out of the parking lot with the others in a rumble that echoed through the trees. For thirty minutes, they’d stayed with the pack, giving her time to adjust in the comfort of other experienced riders, then they’d turned east and headed to Mystery Lake.
Once they left Silicon Valley and turned onto a quiet, two-lane highway, she even started to relax. Now, over four hours later, her butt and thighs ached, as did her back and arms, but it wasn’t from being tense, more just from the wear and tear of being in an unfamiliar position for an extended period. They’d stopped once for her to stretch and use the bathroom; still, riding was new to her, and her body wasn’t used to it.
Philly and another man walked out of the clubhouse as Simon lowered the kickstand and climbed off. Offering his hand to steady her, she gripped his fingers as she swung her leg over.
“That Chance’s bike?” Philly asked, stopping just outside the door.
“Yeah,” Simon said as she set her feet down on the gravel and rose. Her hips wobbled, and it felt as though her legs weren’t entirely underneath her. Simon’s grip tightened, letting her know she could use him for balance, but he didn’t otherwise interfere as she adjusted to being back on two feet.
“Juliana, Viper,” Simon said, gesturing to the man who stood beside Philly. “Viper, Juliana.”
She waved to the good-looking Black man. Viper nodded in response but didn’t move toward her as she found her legs again.
“I told Chance Juliana’d never ridden,” Simon said.
“Probably the only reason you could give that would have him lending you Bia,” Philly said.
“Bia? Goddess of force?” she asked. Simon nodded. “Does everyone name their bike?”
The three men all but shuffled their feet. She opened her mouth to ask the name of each of theirs, but Philly cut her off.
“How are you, sweetheart?” he asked as Simon led her toward the two men. “It can take some getting used to.” He nodded to the bike.
“I feel like I did when I was ten and went on my first horseback ride at camp,” she replied as they came to a stop. She did a little shimmy with her hips, her thighs still adjusting to being reunited. “At least I’ll be able to take a bath tonight rather than suffer through a cold shower in a communal room with five other girls. Four of whom took great joy in pointing out my horse was probably sorer than I was. As if the fact that they looked like scrawny wet chihuahuas made them better than me.” Silence met her response, and her gaze flickered up from where she’d been examining the dust on her jeans. “Uh, too much info?” she asked when she found three sets of eyes staring at her.
“You are gorgeous. All woman,” Simon said matter of fact.
“And hot. I’d go into more detail, but Stone would kick my ass,” Philly said, taking a step away from Simon as he spoke.
“I hate chihuahuas,” Viper added.
She, Simon, and Philly looked at him. Then burst out laughing. The left side of Viper’s mouth curled into a grin. “It’s true, I do. The dog and the human variety. Now, how about we go inside and update you about all the work we did while you two were joyriding.”
She considered protesting the joyride comment, but then he winked at her. Rolling her eyes, she followed behind, her hand tucked in Simon’s.
They entered the clubhouse as Dottie pushed through the kitchen doors at the back of the room carrying a tray. “Late lunch for Stone and Juliana,” she said, walking over. Viper immediately met her halfway and took the tray. “Amber will drop the drinks by. She’s putting the finishing touches on her homemade lemonade. She’ll bring a pitcher.”
The men groaned, and Juliana assumed she was in for a treat. She didn’t tend to drink a lot of fruit juices. She’d fallen out of the habit when her aunt had insisted that they’d rot her teeth and make her gain weight. But the words brought back a flash of a good memory, too. Just images in her mind, like flipping through a series of Polaroids. Her and her mom in the kitchen of the cabin they’d go to in Maine for the summer. A pile of squeezed lemon halves on the worn wood counters. An old-fashioned ceramic container of sugar. Her parents mixed it with iced tea, and they’d had it with fresh lobster and corn picked from the local farm.
Dottie paused, set her hand on her hip, and eyed Juliana. “You doing okay, hon? You taking care of her?” she asked, her gaze shifting to Simon.
“I am and he is,” Juliana answered. Simon’s hand twitched in hers. She thought about adding that they were taking care of each other, but stopped herself when she saw a mischievous glint in Philly’s eye. Yeah, she’d skip making the unintended sexual insinuation.
“Coward,” Philly muttered.
“Prurient,” she shot back.
“That’s not a noun,” he countered.
