Page 36 of Lore
She’s sitting on the bed in clean clothes, brushing Dove’s hair, while Dove eats an apple. Atiana’s dark hair is still damp, tucked back behind her ear. Fresh-faced, she’s stunning. Then again, she never needed makeup, and right now she’s never looked more beautiful.
I can hear the shower on, so Rider must be in there. “Anything I can do?”
I’ve somehow transitioned from single to a family man overnight. No one, especially me, saw this coming. But now that I’ve laid my eyes on them, there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
“Nope, we’re good,” she says, looking at me over Dove’s head. “Rider is probably going to be starving. I told Ora I’ll cook tonight.”
My eyebrows slowly rise. “What are you going to make?” My question is drawn out, curious.
Back in the day, Atiana was many things, but a cook wasn’t one of them.
“Tuscan chicken on top of a bed of mashed potatoes,” she replies, smiling up at me. “They apparently call it marry-me chicken now.”
My lip twitches. “Is that why you’re cooking it for me?”
She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “I’m making it for all the men, remember? Not just you.”
Okay, ouch.
“Butterfly…”
“Yes?” she asks, arching her brow. There’s a challenge in her honey-brown eyes.
Rider steps into the room, a white fluffy towel wrapped around him. “Oh, hey, Dad.”
My eyes flare.
It’s the first time he’s called me that to my face.
And he said it so casually.
“Hey, Rider,” I reply, clearing my throat. “You want to go and play some PlayStation before dinner?”
The truth is, I rarely play, but I know he likes it, and I’ll use anything that I can to bond with him. Plus, without having sex, I seem to have a lot more free time on my hands these days.
“Yes!” he cheers, doing a little fist pump in the air. “This time I’m going to beat you!”
Laughing, I look back at Atiana. “We need to talk later.”
There’s so much I want to say to her. I want to tell her that I couldn’t care less about Rose or Brandy. I mean, I care about them like I do anyone else in the clubhouse, but I don’t ache for them.
I don’t think about them all fucking day and night.
And I don’t regret how I’ve treated them in the past.
I wish I could start over and do things right this time.
If I could, I would have never broken up with Atiana and raised Rider with her from the very start.
“Okay.” She nods, placing a kiss on top of Dove’s head and standing up. “After dinner?”
I agree, and then pull out my phone and send a text to warn all of my brothers.
ATIANA
The food is served at the table, but the men aren’t looking as excited as they usually are when Ora or Lu serves their food.
Bones lifts it to his nose and smells. “It smells good,” he announces.
