Page 29 of Domino
“If you thank me one more time, I’m going to throttle you. I mean it. You are not burdening me. Having Cole here is as good for him as it is for you, and for the twins. I mean it. Watching him while you’re at work isn’t any added burden, honey. I already have to keep my eye on Emma and Elton,” she says.
A breath of relief passes my lips and I look over at Missy, letting the gratitude I feel shine through in my expression. She seems to pick up on it and gives me a smile.
“I’ll tell you what, though, you can pay me back by watching the kids so Mark and I can get away on a date night now and then,” she says.
“That’s a deal. You guys can go away for a weekend. Take a vacation together.”
“I’ll take that deal.”
Despite the thick cloud of gloom still hanging over my head, I feel an infusion of warmth and happiness. Though I’m scared and still an emotional maelstrom, I have hopes that what she’s saying is true and that I will be able to give Cole an amazing life—the life he deserves—out here. I want him to have a life he could never have back in Erwin, and I want him surrounded by amazing people who will show him how to be a good man. I want him surrounded by people who will set a good example for him to learn from. Basically, I want people around him who will teach him to be the exact opposite of his father.
“Oh, hey, I ran into that biker again. The one we saw driving down the street at the coffeehouse the other day?” I say.
Her eyebrow shoots up and a suggestive smile draws her lips upward. “Oh really?” she purrs. “Do tell.”
“Well, there isn’t a whole lot to tell.”
I hadn’t intended to tell her about meeting Max. It just sort of slipped out. She doesn’t seem like she approves of the Pharaohs necessarily, but she also doesn’t seem entirely put off by them either. She’s ambivalent about them at best, although she was pretty clear about me needing a better breed of men. But there’s just something about Max that intrigues me. He’s… different.
I can’t say how or why he’s different, but I just don’t get the hardcore biker thug vibe from him. He seems kind. He’s got a great smile that really lights up his face and an easy charm that I found intoxicating. Max just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who enjoys killing people as bikers are wont to do.
“There’s obviously enough since you brought him up.”
I laugh. “I did try to stab him with my keys and kick him in the balls.”
“Sounds like the start of an amazing romance,” she quips.
“He’s fast. And strong. I never even got close to connecting, and I’ve taken some self-defense classes. He was a Marine.”
“And now he’s a biker thug.”
I shrug. “I’m not so sure he’s a thug. It might sound strange to say, but he seems nice.”
“Nice? That’s not a word I’d associate with a biker.”
I laugh. “I agree. I’ve seen TV shows where they’re all angry and murdery, too. But Max isn’t like that. He’s quick to laugh and has a smile that can light up a room.”
Missy is looking at me closely, that smile still upon her lips. It’s then that I realize I’m going on like a smitten schoolgirl and can’t help but laugh at myself.
“Sounds like somebody’s got a crush,” she says in a sing-song voice.
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do. When we were kids, whenever you had a crush on somebody, you always got that little twinkle in your eye.”
“No way.”
“Way. And I see it right now. Your eyes are sparkling bright, baby.”
“You’re so full of crap. I just find him different. Interesting,” I say, giggling.
“Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that.”
That’s exactly what I’m going to do. This isn’t the time for me to get caught up in somebody. The last thing I want to do is develop an infatuation on somebody like Max. While it’s true that he seems different, he is still a biker. Maybe he’s not a killer or whatever, but I don’t doubt that he and his club are into some shady things.
And that’s the last thing I want to expose Cole to.
Chapter Twelve
