A ride hadn’t been on my agenda today, but I eyed Griff and said, “Sounds like the best fuckin’ idea anyone around here has had for weeks. You in?”

He nodded. “Yeah, brother, I’m in.”

We rounded everyone up and ten minutes later, our pipes deafened the neighbourhood.

Best fucking sound in the world.

4

Harlow

“It’s nearly seven, babe. Do you need to be at work by eight?”

I cracked one eye open and attempted to get my bearings. Scott’s legs came into sight as the sunlight streaming through the window hit me. Squeezing my eyes closed again, I grumbled, “Why is it seven already?”

Scott chuckled and the bed dipped as he sat next to me. His hand trailed down my back and then he pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “This is why you’ve gotta stop doing those shifts at Indigo. You’re exhausted.”

My eyes blinked open and I rolled onto my back. “I’m not exhausted; I just wish I had more time in bed this morning.”

The way his brows pulled together told me he didn’t believe me. “When’s your next shift at Indigo?”

“Tomorrow night.” I sat up and pushed the sheet off me. Swinging my legs off the bed, I stood so I could go to the toilet. Scott, however, moved fast and blocked me.

“I’ll take you and pick you up tomorrow; you were in no shape to drive last night.”

He was right. He’d arranged with one of his boys to get my car home early in the night so that he could pick me up at the end of my shift, and I’d been so tired when he arrived. Smiling up at him, I nodded. “I agree. Thank you.”

“Fuck me, did I just hear that right?” he muttered.

“No need to be a smartass about it.” I pushed him gently so I could move past him, and his eyes crinkled into a smile. God, I was a sucker for those crinkles. He could ask me to do anything and I would do it if he flashed them at me.

I showered and got ready for work, and then met him in the kitchen where he had coffee ready for me. Taking it from him, I drank some before saying, “Your mother called me yesterday.”

The way he said, “Yeah,” made me think he already knew this.

“Did you know she was going to?”

He drank some of his coffee while his gaze moved to mine. “She told me she was going to try and organise to meet up with you.”

I leant against the counter and cradled my mug with both hands. “Scott, she was so strange on the phone that I didn’t know what to say. I think I must have come across all wrong.” Just thinking about it now caused my body to tense up. Making a good impression on his mother rated high on my list of priorities, and I’d been so caught off guard when she rang that I ended up rambling like an idiot.

“Just be you. She’s feeling as nervous as you are.”

“That’s all you’re gonna give me?” I stared at him, hoping he’d share at least a little bit more about how I should deal with his mother.

He rinsed his mug and placed it in the dish rack. “I don’t know much more than you, Harlow. She’s been ringing me to check on you and I suggested to her yesterday it would be a fuck of a lot easier if she just rang you direct. And then she said she’d try to organise girl time with you, or some shit like that.”

As he tried to move past me, I put my hand on his arm to halt him. “She’s been ringing you? Like, more than once?”

“Yes.” He seemed frustrated with me.

“Don’t you get like that at me,” I warned. “Getting to know your mother is important to me, and I’m going to need your help.”

His eyes crinkled again and he dropped a kiss onto my lips before swiping his keys off the counter and saying, “I’ll talk to you about this tonight because I’ve gotta head out now. When are you seeing her?”

“We’re having lunch together in a couple of days.”

He nodded and slid an arm around my waist. His eyes softened as he asked, “You good today, baby?”

I knew he referred to my rollercoaster emotions. “I’m good,” I replied, my voice a little breathy because when Scott did soft, it made me a little breathless. I loved that he didn’t give that softness to everyone; he made me feel special.

With one last kiss, he let me go and took a few steps towards the front door before pausing and turning back to face me. “That bossy shit you just pulled on me is hot, sweetheart. I’m loving the fuck out of this new side to you.”

I watched him leave; disappointed we both had work today. It would have been the perfect day to stay home in bed together.

Nine hours later, I’d finished another long day at the café and had dropped into the supermarket to grab some meat for dinner when Scott texted me.

Scott : I’m gonna be late tonight. Can you check in on Michelle and Lisa?

Me : Sure. You okay?

Scott : Some club stuff just went down. Will tell you when I get home.

Me : Okay. I’ll take care of Michelle. You just concentrate on you and don’t worry about us.

He didn’t reply after that and concern edged its way into my mind – Scott usually phoned rather than texting. However, I pushed the worry to the side and concentrated on taking care of what he’d asked me to do. I grabbed everything I would need for dinner, as well as the ingredients to make Michelle some soup because I knew from previous experience it was something she would eat, and then headed home.

After dumping everything inside, I made my way next door.