“So you’re telling me that the way to your heart is by doing manly-type jobs?” she teased with a smile.

“Smart-ass,” I muttered. “Seriously, though, men like this don’t just hang around on street corners waiting for a woman to choose them. This is like gold. You have no idea.”

“I can imagine, and I think I need to get to hang out with him for a bit so I can see his awesomeness in action. Do you think he’d also be down with doing assignments for your sister? ‘Cause when school starts back up, I’m going to need help.”

I laughed. “I’d love to see his face if you asked him for help.”

We were busy laughing when my phone sounded with a text.

Griff: I’ll be over at 7. Be ready.

Me: What do you have planned?

Griff: Trust me, sweetheart, you’ll like what I have planned.

Me: I’ll see you then.

“That was him, right?” Magan asked as she had her feet massaged.

“Yeah.” My mind was already focusing on tonight and what he could possibly have planned.

“I guess I’m not getting an invite for dinner tonight.”

I frowned. “Did you want an invite?”

“I’d never knock back dinner that you cook, because not only are you the best cook I know, but it gets me out of the house which means I don’t have to eat the dinner Sue cooks me.” Sue was her foster mother – a prime example of a person who should never have been accepted into the foster care system. She didn’t abuse her foster kids, but she certainly didn’t show them much love.

“I’ll cook. What would you like?” I’d do anything for Magan to try and give her the family experience I’d never had.

Her smile made me happy. “Can you cook those sticky ribs you made that one time for me? They were so good.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let Griff know you’re coming to meet him and have dinner with us.” As I said this, the lady giving me the pedicure distracted me, and all thoughts of dinner were forgotten for now.

* * *

Griff: Get naked. I’ll be there in ten minutes.

Me: Shit, I forgot to tell you my sister is coming for dinner with us.

He didn’t reply for what felt like an hour but was probably more like a minute.

Griff: Your punishment for not telling me this is going to be exquisite.

I squeezed my legs together as I placed my phone down on the kitchen counter.

Oh, my.

He arrived eleven minutes later and I met him at the front door. His hand landed on my ass and he dragged my body up against his. “Just so you’re aware, making me wait to have you is a form of fucking torture,” he growled into my ear.

Lust somersaulted in my belly.

“I feel the same way, handsome,” I murmured.

Letting me go, he entered my house. “Is your sister here yet?”

I nodded. “Yeah, she’s out on the patio waiting for you. And Griff?”

He stopped and gave me his full attention. “Yeah?”

“Magan’s really excited to spend time with you,” I said softly.

His eyes held mine. “The feeling is mutual, sweetheart.”

I followed him out to the patio and watched as my sister met my boyfriend.

She greeted him with a handshake – something I’d never seen her do before. And her voice was all formal at the beginning of the conversation. It was like she was making a huge effort with him. “Hi, Griff.”

He shook her hand, and from the way she winced a little, I figured he’d forgotten to go easy. Grimacing, he apologized, “Sorry about that.”

She pulled her hand back. “It’s all good.”

The atmosphere turned a little awkward with neither knowing what to say, so I intervened and offered drinks. Once we were all settled at the table with drinks, I asked Griff, “Did you have a good day?”

He took a sip of his drink, and answered, “Yeah, we got through a lot of stuff today that needed taking care of.”

Magan tilted her head. “What do bikers do all day?”

Placing his drink on the table, he looked at her. “Storm has businesses that we run – restaurants and a club – so most of my days are spent working on that.” His shoulders were tense, almost as if he didn’t really want to be discussing this. I was impressed at how open he was being.

She seemed disappointed. “So it’s not all shoot ‘em up and hookers and drugs like they show on television, then? It kinda sounds boring the way you put it, dude. Why did you join Storm rather than one of those other clubs?”

His shoulders eased and a smile twitched at the corners of his lips. “Storm was the right fit for me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s a very cryptic reason, but I won’t push you. I know you bikers are the guarded type and all.”

I stifled a laugh. Magan was trying so hard to be cool around him, and he was making an effort to let her get to know a little about him. It made my heart happy.

“You’re still in school?” he asked her.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be in year twelve this year and then I get to escape this living hell at the end of the year.”

“I take it you don’t like school?”

“Did you, dude?” she threw out as if the answer was a no-brainer.

“I liked school,” he said, stunning her.

“What the..? No way. You don’t seem like the type who would have liked school.”