“I know only twenty minutes of cardio is shit, but I’m hungry,” she says, looking sheepish. “And I miss Colt.”
I shake my head. “I’m gonna stay here and do some weights. I was getting distracted by your ass.”
She turns and does a little booty shake, making me growl.
“Get out of here, you little temptress.”
She drops her towel and picks it up, taking her own cool time with her ass in the air.
“Seriously?”
She straightens and flashes me a seductive look over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”
I look down at the tent in my shorts and sigh.
* * *
“What did you buy me for my birthday?” Faye asks me as she fries some eggs. “I just want to know how big it is, you know, so I know what to get you for your birthday. So from a scale of cheeseburger to a car, how extravagant is my gift?”
I look at Sin with a How the fuck do you deal with her? expression, but he just smirks and drinks his coffee. I haven’t bought Faye anything yet, one, because I didn’t even know her birthday was coming up, and two, I haven’t exactly been to a shopping mall in a while.
“It’s somewhere in the middle,” I tell her, scowling at Sin as he chuckles. “What are you buying your lovely wife, brother?”
“It’s a surprise,” Sin says, keeping a straight face.
“I love surprises,” Faye says, serving the eggs onto plates.
I look at Sin, who mouths, “I have no fuckin’ idea.”
“When is her birthday?” I mouth back.
“Next Wednesday,” he replies, smiling as Faye puts his plate in front of him and then another one in front of me.
“Thanks.”
“Thanks, babe,” Sin says, grabbing her and kissing her stomach.
“You’re welcome. I’m not making dinner though, so someone else will have to tackle that. I have to head to work. Don’t forget to pick up Clover from school today.” She kisses his lips. “I’ll see you at home tonight.”
Faye and Sin have their own private house, although they are here most of the time. I owned a house too, but I was currently renting it out. I like living at the clubhouse and don’t plan on moving out anytime soon.
“Vinnie, Shay’s breakfast is in the frying pan,” she says, kissing me on the cheek, then hustling out of the kitchen to get to her law job.
“What are you and Shay doing today?”
“Apparently buying your wife a gift . . . something in between a cheeseburger and a car.”
Sin barks out a laugh. “She’s something else, isn’t she? Never a dull moment.”
“She’s like a fuckin’ superhero. Makes us breakfast; goes to her law job, where she dominates that field too; a great mother; and she also carries around nunchakus in her purse.” I pause. “That she can actually kill someone with.”
“Not to mention what she’s like in the bedroom,” Sin adds, lip twitching.
“I’d rather not hear about that,” I say, cringing.
Shay walks into the kitchen, freshly showered. “’Morning, Sin.”
“Good mornin’,” Sin says, nodding his head to the stove. “Hungry? Grab a plate.”
She serves herself, then sits down next to me.
“Guess where we’re going today?”
“Where?” she asks, biting into her toast.
“To the mall to buy Faye a birthday gift.” I look back at Sin. “We having a party here or what?”
“We should throw her a surprise party,” Shay suggests, a gleam entering her eyes. “She’s always doing everything for everyone, I think it would be fun.”
“Faye would find out,” Sin and I say at the same time.
Shay laughs and rolls her eyes. “What if we did it before her actual birthday? I don’t think she’d be too suspicious then.”
“Are you offering to organize this?” Sin asks her, contemplating.
“I am, yes.” She looks at me. “You’ll have to take me around to get everything we need though.”
“Not a problem.”
We could do it all today, as a matter of fact. Get Faye’s present, decorations, and whatever other shit we need. Then the day before the party go and do a huge grocery store run.
“When are we going to do this, then?” I ask them both.
“I think the more people we tell, the more likely Faye is to find out. We could organize the whole thing ourselves, just tell everyone to come by here, say this Saturday night. That won’t be out of the ordinary, and it’s only a few days before her actual birthday,” Shay suggests.
“I think it’s perfect,” Sin says, blue eyes on Shay. He looks impressed, and for the first time I actually see him soften a little toward her. I know he was unsure about her from the start—what with her ties to Talon and her story that doesn’t quite add up, but also because he looks after his own and wouldn’t want to see me get tangled up in something unless it was worth it.
But he didn’t have to worry, because she is definitely worth it.
TWENTY-FOUR
Shayla
CHET Faker’s “I’m Into You” plays in the car as we’re on the way to the mall. Excitement filling me, I glance down at the quick list I made for all the supplies we’re going to need for the weekend.
“Remember, stick by me at all times; don’t fuckin’ go wandering off,” Vinnie lectures me, not for the first time.