“Are you seeing anyone?” I blurt out, voicing the feeling I have about him.
He grins and asks, “Why do you ask?”
“Why don’t you answer?”
“Nosy,” he says, lip twitching.
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” I say, about to bombard him with questions when he says, “I’ll tell you everything soon, all right? Just not now. Today is about you.”
So he is dating someone.
Who?
I want to ask, but I decide to wait and let him tell me when he’s ready.
I change the subject, lightening the mood. “Want to do a shot?”
We share a grin.
THIRTY-FOUR
Vinnie
WITH all the drama over for now, we decide to lay low for a little while, as the last thing we need is someone to recognize Shay after her photo was shown all over the media when they spoke of her death.
“What if someone’s watching the clubhouse?” she asks, looking between Tracker and me. “Does that mean I can never leave or go out the front? I’ll be stuck in here forever.” She pauses, arching her brow at me. “Someone will have to dig a secret tunnel for me.”
“Is she always this dramatic?” Tracker asks, not looking away from the TV.
“Yes,” I reply at the same time she says, “No.”
“Sound like an old married couple already,” Tracker says, opening a can of beer. Lana walks into the room and sits down next to him.
“Can we watch something else?” she asks, taking Tracker’s beer from him, helping herself to a sip, and then making a face. Rake, Arrow, and Anna walk in next, all squeezing in on the couches. Anna sits on Arrow’s lap.
“You can change it,” Tracker says.
“Lana, put Netflix on,” Anna calls out.
“Okay, but I’m not choosing what we watch,” Lana says, grabbing the remote. “It’s too much pressure.”
“Pressure?” Rake asks, sounding amused. “Choosing something to watch is too much pressure? But writing bestselling novels isn’t?”
“Yes.”
I catch Shay mouthing something to Anna.
“What are the two of you scheming?” I ask.
Everyone’s heads turn to them. Anna looks at me and says, “We’re bored. Can we take Shay to Rift to have a few drinks and a dance? She’s never been at night before—that’s pretty sad.”
I reply with one word: “No.”
“What if we all go?” Lana suggests, ever the peacemaker. “Nothing can go wrong, surely. Close the place to the public if you have to, we haven’t been out in ages!”
“Since when are you such a diva?” Tracker asks her, chuckling.
“Since Shay looks all sad and bored and hasn’t done anything fun, and Irish threw her in the trunk of his car, and her house was blown up, and she has to pretend to be dead,” Lana says, ticking each off on her fingers.
I look at all the men, seeing what they thought.
“We can’t close it tonight, but we could close it tomorrow if you want to have your own party there,” Arrow says, looking to me. “Your call though, Vinnie. Your woman.”
Shay looks up at me, pouting.
“Yeah, all right, if we’re closing the club, then there’s no harm. We have to be careful getting you there though. I know you changed your hair but just to be safe. I’d rather not have faked your death in vain.” Shay smiles widely and does a little happy dance.
“So cool that you can shut down a club just so we can have a little fun,” she says, blowing kisses to Anna and Lana.
“I’ll message everyone and let them know,” Anna says, pulling out her phone.
“I’m going home now, so I’ll tell Bailey,” Rake says, standing up. “I’ll stay home with Cara and Rhett so she and Tia can go out and have some fun.”
“Do you want me to come and pick them up?” I ask him, so they don’t have to go to Rift alone.
“That will be great, brother,” he says, touching my shoulder, and he leaves the room, calling good-bye to everyone.
Shay stands up and says to the women, “Let’s go plan what I’m going to wear tomorrow.”
They all leave the room in a hurry, like that’s a fun thing to do.
“She fits in with them so well,” Tracker comments, staring at the door the women disappeared through. “What are you guys gonna do now that all the drama is almost at an end?”
To be honest, I have no fuckin’ idea, but I need to talk to Shay about it.
“No clue,” I say, peeling the label off my beer bottle. “We haven’t spoken about it, but I want her to stay here.”
Sure, I owned my own house and land, but this clubhouse was my home. I also need to tell her that I can never offer her marriage or children, because that’s just not something I’ve ever wanted in life. I don’t think I’d be a good father, and I think marriage isn’t something that’s necessary to prove my commitment to her.
“We better tell management to put up a sign about tomorrow, otherwise people are going to be pissed when they rock up and find out Rift is closed for a private function,” Arrow says, changing the subject.
“Yeah, just let them know; they’ll post it on social media,” Tracker tells him, putting his beer down and lifting his feet up on the couch. “Private function? More like biker chicks gone wild.”