Chapter 7 #3
Darren talked about the way she took care of her nephew, but Jed hadn’t fully appreciated what he meant at the time until he witnessed it firsthand.
She was a very attentive mother figure who was both loving and strict when she needed to be.
She always put a lot of thought and consideration into everything she did for the boy.
The apartment she rented from the club was small, but she made it a home.
She’d put up a Christmas tree and had it decorated to the nines, along with several other Christmas-themed decorations around the room.
He doubted her pay at Big Dick’s could pay for all of it, so he was sure she’d dipped into her savings.
The last time he checked, Race said her house in Taos still needed a little more work done before they could put it up for sale.
They hadn't had the heart to tell her that after they snuck her and her nephew out of town, the Phantoms had gone in and trashed her house.
They'd gone in and turned every single faucet on, ruining all the floors.
They'd ripped the upper cabinets from the walls in the kitchen.
It looked like they'd taken a sledgehammer to the drywall, and they'd destroyed every piece of furniture they could find.
More than once, he found himself second-guessing how he’d handled things with her at Bottoms Up. He’d only been trying to keep her safe from Tinker, not bankrupt her.
When he arrived at her apartment for their date, he almost choked on his tongue after seeing what she was wearing. “Wow. You look nice.”
She was dressed in dark wash jeans that fit her to perfection, and the cute black boots she was wearing made her legs look longer than usual.
She wore a lightweight, deep red, off-the-shoulder sweater that had him fighting to keep his dick from getting hard.
She’d curled her long blonde hair so that it cascaded in waves below her shoulders.
She wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup up but the eyeliner and mascara she did wear made her already stunning green eyes pop.
Then she went and smiled at him, and the hard-on he’d been fighting came to life.
“You look nice, too.” He had no words to describe the way she was smiling at him.
Breathtaking, beautiful, and radiant didn't come close.
Her eyes did a slow head-to-toe inspection of him, and there was no way she could miss the wood he was sporting.
And he didn't care if she saw it. He wanted her to see what she did to him without even trying.
“Come here.” He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck and settled the other on the small of her back as he pulled her in close. “There’s something I have to give you before we go.”
“What’s that?” She swallowed hard, probably already knowing what he was about to do.
As he lowered his head, intent on kissing those sexy, bee-stung lips, her eyes drifted closed.
He took his time exploring her mouth and the feel of her soft lips beneath his own.
The taste of cherry lip gloss was quickly becoming his new favorite flavor.
With a gentle glide of his lips against hers, he teased her bottom lip with his tongue, seeking entrance so that he playfully brushed against hers.
He shifted her head to get a better angle and deepened the kiss.
Her sigh was music to his ears, but if he didn't end things now, he might call off the date and find a way to get her to her bedroom so he could quench both their hungers.
“Sadie, my shirt is stuck!” Oliver called from the bathroom.
He slowly pulled away, one side of his mouth kicking up, happy to see she was just as affected by their kiss as he was. Her eyes slowly lifted as his hands fell away. He took a step back in anticipation of Oliver’s arrival.
“Wha—” she had to clear her throat. “What was that for?” she whispered.
He imagined she was a little surprised by the kiss, considering every time they got together, they went at each other like they were starving. Frankly, the kiss and what he’d felt shocked the shit out of him, too.
“Why do I have to tuck my shirt in anyway?” Oliver groused as he cleared the hall, ending their current conversation and keeping him from spouting something he wasn’t sure he was ready to say.
Oliver raised his head to say something else when he noticed Jed was standing there. His eyes rounded. "Jed!” He shot across the room like a rocket, plowing into him in his eagerness to wrap his arms around Jed’s legs and hug him.
“Hey, buddy. You look nice.” Jed ruffled his hair. The boy was wearing a nice pair of jeans and a hunter green and white checkered long-sleeve shirt. “You ready to eat?”
“Yes! I’m starving!” He put his arms through the coat Sadie was holding out for him. “Sadie wouldn’t let me eat any snacks.”
“All right, then. Let’s go get you fed.” Jed winked at her over the top of Oliver's head.
Luckily, when they arrived at the restaurant, Little Italy, it didn’t take long for them to be seated.
On the ride, Jed discovered that Oliver loved spaghetti and would eat it three or four times a week if his aunt allowed it.
The hostess showed them to a booth toward the middle of the restaurant where Oliver slid into one side with Sadie slipping in next to him.
Jed took a seat across from them. The waitress stopped by and handed out menus, giving Oliver one of those paper placemats with activities on it.
She gave him some crayons and took their drink orders before hustling off to put in their orders.
As Sadie predicted, Oliver ordered the spaghetti, she chose mostaccioli, and Jed opted for the cannelloni.
Both he and Sadie ordered salads while Oliver snacked on rolls and colored on his place mat as they waited for their main courses to arrive.
“Are you ready for Christmas break?” he asked Oliver.
“Yes! I can’t wait for Christmas!” His smile fell as soon as the words left his mouth.
Jed exchanged a worried glance with Sadie. What did he say that upset the boy so much? She frowned, then settled her hand over his. “Oliver? Honey? Are you okay?”
He continued to stare at his paper, his drawing turning into more of a scribble. What the hell did Jed do? He thought it was an innocent enough question, but from Oliver’s reaction, he suspected he’d stepped into a minefield.
“I want my dad to be with us for Christmas.” His voice was so small and sad.
“Oh, honey.” Sadie’s eyes filled with tears.
“I really miss him.” Oliver’s head tipped up, and his eyes were full of tears as he looked at his aunt. One lone tear slipped free, and it about broke Jed’s heart.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, dropping her cheek to the top of his head. “I know you do because I miss him, too.”
This was their first Christmas without Oliver’s dad and Sadie’s brother. There were going to be so many firsts the man was going to miss out on.
“You want to play a game on my phone?” Sadie pulled back and asked.
“Yes.” He surprised Jed by smiling up at his aunt. He wasn’t fooled into believing the kid was suddenly all better. He was just moving on because standing still wasn’t an option. Not that he would have consciously thought that. It was just something kids did naturally.
She pulled her phone out of her purse, pulled up the game Oliver wanted, and handed it to him. “Just until the food gets here, okay?”
He grinned and nodded. “Okay.”
Jed and Sadie spoke about several different things, ranging from family Christmas traditions to whether he thought there would be snow for Christmas, to some of the more interesting people she’d met at Big Dick’s.
He really rocked her world when he steered the conversation toward books.
She’d been stunned to find out that he liked to read, but her jaw nearly touched the floor when he told her the names of a few of his favorite authors.
The types of books he liked to read were pretty diverse, but he’d been on a kick of reading steamy books the old ladies were into.
He liked to think it gave him insight into how women really thought about men and sex.
It was so totally worth it to see her reaction when he outed himself for reading steamy romance.
He sat with his arm over the back of the booth, his focus on her. He couldn’t wait to blow her mind further. “Have you ever read The Last Riders series?”
“You’ve read Jamie Begley?” she whisper-shouted. She leaned over the table with her eyes all but bugging out of her head. He laughed, thinking it was the funniest thing he’d seen in a while.
“Yes. I’ve read most of the series, including the Biker Bitches spinoff.” Her eyes almost bugged out of her head at this point. Who would have known copping to reading steamy biker books would impress a woman?
“Oh, my God! I can’t believe you’ve read those.” She fell back in her seat, then quickly bounced back up, leaning on the table again. Her enthusiasm was so damn entertaining. “Have you read the Road to Salvation trilogy? Or the Porter Brothers’ Trilogy? Oh! Oh! Oh! Or the Colemans’ Legacy?”
Oliver momentarily looked up from the phone to see Sadie getting all excited. He smiled really big and shook his head before his attention dropped back to the game.
“No,” he chuckled, “but it looks like I’m going to have to. Which one should I read first?”
“The Road to Salvation trilogy, definitely. It’s about one of the original Last Riders. You’ll love it.”
Before she could discuss it further, the waitress showed up with their food.
As agreed upon, Oliver turned his game off and handed the phone back to Sadie.
Everyone took a few moments to dig into their food.
After a couple of bites, Sadie turned to him and asked, “How did you start reading Jamie Begley?”