Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
M oon asked Evie to seat him in a corner booth in a back room. He ordered iced tea, then waited for Larissa when Evie returned to the front of the restaurant after seating him.
As he stared unseeingly at the bread basket the waitress had brought, he castigated himself for the way he had acted. Why did she get to him so badly? All he had to do was look at her, and every nerve ending in his body went on high alert. He had never experienced this reaction before with the numerous women he had been with. The more he kept an emotional distance from her, the more out of whack he felt because of the baby. How could he dislike the mother so much while the burgeoning emotions he was beginning to feel for his child were both in the same package currently? Sure, the upheaval would end once his son was born, yet he determined not to let what he was feeling for the baby entwine with Larissa and keep them separate.
She didn’t keep him waiting for long before she was sliding into the booth across from him.
When the waitress approached, she ordered herself a tea. Once the waitress left, they sat in silence, just looking at each other.
“Moon …”
L arissa managed to put her trepidation aside and talk as if they were at least on speaking terms. “I know you dislike me. I apologize for not telling you I was pregnant when I found out. I kept putting it off because I kept imagining if I were you, how I would react if a complete stranger came up to me and told me they were pregnant. I hesitated too long. Then, when I truly was going to tell you, you came to the office and said you didn’t want to see me again. I just … I didn’t know what to do at that point. I left to stay with my mom and give you time to get over your anger toward me. I had every intention of coming back, but my friend asked me to stay with her. She ne—”
Moon’s face remained passive while he took a slice of bread from the basket and started eating.
As she talked, he listened with half an ear while his eye roved over the other customers sitting in the room.
She was still talking when he finished the bread then rubbed his hands together to get rid of the crumbs.
“You know, what I’m hearing is nothing but excuses. Save yourself the trouble. The waitress is coming back; do you want something to eat?”
Larissa smothered down her hurt feelings, hoping that once he had the chance to air his grievances, they could move forward.
“No, thank you. I’m not hungry.”
The thought of eating any food in front of him sent her stomach rolling. His appetite didn’t seem to be affected as he ordered a ribeye dinner and asked the waitress to bring more bread.
“I’ve been looking at several houses for sale. I’ve narrowed it down to four. I’ve set appointments for Friday at twelve with a realtor to show them to you.”
“For now, I’m going to stay in Jamestown.”
“For now”—Moon narrowed his eyes on her—“that works until you decide which home you want.”
“When I’m ready to move back, I’ll find my own place.”
“Exactly when will that be?”
“The question is: why is it so important that I do?” She gave him a questioning glance. “You plainly told me you never wanted to see me in town before I was pregnant. You don’t make any effort to hide how much you dislike me … The way gossip is carried around town, everyone knows how I became pregnant. The baby won’t be coming for several more months, and I really don’t want to go through those months with all of them watching every move I make. No, thanks.”
“I don’t give a rat’s fuck what anyone in this town thinks. I want you near, in town, so if anything happens, I’ll be there.”
“Nothing is going to happen,” she assured him. “Even if something does, I have friends in Jamestown who I can turn to in a moment’s notice until my sisters, or you, can get there.”
Clenching his jaw, Moon nodded his head toward the side without taking his eyes off her. “Plane one of those friends?”
Larissa’s face became pinched. “His name is Jet.”
Moon gave a huff of air through his teeth. “I was being generous calling him Plane. Did Luggage give him his nickname?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Who nicknamed you—Cow?”
Moon didn’t appreciate the sarcasm coming back at him. “That’s another thing; I don’t want to see his face at your appointments.”
“You don’t have the right to—”
M oon leaned forward in his seat then stopped cold at her reaction. From the flash of fear, it looked as if she thought he was going to hit her. Before he could assure her all he was going to do was keep the glass of tea near her shaky hand from spilling, Jet was there. pulling her out of the booth.
“Go sit at my table.” Jet pointed at a table not far from where they were seated. “I ordered you soup and a sandwich. I need to have a word with Moon.”
Moon watched Larissa walk away while Jet took her seat.
“You want to talk to me the way you were talking to Larissa?”
“Fuck off!” Moon snarled at him.
“I will, gladly, once Stud gives me the word. Until then, you might as well get used to my face.”
“Then get used to having a new one when I rearrange it for you.”
Jet gave a hollow laugh. “You can try … but you’ll get more than you bargained for. Unlike you, I was given my nickname for dropping a bomb on a motherfucker who didn’t know better not to fuck with me. While, from what I hear, you supposedly earned yours by how easy it is for you to lay women. Although, I’m sure I heard incorrectly. From the way you’re treating Larissa, I can’t believe you can find a woman willing to give you the time of day. Pretty low class of you to reveal the gender when she didn’t want to know.”
Moon’s temper soared at the put-down from the Destructor. “Larissa told you?”
“No, Larissa didn’t say a word. I heard her and Priss talking after you left.”
“Stud’s got a real treasure in you hearing all kinds of shit. Shame you couldn’t be in the room with us; you’d have seen she couldn’t bring herself to look at the ultrasound machine. Pissed me off.”
Jet’s astounded expression made Moon wish he hadn’t shared the information.
“So, you told her the baby’s gender because she didn’t look at the ultrasound and didn’t ask for a picture?”
“What mother doesn’t want to look or ask for a picture of the ultrasound?”
Jet’s eyebrows lifted so high they met in the middle of his forehead. “I might be wrong on this, but I would assume,” he said scathingly, “a mother who understands how to read an ultrasound and wants to keep the gender a surprise.”
The thought should have occurred to him, yet it hadn’t. He had been so busy endeavoring to harness his rioting cock at seeing Larissa’s swollen abdomen that it had taken everything he could not to toss her sisters out the room and bury his cock inside the warm depths that had been haunting his nights?
He wasn’t proud of his behavior—regret had immediately kicked in—but instead of apologizing, he did what he always did and doubled down.
“I don’t get it. What’s with you? If I can figure that shit out, you should have, too. Either that, or you don’t want to.” Jet tilted his head curiously. “What’s wrong? You fired up she’s knocked up? You planted that seed, and it sprouted. Man up and tend the fucking garden.”
“What if you thought you planted it in someone else’s garden?” Moon asked snidely.
“From where I’m sitting”—Jet sent a coveted glance in Larissa’s direction—“there’s not a damn thing wrong with that garden. I wouldn’t mind tending it if you don’t.”
Moon surged out of his seat, about to lunge over the table. Freezing cold struck him as Jet’s laughter reverberated through his skull. The dark side of him was prepared to strike when Evie walked into the room to refill Larissa’s drink.
Jet saw he had been given a reprieve by the other woman’s arrival. “Relax … I’m not going to steal Larissa from you.” He got out of the booth. “I won’t have to. You’re practically giving her away. You’ve been in a club so long that you’ve forgotten how to treat a woman who isn’t. Your loss, my gain.” Jet gave him a dismissive glance. “Enjoy the bread.”
Moon pulled out his wallet and took out some cash. Trailing Evie out of the room, he caught up with her, paid for his uneaten meal, then took off.
As he got on his bike, his mind played back the way Larissa had flinched when he righted her tea glass, and when he had walked by her table to leave.
He drove back to the clubhouse and was parking when he luckily spotted Viper and Train coming down the steps. Moon got off his bike to intercept Viper before he could get on his motorcycle.
“Where you two heading?”
Viper gave him a suspicious glance. “Train and I are meeting up with Reaper at his place.”
Moon nodded his head at Viper’s SUV. “Can I borrow your ride?”
Viper’s eyebrow rose. “You want to borrow my car?”
“Yes. Can I or not? I’m in a rush.”
“Sure.” Viper reached into his pocket to take out his keys, pulling one of the keys off the ring before he handed it to him.
Moon took the key from him.
“You do have a current license, don’t you?” Train joked.
If he didn’t want to get back to the restaurant before Larissa left, he would shove the license up Train’s ass.
He was already moving toward the SUV, but he took the time to let Train know he didn’t appreciate his humor.
“Remind me to show you when I get back.”