Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Anastacia
We’re all comfortable in our pajamas on the living room floor, surrounded by piles of gadgets, electronics, clothes, and so much more all over the floor.
Opening gifts meant for me was so much fun, and each one made me feel loved.
The thanks I got for the gifts I gave made me feel appreciated. My heart has never been so full.
There’s just one gift left. The one Kelsey put together for Tommy, that I slipped beneath the couch.
I’m waiting for her signal to pull it out and hand it to him.
Grizz is showing Dorothea her new stuffy, while Tommy watches with a smile.
Kelsey is nervous, I can tell, and she won’t look at me.
But this is up to her, and she has to do it on her own time.
If she changes her mind, then she changes her mind.
I have to accept that. I can’t push her on this.
“What time are we heading to the club?” she asks.
“Spam said the food will be done around two, so then I guess,” Grizz says, distracted by the baby. She’s smiling at the pink dog in Grizz’s hand, trying to reach for it.
It’s still early now. About 9:30.
“I think I’m going to take a nap before we go,” I say, yawning as I lean against the couch.
“That’s a great idea,” Grizz says, giving me his attention and waggling his eyebrows.
“I meant a real nap, Casanova.”
“I’ll be your alarm clock with my tongue—”
Tommy smacks him upside the back of the head, and Kelsey and I laugh.
“What the hell are you going to do when she starts to understand what you’re saying?” Tommy says, pointing at Dorothea.
“Obviously I’ll stop,” Grizz grumbles, rubbing his head where Tommy slapped him.
“Maybe you should practice now, because going cold turkey, with a mouth like yours, isn’t going to work.”
Grizz gives him the middle finger, and Tommy goes to swat it away, but Grizz moves too fast.
“You’re too slow, old man.”
“I’ll show you too slow,” Tommy says, swiftly getting Grizz into a chokehold.
I gasp but can’t help but laugh. It takes only a few seconds for Grizz to tap out.
He rubs at his neck. “Damn, you almost killed me.”
“So dramatic,” Tommy mocks, getting to his feet. He walks toward the kitchen.
“Wait!” Kelsey calls out. “I, uh…” She looks at me, then back at Tommy who is now facing us, looking confused.
“What’s wrong? Do you need something?” he asks.
I hold my breath as I wait for her to answer. I have no idea what she’s going to say. This could go either way. It’s not the signal we talked about, but improvising is fine.
“I think, uh…” She looks at me, and I give her an encouraging smile. With a heavy breath, she looks at Tommy again. “There’s one more gift for you over here.”
I carefully slide my hand under the couch to grab it and nudge it toward Kelsey.
“There is? I thought we got them all,” he says, walking over completely clueless.
Kelsey picks up the small rectangle box and hands it to him. He doesn’t notice the shaking in her hand, but I do.
“Is this the watch I wanted?” he asks with a smile as he pulls the ribbon off. “It must be. I knew you’d get it for me.” He takes the top off, and the smile falls from his face when his eyes settle on the contents. Everything goes completely silent. It’s like the world was shut off.
I’m holding my breath. Kelsey seems on the verge of a panic attack, so I really hope Tommy says or does something soon.
“Is this…” he starts, swallowing hard. He finally pulls his gaze away and looks at Kelsey. I see the shine of tears on her cheeks and the red in his eyes. “This is…”
She nods. “It’s…”
My gaze flicks to Grizz, who is lying on his side, head resting on his fist that’s propped up on his elbow. His curious gaze is set on them.
“Kels, you’re… This is…” His eyes flick back to the box. “Fuck,” he chokes out.
Grizz finally gets up, concern beating out the curiosity. By the time Grizz gets to him, he’s already crying. It takes Grizz a second to realize what’s in the box.
“Fuck, are you serious?” His voice is raspy too, and those tears I cried earlier? Useless. Because all of us are crying now. Everyone except Dorothea. Go figure.
I lean against Kelsey to give her a hug. A moment later, Tommy is on his knees, hugging her.
“I love you, Kels. I am so fucking happy. Fuck, I love you so much, baby,” Tommy whispers to her.
Grizz gets to the floor is hugging all of us too, making all sorts of promises to do whatever it takes to help them with this. He’s telling them how happy he is that Dorothea will have a cousin to play with.
We stay like that for a while—hugging each other, crying, talking about all the good things to come. I have no idea how long it is before we finally pull apart, but we’re all still crying when we do.
“Best Christmas ever,” Tommy says, and then we all laugh.
I don’t think the day could get any better.
It’s snowing hard as we drive to the clubhouse, so it takes us a while to get there. Grizz takes so much care driving with me and Dorothea in the car, and it’s small things like this that make me love him so much more. He’s always thoughtful and always puts our safety first.
“Will you teach me how to drive?” I ask.
The wipers swish back and forth, swiping away the large snowflakes that melt the moment they hit the heated windshield.
“In the summer, I will. When the roads are nice.”
“A bike too?”
He chuckles, looking at me with a smirk. “I don’t know about that.”
“And why not?” I ask, sitting up straighter.
“Because if you want to go riding, you go with me.”
I bite my bottom lip, not hating that answer. I don’t really care about learning to drive a bike anyway. I just wanted to see what he would say, and his answer did not disappoint.
I do not like it when people tell me what to do, but I love how possessive Grizz is. He doesn’t do it in an abusive way; I know he means well. And that, I’m okay with.
When we finally get to the clubhouse, Tommy and Kelsey are walking inside, with another big guy beside them.
I’m starting to remember the guy’s names, but it seems every time I think I know them, there’s a new one.
They’ve been getting more prospects, with the goal of making not only the city safe, but the entire state.
It’s going to take a lot of time, but they’re in it for the long run.
“I got her,” Grizz says, coming around the car.
Dorothea is getting heavier, and it’s not easy to carry her in the carrier, especially in weather like this.
I’m not sure I trust myself to get her the fifty feet to the door without dropping her or falling on my ass.
Grizz takes my hand, holding it for the short distance to the door—which he doesn’t let me open.
He scoffs, shaking his head and giving me a look like I’m crazy.
I step inside, the warmth and chatter welcome.
“You made it!” Cora shouts, hurrying over to throw her arms around me.
I hug her back, laughing. “We’re here.”
“Thank God,” she mutters. “We need more women around here.”
“I’ll say,” Kelsey adds as she reaches us.
I take my coat off and hang it by all the others, while Grizz gets Dorothea out of her seat. Once she’s in his arms, he walks off to the guys to show her off.
“I cannot wait to see Kaison doing that with our baby,” Cora says with her hand on her belly.
“Not going to lie,” I say. “It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Cora groans, her head falling back. “I’ll end up pregnant right after this one comes out.”
“I don’t know how I’m not,” I say with a laugh.
“Neither do I,” Kelsey adds. “With all the sex you two have? Sheesh.”
I gasp. “Kelsey!”
“What?” she asks with a smirk. “If you don’t want us to hear you, then you should be more quiet.”
My cheeks heat. “I’m so sorry! We’ll be quieter.”
“Oh please. No you won’t,” she mutters, giving me a side-eyed look.
Cora bursts into laughter, and the three of us walk deeper into the room, easily welcomed by everyone there.