Chapter 4
Sophie
Dalton and I had only been officially dating for a couple of days when he invited me to have Thanksgiving dinner with him and some of his brothers at the Sinners’ clubhouse.
I was a little apprehensive about stepping out of our secluded little bubble and revealing our relationship to others, but knowing how important his brothers were to him, I couldn’t turn him down.
Besides, after hearing some of the crazy stories Dalton had told me about them, I had no doubt that we’d both have a great time.
I tried to hold on to that thought as we approached the clubhouse.
It was much bigger than I expected. Guards were posted by the entrance of a tall, gated fence topped with barbed wire.
I’d never seen anything like it, not even in the movies, and I was a little nervous about what I’d find inside.
So much so, my stomach felt like it was doing somersaults as we walked through the front door.
Thankfully, Dalton was right by my side and stayed there while we continued down a long, dark hallway.
We’d barely walked through the threshold of the kitchen and into a large dining area when someone shouted, “Jagger, over here!”
Dalton gave the man a chin lift, then led me over to the end of the table where he and a beautiful woman were sitting. As we sat down, Dalton looked around at all the empty seats and asked, “Where’s the rest of the crew?”
“Country and Kiersten are up at her dad’s having dinner with him; Hawk and Delilah are with Locke at their folks’ place, and I got no idea where Viper is.” Before Dalton could respond, the man turned his attention to me. “You must be Sophie.”
I smiled and answered, “I am.”
“It’s good to have you. I’m Menace.” He turned to the woman next to him. “And this is Bree, my ol’ lady.”
“It’s really great to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you both.”
“We’ve heard a lot about you, too.” A smirk crossed Menace’s face. “Seems you’ve made quite an impression on our brother.”
I glanced over at Dalton and smiled. “Well, he’s certainly made an impression on me.”
“He has a way of doing that to folks.”
Dalton motioned his hand towards the opposite side of the table.
“The big guy on the end is Lynch; the smartass next to him is Rafe and his ol’ lady, Marlowe.
Doc, Axel, and Bear are to their right, and then on the left, ya got Widow and Frankie, his ol’ lady and her two boys, and then Shotgun and his ol’ lady, Remington. ”
“Wow, uh ... Hi.” I was feeling a little overwhelmed but managed to feign a smile. “It’s really nice to meet all of you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, and don’t worry, we’ve been where you are and know it’s a lot to take in.” Bree gave me a warm smile as she assured me, “You’ll figure it all out.”
“Thanks, Bree. I certainly hope so.”
“You were Jagger’s shrink in the pen, right?”
“Lynch,” Marlowe scolded.
“What?” He seemed legitimately confused by her reaction. “I was just asking a question.”
“Wrong question, brother,” Rafe snickered.
I wasn’t surprised by Lynch’s question. In fact, I expected it.
Dalton had already mentioned that they knew all about me.
He’d gone so far as to tell me that one of them had done quite a bit of research into me and my background before hiring me, so there was no sense in trying to pretend we’d met at some grocery store—like I’d done with my parents and sister.
His brothers knew the full truth, and they had every right to be curious and even a little concerned about our relationship.
I glanced over at Dalton and said, “You’re right.
I was his therapist, but I’m not anymore. ”
“And Lynch, before you go getting any ideas in that thick head of yours, no lines were crossed or any of that bullshit when she was working with me. Not that I didn’t try, ’cause I did.
” Dalton teased, nudging me with his elbow.
“Hell, I tried all the time, but she wasn’t having it.
Damn near wore me out trying to get her to drop all that anger management bullshit.
It wasn’t like I needed it, anyway. You all know how easygoing I am. ”
The men looked at one another, then back at Dalton before exploding into laughter.
Once they settled down, Axel shook his head and snickered.
“Sorry, brother, but easygoing is not a word that any of us would use to describe you. Maybe strong-willed or hard-headed. Stubborn, even, but not easygoing.”
“That cuts deep, brother.” Dalton brought his hand up to his wounded heart. “Really fucking deep.”
“Only ’cause you know it’s true.” Axel nodded his head in my direction. “I’m sure Sophie had her hands full with you.”
“Could’ve had them even more full if she—”
I jabbed Dalton in the ribs with my elbow, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.
Thankfully, everyone’s attention was drawn away from me when some of the women got up from their seats and walked into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, a young woman approached the table with an enormous turkey as the others returned with handfuls of side dishes.
The guys were practically salivating at the mouth as they watched the food being set down. “Okay, boys. Time to dig in.”
The young woman handed Axel the knife, then stepped back so he could start carving away at the beautiful turkey.
Moments later, we began filling our plates with food and diving into our magnificent feast. The room fell silent as we started eating, but as expected, that didn’t last long.
Dalton was taking a sip of his iced tea when Rafe looked over to us and said, “We’re all gonna meet up with Country and Hawk at Stilettos later if you two wanna join us. ”
“Thanks, man, but as soon as we finish here, we’re gonna head over to the mall.”
“You at a mall? Are you fucking kidding me?”
The room erupted into laughter. Once the howling subsided, Dalton’s eyes skirted over to me as he continued, “Apparently, shopping after you stuff your face with turkey is a thing. Never knew.”
He shrugged with a groan. I gave him another nudge with my elbow, then leaned towards him and whispered, “I told you at least a hundred times that you don’t have to go with me. I can go alone or get Margo.”
“I’m going. I’m curious to see what all the fuss is about.”
Those would be words he’d come to regret the second we pulled into the mall’s parking lot.
The place was absolutely packed, and even though he was starting to feel the effects of his carb overload from dinner, he kept his complaints to himself as we fought our way into the first department store.
I did my best to grab the gifts I needed, then led him to the next store.
Again, even though it took more searching, I found the things I was specifically looking for, and after waiting in the line from hell, I finally made my purchases, and we moved to the next location.
That was when Dalton finally spoke up. He looked utterly distraught.
“What the hell have you gotten me into?”
“It’s Black Friday, Dalton. You had to know it was going to be a little crowded.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting it to be like this.” He glanced around at the packed department store and groaned. “I mean, holy hell. This shit is insane.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.” I looked up at Dalton, and it was clear from his pained expression he wasn’t enjoying our shopping adventure nearly as much as I was.
Even though I felt a little guilty torturing him with all the Black Friday hoopla, I was genuinely happy having him with me.
He was big and intimidating, so instead of crowding around us, people seemed to shy away—which meant I had better access to all the best deals.
As I led him down yet another jam-packed aisle, I tried to sound upbeat.
“And if we play it right, we’ll get some incredible deals. ”
“Okay, Cindy Lou Who. Is there any rhyme or reason to all of this madness?”
“Well, since you asked ...” I reached into my purse and pulled out the list of items I was hoping to buy, then offered it to him. “These are the rest of the things I need to get tonight. I have the times the stores open and where each item is located. We could—”
“Hold up.” Dalton took the paper, and his eyes widened when he saw the length of my list. “Damn, woman. You aren’t fucking around.”
“Well, it’s a chance to catch some great sales on Christmas presents.”
“Mm-hmm.” A smirk crossed his face as he asked, “So, who’s getting the 55-inch flatscreen TV?”
“Well, that one’s for me.”
“And the fancy sheets?”
“Those are for me.”
“And the iPad?”
“That’s for me, too, but it’s a really good price, and I’ve always wanted one.”
“If you want it, we’ll get it.”
“Is there anything you’d like to look for while we’re out?”
“Nope, I’ve got everything I need.” He pulled me in for a hug, then suggested, “Why don’t we do a little divide-and-conquer with this list of yours? Then, I can take you home and celebrate Black Friday the way it’s meant to be—in bed.”
“Hmm… that’s very tempting.” I eased up on my tiptoes so I could see the list. “Why don’t you grab the earbuds and iPad, and I’ll go get Mom’s robe and the sheets, then we can grab the TV on the way out?”
“You got it.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “Be careful and call me if you need me.”
“I’ll be fine.” I glanced down at my watch and said, “I’ll meet you back here in forty-five minutes or so.”