Chapter Eighteen #2
He took a bite of her beef Stroganoff, and it was just another reason to love her so much more.
****
Over the next couple of days, Larissa found herself watching Big Dick more than she thought she would. He looked so sexy. So handsome.
There were some nights she would come downstairs, and he would be in the kitchen eating ice cream or having a hot chocolate, without his shirt, and memories of their past together came rushing back to her.
Big Dick didn’t push. He was there, all the time, and she didn’t hate him for it.
Every wince she made, he asked her if she was okay. He was there by her side, and she watched him hesitate in touching her stomach. He always waited for an invitation to touch her stomach. Big Dick had become a real gentleman.
He was sweet and caring. In the mornings, he was there, holding her hair back as she vomited.
He would get her toast, or plain snacks that helped settle her stomach.
He never had coffee near her. She knew he still drank coffee, but he always brushed his teeth to hide the smell. How was that not sweet?
Most days, he picked her up, and dinner was pretty much made. He also refused to allow her to do the dishes.
He stopped partying at the clubhouse. According to Harlow, he had become a celibate man. A devoted family man.
She loved his smile. She couldn’t get enough of that smile on his lips. Her arousal for him was going through the roof. She kept trying to be mad at him, but how could she be mad at someone for showing up?
Yes, her life hadn’t exactly worked out how she had hoped, and there had been some semblance of a plan, only life had changed.
She had gotten to know and love her mother.
She had also buried her mother. Her relationship with her father was a little strained at present, which she didn’t like.
This was why she came with a variety box of cookies as a peace offering for him.
She didn’t want to have any strain with her father.
He’d been there for her, and she understood why he didn’t want her to know about her mother.
It was painful to finally get to know her and have to say goodbye.
It hurt more than she wanted to think about.
Her mother had told her that when she passed, there would be no time to dwell. All she could do was embrace the future. Her mother had also told her to be a better mother than she had been. Larissa didn’t know how she was going to do that, but she was going to try. It was all she could do.
Arriving at her father’s house, she knocked on the door. She still had a key, but she didn’t want to be rude. Within seconds, Jonah Adams opened the door.
“Hey, Dad,” she said.
“Oh, Larissa, honey.” He wrapped her in his arms and immediately pulled her into the warmth. “I am so glad to see you.”
She held onto her dad, and she felt the tears once again well up. This was not supposed to be emotional, yet that was exactly how it felt. She took a deep breath.
“I’ve got you, honey,” he said. “I am so sorry. I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know,” she said, offering him a smile. “I know.” She looked at him and smiled. “I love you, and I am sorry for waiting this long to come and see you.”
“Nonsense. I’ve had you all to myself, and I knew the time would come when you would have a life of your own. You look amazing. George, he is treating you well?” Jonah asked.
“Yeah, he is. He’s ... amazing.”
“Does that mean you have forgiven him?”
She opened her mouth and closed it. “I, uh, I don’t know.”
“You know forgiveness is a gift,” he said. “I understand people can hurt us, and we can struggle a great deal with finding that power within our heart.”
She reached out and grabbed her father’s hand. “I know what you’re going to say. If He could forgive, then we should find it in our hearts to as well.”
Jonah nodded. “But even though I believe in everything I teach, and I hope it helps you, honey, I also know you must find your own path, to faith and to life. If you want to forgive George, that is up to you.”
“What if he hurts me again?” Larissa asked. “What if this is all a lie because of my child?”
“I’ve known George Erickson for a long time, and that boy is no liar. He is a loyal, hardworking man. He earned his place with the MC.”
He rarely called them the Hell’s Bastards MC. Her father very rarely swore.
“And he hasn’t given up on you, honey, has he? I have only heard good things about him. How he is always there for you and won’t let you out of his sight.”
“So people do keep talking?” she asked, laughing.
“It’s a small town. A lot of people talk.”
She glanced down at the time and wrinkled her nose. “I better go. I’ll be by to visit.”
“You better.”
She got to her feet and made her way toward the door, with her father following close behind. “I don’t know our plans for Christmas, but if we’re at home, would you come for Christmas dinner?”
“Honey, I wouldn’t miss it,” he said.
She chuckled, then went onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, Pumpkin.”
She made her way to the car and climbed inside, pulling out of the driveway and driving back to her own place. Before she had gone to see her dad, she had already texted Big Dick to let him know she was going to be a little late.
Big Dick’s bike was in the driveway, and she parked up alongside it. Larissa opened the door, and Big Dick was already there, helping her climb out.
“I can do this,” she said, laughing, because it was getting to be a bit of a struggle. Her stomach was getting larger with every passing day.
“I know, but I want to help.” He closed the door behind her, and he still had his hand at her waist as they started to walk inside the house.
The moment they walked inside, she was embraced by several scents, and she was pretty sure one of them was chocolate.
“What is that?” she asked.
“It’s my dad’s chili. He is a beef man, and it has two kinds of beef inside, and he also fries up bacon, which is what you can smell.”
“It smells so good.”
He winked at her. “Good, because I want it to smell good.”
“Why do I smell chocolate?”
“Because I decided to try my mom’s recipe for chocolate fudge cake. I have been craving it, and seeing as you’ve been wanting chocolate a lot, I thought why not?” He still had his hand at the base of her back as they entered the kitchen.
There on the counter was a thickly iced chocolate cake, and it looked so magical. Her mouth literally watered at the sight of it.
“That looks so good,” she said.
“It will be. First, though, do you want to try some chili? Dad literally has a bowl of chili, topped with crispy bacon, cheese, and sour cream. Sometimes, if he is feeling fancy, he’ll add some avocado.”
Larissa couldn’t help laughing. She walked over to the stove, where it was slowly bubbling away. It looked so thick and delicious.
He took out a spoonful and offered it to her. She took a bite and let out a moan.
“Is that good?”
“Oh, yeah, that is so good.”
“Excellent. Go and sit down. I’ll serve us up a bowl.”
Larissa looked at him, and the temptation to kiss him was so strong, but she held herself back. Now was not the time to start kissing him, or doing anything. It was the time to just step back and give them both some space.
She hung up her jacket and made sure the door was locked. Stepping into the dining room, she saw he had set the table once again. Big Dick was so sweet and thoughtful.
He entered the dining room, carrying the two bowls. “I think we have enough chili to keep us going for days.”
“It tastes so good,” she said.
He had already loaded up her bowl, and with the sour cream and cheese, it was perfect. There was no avocado in this one. The bacon was delicious as well. Who would have known?
She moaned.
“You know, those sounds are driving me crazy,” he said.
She looked over to him and smiled. Coming out and saying that she forgave him didn’t feel right. She didn’t want to dampen the moment with the memory of what had happened.
“How’s your dad?” Big Dick asked.
“He’s good. It felt good to go and see him. I don’t want to be mad at him anymore.”
“I get that.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Whatever you need, I am here for you. Anything.”
He squeezed her hand, and Larissa felt that comfort, that warmth. She didn’t want to lose this with him. This felt real. It felt raw.
This was worth fighting for.
****
Hailey took a sip of her coffee with a mocha-peppermint creamer, and it was delicious.
She loved ordinary, regular coffee, but at Halloween and Christmas, she loved to treat herself with whatever creamer was available.
She liked to try new things. This was one of her favorites.
Tomorrow, it was going to be the sugar-cookie creamer.
Stepping back from reorganizing the Christmas stand, she loved how it popped. She put her shop-bought coffee down and took a quick snap for her website. Business was good.
Her family still refused to acknowledge her, and there was a time she would have been upset by that. Even Harlow had told her if her parents weren’t happy with her success, that was on them, and they could fuck off.
She adored Harlow. Her friend had a way of telling her exactly what was on her mind. There was no filter.
Hailey scanned through the photos she had taken and selected the ones she loved the most. It didn’t take long to get them loaded on the website. The products were already loaded up.
It was getting late, a little after eight. The shop had closed a couple of hours ago. She had already sent Harlow home. The other woman was getting dangerously close to giving birth.
Larissa herself didn’t want to go home. Although home was a nice place, and she loved it, it was still incredibly lonely there. Working helped and stopped her from thinking.
They had several orders that had been made in the last few hours, and rather than go home, she started to package them up.
She signed some coupons she added into the packages, and sealed them up, printing out the label.
Once that was done, she had them placed in the right bags for the postman tomorrow. Christmas was coming fast.
As she was about to grab her jacket to leave, there was a knock at the door, and she frowned.
No one knocked on her door after hours. No one knocked on any of her doors, period, but she was used to that.
It didn’t matter how nice she was to people, she was kind of just forgotten.
Unless it was Harlow. Harlow remembered her.
Going to the door, she opened it, and just stared at Kinky. She noticed he stuck around a lot, mainly outside the shop, watching it. She figured that was his job, what Smokey and the club had told him to do, seeing as Harlow worked for her.
The beauty parlor had been attacked, which had resulted in her getting shot and nearly dying.
When she woke up, she had been tempted to leave, to close up shop and move away.
Going back to her parents was not an option.
They would just consider her even more of a failure and tell her she had given up.
The only thing she could do was open back up and hope nothing like that happened again.
“Can I come in?” Kinky asked.
They didn’t talk. Most of the time, she didn’t even look at him.
He’d lied to her from the very first day.
From the very first meeting. Their secret romance had been because he didn’t want anyone to know.
She was nothing more than a job, because he and the club thought she was some kind of secret spy working for an enemy MC.
She didn’t even know what this enemy MC looked like.
She had no idea what MC it was, or what they wanted.
“No,” Hailey said.
“Look, I know you’re angry—”
“I’m not angry.” She frowned at him.
“Now you’re lying.”
“Was I angry? Hell, yeah, I was angry, and I was upset, but now I don’t care. You did what you did, and now I’m doing what I have to do. I don’t need to talk to you. I don’t need to prove anything to you. We’re done, Kinky. We don’t need to talk to each other, at all.”
And she stepped out of the shop, locking the door.
“Look, I know I fucked up.”
“No, you did your job.”
“Damn it, Hailey. Listen to me.”
“Listen to you?” She growled. “Why should I listen to you? You lied to me. I told you to be real with me, and you lied to me. You could have just asked, or kept it as fake dates, to learn more about me, but not you. You made me think there was something real. Something good. My parents had always said I was a fool, and you proved them right. I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to do anything for you.”
This didn’t feel good. He had broken her heart.
He’d destroyed her trust, and the truth was, every single day was so damn hard, to get out of bed and keep going.
She kept doing it, but the truth was, why?
She was so damn lonely. Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked away.
It was all she could do. He had made her a fool, and she was never going to forgive him.