IVY
M eeting Clint’s parents felt terrifying. Yet, I had no time to flip out over the stress. As soon as we arrived, I was ushered downstairs by Elle, Sabrina, and a woman whose name I don’t remember.
“I’m Moe,” the blonde said as soon as we stepped into the sleekly finished basement. “Sabrina’s kinda like my bitch. Welcome to the family.”
Sabrina snorted nearby in the kitchenette area where she knelt to pet an orange-and-white cat. Rowdy walked downstairs after the others and sized up the women. He didn’t speak while Elle used her hip to move Moe away from me.
Once we had a little space from the others, Elle stared into my eyes and smiled. “How was your first night with my brother?”
“Clint sat on Sutter’s bed until I went to sleep in your bed. He’s been very protective.”
“Is he getting on your nerves yet?”
“No.”
Elle smiled wider. “He will. Clint is controlling. But not in an obvious way. He maneuvers people.”
Thinking back to how Clint kept me focused on what he thought would help me, I said with more edge, “He’s protective.”
Elle nodded. “Chill, itsy-bitsy spider. Don’t need to bite me for stating the obvious that a club president is a controlling bastard. But I get why you want to feel protected. Clint is one of my best friends because he wraps up his people in his armor and keeps us safe.”
Feeling nervous like my reaction was the wrong one, I backed away. Elle instantly erased the space I created.
“You’re getting everything twisted,” Elle insisted while resting her hands on my shoulders to keep me still. “I figured my brother might be making a bad impression on you. Like, he might be too controlling or needy or horny. I wasn’t sure how Clint might act since I’ve never seen him this way before. I planned to give you a pep talk about patience and how he’d mellow out with time. So, I’m glad you aren’t annoyed by him.”
“Oh,” I said and smiled before freezing at the sight of Sabrina sauntering in my direction.
“I’m sick of being cooperative,” she told Elle. “This chick seems plenty strong enough to put up with my bullshit.”
Moe snickered at Sabrina’s announcement and looked out the sliding doors leading to the yard. Elle shoved her cousin aside and smiled at me.
“Did you see how tall Sutter Cane is?” Elle asked me while Sabrina glanced at Moe and rolled her eyes.
“He looks like you,” I replied, curious about her son after hearing so much about him yesterday.
While still blocking Sabrina, Elle sighed wistfully. “He does, doesn’t he? It really was a crapshoot since I couldn’t remember if his father had a normal face.”
“Uh-huh, that’s great,” Sabrina said, narrowing her dark eyes as she peered over Elle’s shoulder. “So, anyway, Ivy, you met Clint at a gas station, huh?”
“You heard the same details as the rest of us,” Rowdy replied and rested his hands on Sabrina’s shoulders from behind. “Why do you gotta be repetitive? Ask a more original question.”
“Like what?”
Rowdy rubbed his dark beard and sized me up. “Do you have any family besides the ones you’re running from?”
“No. It’s just my uncles now. My mom and grandma are already dead.”
“What about your dad?”
“He was never in my life, but I heard he died years ago.”
“Got any half-siblings?” Sabrina asked. “You could do that 23andMe thing and see if you have family roaming around.”
“No,” Elle hissed. “What if people can find her that way? Like, how does that shit work? No, just no.”
“You’re too paranoid. If someone troublesome shows up, we’ll stick them in the quarry.”
Elle revealed a terrifying glare and flicked her cousin’s nose. “Don’t say scary shit in front of Clint’s gas station girlfriend.”
“I will speak the words that naturally fall out of my mouth. No one silences Sabrina. Right, Dad?”
Sabrina yelled the final two words, leading Pax to call down from upstairs. “What?”
“I won’t be silenced!”
Pax hollered back, “Who is trying to silence you?”
“Elle!”
“Kick her ass!” Pax replied and chuckled before disappearing from the top of the stairs.
Bouncing around Elle, Sabrina growled, “Let’s do this thing.”
“I refuse to knock your ass out again and make you piss your pants. Please, please, beloved cousin, stop begging for it,” Elle replied casually and smiled at me. “We are a very normal family. Sutter wants to meet you. We should get him down here, so you can see how normal our family is.”
Elle called out to Sutter who joined us downstairs. He looked over the five of us and smiled in that crooked way Elle had.
“He’s wonderful,” Elle cooed.
“The kid doesn’t like pizza,” Sabrina shared with me. “But he will eat pizza Hot Pockets. Genius, my ass.”
Elle sighed and stroked Sutter’s thick bangs. “You are a treasure and deserve to be defended. If you request it of me, I will shit on Sabrina’s head.”
Sutter threw his head back and laughed loudly. Sabrina frowned at Elle and then the child. Finally, her focus returned to me.
I avoided her attention and looked at Rowdy who silently watched everything play out. A leisurely grin warmed his face when he noticed my gaze on him. I felt strange having an attractive man besides Clint showing me interest. Shrinking under his gaze, I shuffled closer to Elle and Sutter.
“He’s harmless,” Sabrina told me and grinned at her brother. “He was Mom’s favorite. She made him soft and silly.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m plenty silly,” Rowdy grumbled, sounding angry despite his grinning face.
“Don’t scare the poor thing,” Sabrina warned. Her dark eyes shined with amusement first with Rowdy and then when they focused on me. “It’s not like she can defend herself.”
Feeling on the spot, I blurted out, “I know some martial arts.”
“Woah, look at Miss Feisty here,” Sabrina said and frowned at Elle. “Why did you lecture me about being on my best behavior?”
“Her heart’s been banged around,” Elle said and shifted her stance so her left arm could wrap around my shoulders the way her right one hugged across the back of Sutter. “Ivy is my brother’s one chance at love. Why shouldn’t I be protective of her? Besides, we all know you’ve got a reputation for ruining things.”
“Hey!” Moe cried. “I mean, no, that’s not fair.”
“Thanks, babe, I’ve got this,” Sabrina said and smiled softly at Moe. When she turned back to Elle, her gaze went hard. “I’m going to smear your face in dog shit the next time we’re playing soccer.”
“Oh, you’ll try, but you’ve also got a reputation for failing to follow through with your pitiful threats.”
“Foxes, what is this?” Rowdy asked, stepping between the two women who I was pretty sure were only pretending to be arguing. “Clint won’t be happy to know you’re threatening to crap on each other.”
“No, she threatened to shit on me,” Sabrina clarified. “I only threatened to smear dog shit on her. I’m the reasonable one here.”
I noticed Sutter peeking around his mom to see me. He gave me a sweet smile. I instantly mimicked his gesture.
“They act like this all the time,” Sutter reassured me. “My grandparents wanted to talk to Clint alone, so they asked the rest of them to distract you.”
“It worked. I’m very distracted.”
“Thanks for the wings,” he said and ducked under his mom’s arm. “I’m going to eat.”
“The kid really is a genius,” Rowdy said, following after Sutter.
“Well, I don’t know if we’ve gotten the all-clear signal yet,” Sabrina insisted and stopped glaring at Elle. Sizing me up, she said, “Tell me about these martial arts you know, little one.”
“She’s a mature woman with adult feelings and desires,” Elle insisted before glancing at me and asking, “Right? I’m not just blowing smoke, am I?”
“No, you’re right. I am a mature woman.”
“How many dicks have you endured?” Sabrina asked.
“Clint will be her first,” Elle answered for me before squeezing me again and cooing, “You’re such a lucky duck.”
“No, that’s bull,” Sabrina insisted, making Moe snicker. “Ivy needs to fuck a bunch of guys before she settles on one dick.”
“Your mom didn’t.”
“Don’t rewrite history. Everyone knows Bebe was a huge slut back in the day. I’ve seen the receipts. No arguing about it.”
“Well, my mom was holier than thou, so suck it.”
“Never listen to Elle about romance,” Sabrina told me. “I’m in a committed relationship with two lovely foxes. I love to be in love. Meanwhile, this one,” she said and gestured at Elle, “has zero interest in relationships.”
“If I could have negative interest, I would,” Elle admitted. “But I don’t need to like romance to know my brother is a great catch.”
“He is,” Moe said from the back doors before walking toward us. “Can we get food now? If I’m going to be up this early, I really need carbs to keep me moving.”
“Of course, we can go eat,” Sabrina declared and looked at me. “See how selfless I am? That’s because of my great experiences with romance,” she said and tugged me away from Elle. “That’s why if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up for advice.”
Glancing back at Sabrina as we headed upstairs, Moe asked, “How are you going to give her advice when Clint’s plumbing’s all wrong?”
“It’s the heart that matters. She can figure out the dick stuff from porn like Vanessa did.”
As we arrived upstairs, I noticed Vanessa was still asleep against Sabrina’s other girlfriend, Xandy. Behind me, Elle slowly made her way upstairs while holding the two dogs whose little legs didn’t allow them to handle the steps.
My gaze scanned the family room. Even with Elle and Sabrina fighting over who was better qualified to protect me, I only wanted to see Clint. I worried his parents had talked sense into him. I would never support my son bringing home a stranger, so I couldn’t imagine they would, either.
Clint appeared from the hallway and studied me. I could instantly tell he was checking if Elle and Sabrina had turned me against him. When I smiled relieved to see him, he mimicked my grin with his own.
Whatever his parents told him hadn’t changed anything. He still considered me his soulmate, and my new life remained on track.