Given to the Prez (Chaos Monsters MC #2)

Chapter One

“So, are you here because you want to hang out and get a free makeover, or because you’re hiding from your parents and want to piss them off?” Maeve Summers asked her non-paying client, Charlotte.

She loved putting makeup on people. It was what she did for a living, and she was very good at it.

It was why she’d been able to fly all around the world.

She had clients who loved her work and would pay to fly her to where they needed her.

It had been a lot of fun. She’d fallen in love with makeup as a little girl, and that love never stopped.

“I’m not trying to piss them off. I’m just ... taking a break.”

The last people Maeve wanted to piss off were Nancy and Doc. Nancy was a good woman, sweet and kind, but Doc was the Prez of the Chaos Monsters MC. The guy was deadly. She was pretty sure monsters feared him. Not that he’d done anything to scare her or even intimidate her. Far from it.

“You need a break from your parents?”

“They’re hounding me to make so many decisions, and I don’t know what to do. I think my mom’s trying to get me to leave town, and my dad wants me to stay. It’s all confusing. This shouldn’t be so confusing.”

“They care, honey. That’s what parents do.”

Charlotte looked at her and saw that she was going to argue with her, but all too soon, she stopped.

“Crap, I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“But your and Eden’s parents—”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“That was so insensitive of me.”

Maeve offered her a smile. Her and Eden’s parents had died over ten years ago.

A drunk truck driver had plowed into them, killing them instantly.

At the time, Eden was fifteen years old, and Maeve was twenty, as there were five years between them.

She’d already started earning money from being a makeup artist, and thankfully, their parents had left them some money to get through.

They sold the family home and moved into this cul-de-sac in a really nice neighborhood filled with families, in Rivermont Ridge.

She and Eden had a good life. For a long time, it had been just her and Eden, but now it was her, Eden, and Razor, Eden’s husband.

The wedding had just been a couple of weeks ago, and currently, Eden and Razor were enjoying a well-deserved honeymoon. Everything had gotten rushed with the wedding when Eden discovered she was pregnant.

For the first time in her life, she was home and she was alone. Charlotte’s company was well-needed. She adored the young woman, who’d not long left high school and was trying to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

Maeve reached out and put a hand on hers.

“Stop it. It wasn’t insensitive. My parents were amazing, but they were also workaholics, and to be honest, most of the time it was just me and Eden.

I never felt the need to escape my parents.

All I can say is Nancy and Doc adore you.

However, I don’t know if they feel the same way about me.

Text or call them, let them know where you are, so they don’t panic. ”

She grabbed their empty cups and made her way into the kitchen. They’d already enjoyed a hot chocolate with whipped cream.

Opening the fridge, she couldn’t help but fist pump the air. There was still some leftover ice cream. She really needed to get to the store and pick up groceries, otherwise she was going to starve. The ice cream was soft scoop, and she grabbed a scoop to start dishing out some for them both.

“I’ve let Mom and Dad know,” Charlotte said, letting out a sigh. “Dad’s on his way to come and pick me up. Mom’s upset that I didn’t go back home.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry, but it is good to tell them. Do you want some ice cream?”

“Yes, please.”

Charlotte was still pouting.

“Okay, so while we’re enjoying our ice cream, you tell me what the problem is.” She scooped some ice cream and placed it in her mouth, and it felt so good on her tongue as it melted. She couldn’t help but close her eyes at the delicious taste.

“I can either go to college here in Rivermont Ridge, and take some classes, or Mom has suggested I look at a college out of state, which I don’t want to do.”

“What do you want to do?” Maeve asked.

“I don’t know. Do you think I could work for you?”

Maeve smiled. “Being a makeup artist sounds like a lot of fun, and trust me, if you love makeup and having a lot of clients, it’s great, but there is so much more you’ve got to learn.”

“Like what?”

“Like knowing a person’s skin tone, whether they’re warm, neutral, cool, or olive, and a lot more.

Understanding color palettes, learning styles and techniques, and what’s in fashion right now.

There is so much to learn and keep on top of.

The products as well—which foundation works well with a particular skin care.

It’s more than just slapping it on and hoping for the best.”

Charlotte sighed. “I find it a lot of fun.”

Maeve reached out and took her hand. “And that is fine too. If you love it, you could enroll in college here, take a couple of night classes, and you don’t have to commit to anything big.

I could create you a small kit. I have so many brands sending me stuff, and a lot of freebies I don’t even open.

It will be no cost to you, other than the course, and getting your parents to agree. ”

Before Charlotte could say anything, there was a knock at her door.

“Wow, that was fast.”

“Dad said he was in the neighborhood.” Charlotte looked even more depressed.

“I bet he was worried about you.”

“I doubt it.”

Maeve didn’t know what else to say. Doc had always seemed like a very competent and strong father. He only ever wanted the very best for his little girl, and Maeve admired that.

She opened the door, and he was on her doorstep, looking every bit as intimidating as ever.

Doc was tall, muscular, and he had a slew of tattoos down his arms. Of course, she couldn’t see them as he wore his leather jacket.

They were, however, peeking out from his neck, and she imagined to a lot of men and women, he was terrifying.

“Hi, Doc,” she said.

“Charlotte’s here.”

She nodded and stepped aside. “I don’t know what the trouble is, but Charlotte was just coming to keep me company.

” She was not trying to help the girl out, because clearly there was some issue between Charlotte and her parents.

“I’m not used to being so lonely. Eden’s usually home and I guess I’ve gotten used to Razor’s presence as well. ”

“That still doesn’t allow her to go missing for hours at a time. Not when she screams at her mom and runs out of the house.”

Maeve tried not to wince, but that wasn’t good.

She knew Nancy hated having any kind of conflict with her daughter.

Especially as Nancy had conflict with her own parents when it came to dating Doc.

For some reason, people had a tendency to open up to her.

Oftentimes, it happened while she did their makeup, they seemed raw and vulnerable and just poured their hearts out.

Other times, like with Nancy, it was done over a mug of coffee. It had been a really good coffee.

“Dammit, Dad, Mom’s exaggerating. She just wouldn’t let me try and figure stuff out. She’s organized a field trip for the two of us, so we can go and check out colleges out of town. I don’t want to do that.”

“It’s important for your mother that you consider all the options,” Doc said.

Charlotte growled. “What if I don’t want options? What if I just want to stay here and figure things out?”

Maeve kind of understood Charlotte, but at the same time, she also understood Nancy. There was more to life than Rivermont Ridge. It was a good town, and sure, it came with a few troubles, namely the biker club not too far from the town.

She was no idiot and had kind of figured the club had some kind of deal with Sheriff Hayes.

Whenever there was trouble, a Chaos Monsters MC member was never far behind.

They were more like the acting sheriff than the sheriff, who was often seen sitting on his ass, doing nothing.

It wasn’t her business, so she wasn’t going to say anything.

Even if she understood Nancy, she also understood Charlotte. Rivermont Ridge was a pretty great place, if you could get past the biker gang.

****

There was never a time Doc had seen Maeve and she hadn’t looked beautiful. He figured it had been so long since he’d been around a good woman, that he’d started to see her as more beautiful than she actually was.

She had long hair, that often was pulled back into a bun, or clipped. His daughter had told him it was for hygiene purposes when she was doing makeup. There had been a few times she’d let her hair down, and she was breathtaking.

That wasn’t the only thing that was amazing about her. Her smile was always genuine. She rarely smiled just for the hell of it. There always seemed to be a good reason for her to smile.

She looked absolutely stunning when she did, and it took his breath away.

One of the few times he’d seen her was at the Easter Fair, but that wasn’t the only time.

That was the longest he could stand and admire her.

He’d seen her a few times around town, never quite knowing her story, until Razor started to date Eden.

That was when he finally got the full story and her history.

He knew all he needed. Maeve was single, and she was a good woman.

The kind of woman that stepped up and took care of her sister when her parents died.

Razor had told him there was a bond stronger than anything he’d seen between Maeve and Eden.

Charlotte gravitated to her.

“Thanks for having her,” he said.

“Do you want coffee?” Maeve asked. “Charlotte’s finishing her ice cream and I did promise to make her up a bag of makeup to practice with.”

“Sure, coffee, why not?” he asked.

She chuckled. “That would be a question for you to answer yourself, but if you’re worried, don’t be. This is not poisoned.” She winked at him.