Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
AISLING
“Hello,” a smooth voice pops out of nowhere as I wait near the bar for Hash to come back, making me jump. “You must be Aisling.”
“Uh, yeah…” I answer, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “You must be… you know what? I’m sorry. Hash has only said all of your names a few times, so I don’t actually know who you are.” I laugh, trying to cover how fucking awkward I feel.
I shift Cormac from one hip to the other, not wanting to set him down.
“That’s okay.” The man shoots me a full smile, showing off all of his white teeth, the corner of his lip tipping up. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Who the fuck is this guy?
I know he has to be one of Hash’s brothers based on the cut and where we are.
“All good things, I hope,” I say, trying to smile my way through this, but it comes out forced.
I’m not really sure what Hash has told them, to be honest. He could have told them the truth of what happened, made up a story, or said nothing at all. I’m hoping he told them the truth to save me from having to go through a story time I feel like is none of their business.
“How could it be anything bad with a woman like you? Cute baby.” The man takes one of his giant fingers and tickles Cormac’s tummy.
Instinctively, I turn my body away from him slightly, creating more of a barrier between him and Cormac. I’m not trying to be rude, and I’m sure he’s a nice guy with how smooth he is with it, but I don’t know him.
He’s not my type, but I can see the appeal. The ocean blue eyes with blonde lashes the length women pay for probably has panties dropping the second he winks at them.
“Cyrus, if you don’t back the fuck up, your face is going to look like Trick’s,” Hash’s voice booms over the music that’s playing in the background.
I look to the stairwell to see him coming down two at a time, heading right for us.
“I was just getting acquainted with Aisling here,” the man who I know as Cyrus says, his tone light and breezy as he winks at me.
“You don’t need to be so fucking close to do that.” Hash pushes Cyrus back.
Cyrus holds his hands up, the easy going smile never wavering; in fact, I think it increased. “Whatever you want, brother.”
If looks could kill, the glare Hash is sending him right now would do it.
The funny thing is though, Cyrus doesn’t even look fazed. I think he’s enjoying this.
“He was just saying hi,” I tell Hash, trying to make this entire situation not so fucking awkward.
I think Hash is forgetting I don’t know these people. I don’t know how they act and what’s normal or not normal to them.
Hash’s gaze flicks down to me before he places a hand at the small of my back. “Come on, the girls are in the kitchen.”
He nudges me forward, guiding me toward the wide opening past the bar and into the kitchen.
The kitchen is massive, to say the least. It looks like it was taken right out of a restaurant. But I guess you would need one this size with a family like this. Random assortments of food are scattered across the island along with multiple crock pots and food warmers plugged into the walls.
“We kind of do a fend for yourself style. There’s no formal sit down, it’s not our style. You hungry?” Hash asks as I nod along as he explains everything to me.
It seems pretty straightforward, and I like that there’s not a formal sit-down. Growing up, whenever my parents tried to do a family dinner, it always felt awkward and forced.
“Um—”
“Hash!” a large man with a thick dark beard and a snake tattoo slithering up his neck yells as he saunters into the kitchen, interrupting me. “Hello,” he ends on a grunt as he notices me standing there.
I’m stuck standing there like a deer caught in headlights as I take him in.
I thought Hash looked a little scary when I first met him, but this man looks downright mean. Grumpy and mean.
“Aisling, this is my Prez, Cain. Cain, this is Aisling,” Hash introduces us.
“How are ya, babe?” his voice is low, sending a shiver down my spine. “Is this the little guy?” Cain looks at Cormac, who is still on my hip.
“Hi,” I squeak out, wincing at myself. God, I need to get a grip and stop embarrassing myself. Clearing my throat, I say, “This is Cormac.” I move my hip toward Cain as Cormac chews on his teether, drool dripping down his chin.
“We need to get him a baby cut.” Cain’s hard expression turns into a genuine smile, making me stare at him in awe as he takes in Cormac.
Who knew a baby would make these biker men go all soft?
“Already on it,” Hash replies, rubbing the top of his head.
He was?
“I need to borrow your man for a second. If you head out that door,” Cain points to the one he just came through. “the girls are out back.”
“You good?” Hash leans into my ear and asks. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
What else am I supposed to say with his president watching my every move? No, I don’t want you to leave me because you haven’t introduced me to everyone yet? I’m not trying to make these guys hate me the first time I’m meeting them.
Hash nods. “I’ll meet you out back when I’m done.”
“Okay.” I try to give him the best reassuring smile I can muster, but it feels wonky.
I watch Hash and Cain leave the kitchen, leaving me to fend for myself. I decide it’s best to get meeting everyone out of the way instead of hiding in here by myself, which I would rather do.
I’m kicking myself for not asking Hash if Frankie could come. One familiar face would have made me feel so much more at ease.
A gasp sounds loudly throughout the backyard as soon as I step outside.
“Oh, my God!” A woman with purple hair runs toward me, her eyes locked on Cormac. “He’s so fucking cute!”
I’m frozen, taken back from being bombarded the second I walked through the door. I mean, I’m used to people fussing over him because who doesn’t love to see a baby? But this is next level.
“Don’t mind her,” a woman with black and sapphire blue hair says as she comes up behind the purple-haired woman. “She’s having crazy baby fever. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cain knocks her up tonight after seeing you.”
Ah, so this must be Evan.
I can totally see her with Cain. She fits his edgy, mean-looking vibe because if she wouldn’t have greeted me the way she just did right now, I would have thought she was a bitch just from her face.
It takes a real one to know a real one.
“I’m Sutton,” the sapphire-haired woman introduces herself. “I’m with Ink.”
“Hi.” I smile at her. “I’m Aisling. I don’t think I’ve met Ink yet. I’ve only met Cyrus and Cain in passing.”
“Oh God.” Evan rolls her eyes. “I hope Cyrus didn’t freak you out. He’s a giant flirt and can be a pain in the ass, but he means well.” Sutton nods along. “And he’d kill anyone for you with no questions asked.”
“Seriously?” I ask, raising my brows in shock.
“We all have our own idea of fun.” Evan shrugs like it’s not crazy as fuck she just said that.
“That’s true.” I laugh it off as I awkwardly stand there and take in the backyard.
Three men are standing over by a massive grill with beers in their hands. A fire is roaring in the fire pit, and music is blasting.
Cormac starts squirming in my arms as he tries to reach for the grass. I give in, setting him down so he can crawl around.
“I know I said it five minutes ago, but he is so fucking cute,” Evan says as she watches him. “If you ever need a babysitter. I’m your girl. I’m basically his aunt, anyway.”
At first I’m taken aback, but the longer I thought about it, I guess in a weird way she kind of is. I’m so used to it just being him and I with Frankie being the only “family” member around.
“I’m sure I’ll be taking you up on that,” I say.
“Did you get something to eat?” Evan asks, her attention still on Cormac.
“Uh, no, but I actually need to feed this little guy here. Do you know where Hash’s room is? He put our bags in there but didn’t get a chance to show me around.”
“Men.” Evan scoffs with another eye roll. “They’re so fucking rude without even realizing it. If you go back the way you just came from and go up the stairs, his room is the door that has a giant marijuana sticker on it.”
“Thanks.” I smile at her. I’m feeling less awkward. The girls made me feel more at ease than the guys did. I’m not sure if it’s because the guys’ attention was on me and the girls was on Cormac, but being watched like I’m under a microscope makes my skin itch.
Thankfully, I didn’t run into anyone else on my search for the stairs. This place has a fairly simple layout. It helps that most of it is an open floor plan besides the kitchen.
Cormac starts fussing as soon as climb the stairs. “I know, baby. We just need to find Dad’s room.”
Dad’s room.
It’s still so crazy when I say it out loud.
Hash’s room is toward the end of the hallway. Evan wasn’t lying. There is a giant marijuana leaf sticker on his door that’s seen better days. The green color has faded to a gross brown and has been stuck to his door for so long that it’s not even peeling off. It’s just chipping away bit by bit.
I hold my breath as I turn the handle, unsure of what I’ll find on the other side. With the way my luck has been going, there’s probably going to be a bunch of naked girls littering his walls.
You can learn a lot about someone based on how they keep their bedroom. That’s the space guests don’t go into unless they’re invited in. It’s either going to be a giant heaping pit or clean as fuck.
With Hash, I feel like it can go either way. He takes really good care of his car and bike, but outside of his hair, he doesn’t really care what he looks like considering he wears almost the same thing every day.
Pushing the door open, I step inside and look around.
Huh.
There isn’t a whole lot of anything in here.
If I didn’t know this was Hash’s room, I would have thought this was a guest room or something.
The furniture is bare minimum, and the bed is shoved up against the wall.
Instead of a comforter, there’s a thin black blanket and a top sheet with only one pillow.