Chapter Three
One Year Later
“You can’t stay here,” Maeve said.
“Why not?”
“Because I said so. We’re going to that bar, and we’re going to have a good time.”
“Maeve, I get that you finally have Valentine’s Day off, but I have a ton of work to do, not to mention a whole bunch of cookies you asked me to bake for you for the fair.”
Her sister blew out a raspberry.
“I asked you to bake those cookies because I wanted a lot of cookies, and so many people love them. I miss your baking, and it’s like you stopped doing it since that asshole.”
Eden laughed. “I didn’t stop doing it because of him.”
“I know, I know. You started this new lifestyle plan, and you’re kicking out the sugar, or whatever crap the fad is right now.
I don’t care, but it’s Valentine’s Day, and I refuse to go out alone.
You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.
” Maeve pulled her in close and kissed her cheek. “I got you a cute little outfit.”
“It’s not a dress-up kind of party,” Eden said.
“I know, but I wanted to spoil you, and you’ve told me you’re completely over that dick, so why not prove it to me? Come on, it’s just you and me going out and partying.” Maeve gave her a smile, and Eden rolled her eyes.
She had moved on. After discovering her boyfriend was nothing more than a cheating asshole, and having women come forward and admit they had been fucking Mac the whole time they had been together, any love she thought she might have felt evaporated.
She was not holding a torch, or a crush, or anything else for Mac.
That ship had sailed, and it was actually refreshing.
She no longer had to wait around for him to turn up, if he even decided he would.
She could live her own life exactly the way she wanted.
Mac never kept his promises. He would say they were going out to dinner and never show up.
Or, he would say he wasn’t going to show and then turn up.
It was only when the reality of their relationship had been slapped into her face, witnessing his cheating, that she had realized she had gotten out of a bad situation. Sure, Mac could be nice and sweet, but those moments were fleeting.
“It will be fun,” Maeve said.
“Okay, okay, I will go and get ready.” She was curious about the outfit her sister had gotten for her.
Making her way up to her bedroom, she couldn’t help but laugh when she spied the deep-red dress.
Eden picked it up and looked at it. It was quite low-cut, very revealing with a slit, and it made her laugh even more when she spied the devil headband that had also been placed on the bed.
Of course, her sister wouldn’t be her sister if there wasn’t matching underwear.
Eden quickly stripped out of her sweatpants and shirt and started to change into the dress.
Her original plan had been to dye her hair tonight.
Kristin had advised against it and said she should come to her if she wanted any work done on her hair.
Eden was nervous about changing her hair color, but over the past year, she decided to stop being scared, just live and embrace everything.
It’s why she made some lifestyle changes and had lost a little bit of weight—not too much since she liked her curves and didn’t want to lose them.
Rather than leave the house in sweats and overly large shirts, she started to focus on her appearance.
This was not for any guy, it was strictly for her.
There was no one she wanted to please but herself, something she always wanted to do but always seemed to find an excuse not to. Now that she did, she loved it.
Slipping into the red dress, she was a little self-conscious of how it molded to her body like a second skin. She glanced in the mirror to make sure none of the lumps and bumps across her thighs were showing. She was in the clear. The dress felt so good and showed just a hint of cleavage.
Maeve walked into the room and let out a gasp.
“See, you look stunning, just as I knew you would.”
Maeve hadn’t come alone; in her hand was her own makeup bag. Her sister had two kits, one for her own makeup and the kit she used for clients. Her sister had always loved makeup.
“Please, let me?” Maeve asked.
“Fine, fine, fine. You can have at it.”
Her sister let out a squeal, and then for the next hour, her sister blended a smokey eye, worked in her foundation, and then the bronzer and blush.
Eden didn’t know if she could take much more. Even though she had developed a similar love of makeup, it was nowhere near the level of Maeve’s intensity. Maeve was obsessed with makeup.
“Close your eyes, we are going to set and fix your makeup in place.”
Eden closed her eyes, prepared for the spray, which was light and scented, but not overwhelming.
“And you’re done,” Maeve said.
Opening her eyes, she looked into the mirror Maeve was holding up, and since it took so long, she expected to look like a clown, but she didn’t. Her eyes were smoked out, but not silly. She looked beautiful. Her lips looked plump and were a deeper shade of red. She felt ... sexy.
“Wow,” she said.
“I had a good canvas to work on, and I’m so pleased you’re keeping up with all that skin care.” Her sister let out a laugh. “That was so much fun. We need to do it again.”
Eden was not about to burst her sister’s bubble.
The makeup was on, and now it was time for them to head to the bar.
The only bar in town, besides the strip club, was owned by the Chaos Monsters MC, and it was called the Chaos Bar. Not very original, but she knew a lot of people loved it. It was a good place. Eden offered to drive, because she had no intention of drinking too much.
Of course, with it being Valentine’s Day, it was considered lovers’ night.
“Do I really need to wear the devil horns?” Eden asked.
“Absolutely,” Maeve said, who had a halo on top of her head.
“So, why am I the devil, and you’re the angel?”
“Because this is so funny and ironic, seeing as I’m really the evil one, and you’re the good one.”
Eden rolled her eyes, but she did adore her sister.
Maeve always described herself as being the bad one, or evil, or the darker of the two.
She didn’t believe it. Sure, her sister was a badass and wouldn’t take crap from anyone.
She was the kind of woman who had your back, who would pull your best friend out of the house by her hair and slap her. Maeve was a damn good sister.
Parking on the outskirts of the parking lot, Eden saw it was already busy, and her sister slid her hand into hers.
They were wearing matching dresses, but Maeve’s was white, and hers was red. The devil horns and the halo also set them apart.
Eden hadn’t been out to this bar since her breakup with Mac. He had kept trying to come around, especially when Maeve wasn’t there. He kept complaining, blaming Hilary for his cheating ways. She wasn’t interested, and there was no way she was getting back with him. He was a liar and a cheat.
Entering the bar, Eden saw there were a lot of people, and there were many dressed up as well.
Some were dressed like celebrity couples.
She even spotted someone dressed as Frankenstein, with his bride beside him, which she found so cute.
There was a Dracula, and a Mrs. Dracula as well.
She spotted cupids, angels, and devils. It was all super cute.
Maeve held onto her arm and marched her straight to the bar, where she ordered them both a couple of beers. She felt stiff.
There were several bikers in tonight.
Maeve didn’t know this, but even though she had broken up with Mac, she had still been baking a couple of cakes for some of the guys’ birthdays. She even dropped them off at the clubhouse, being sure to be nice about it. She was not trying to earn any points with Mac. That was over.
All she wanted to do was get through the next few hours without seeing him.
The last thing she wanted was for him to think she’d dressed up like this for him.
As for the negligee she had purchased for last Valentine’s Day, she had burned that, along with several of the gifts he’d given her during their time together.
It had been a great feeling burning those items, not having to think about what they meant.
She was happy to be free.
****
Razor spotted the little devil the moment she walked into the bar.
Eden looked so freaking sexy, but then he had always thought that about her. She had a natural sexiness to her. She never needed to try. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her, as she walked with her sister to the bar.
For the past year, she had been bringing the guys cakes for their birthdays, and if she ever heard of them being sick, she still brought around her famous chicken soup.
He noticed she always did it in secret, so no one would know, but they knew.
The guys loved her cakes. And of course, she always seemed to make their favorites.
“Would you like to dance?” a woman asked, dressed in a bra and miniskirt, only one of the cups was wonky, showing off most of her tit.
“No,” he said, making his way across the bar.
He was aware that Mac was across the room, but he was too busy trying to get into three women’s pants to even notice his ex was here.
The guy didn’t mourn but kept telling the club Eden would come crawling back to him.
For several weeks after, each time the door to the clubhouse opened, Mac would stand as if he expected Eden to come through that door, begging him to take her back. She never did.
When he saw her arrive at the clubhouse as he was working on his bike, he expected Mac to be right, only she pulled out a box, made her way inside the clubhouse, and left. That was when he realized she had been delivering the cakes and the soup.
“Hello, Eden,” he said, and glanced over her shoulder to Maeve. “Maeve.”
“Razor. It’s quite a party you’ve got here,” Maeve said.
“Did you organize all of this?” Eden asked, taking a sip of her beer.
He laughed, couldn’t help it. “Not a chance. Nah, this is courtesy of Nancy, Doc’s ex.”
Nancy was the one who organized most events, from Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, to Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
She knew how to mark each event for the maximum return.
She was one fine businesswoman, and with each venture, she got a percentage of the profits as well. Doc hadn’t done his wife dirty.
“I adore Nancy,” Maeve said. “She has got an eye for details. I need to visit the little girls’ room. I’ll be back in a moment.” She stepped away and then turned to him. “Don’t take your eyes off her.”
He winked at her. There was no chance of him taking his eyes anywhere else.
Eden sighed. “Ignore my sister. I can take care of myself.”
“You sure about that?”
She shrugged. “Last year I suffered a bad case of judgment.”
“Do you regret ending things with him?”
“Mac? Hell, no, I can’t believe I didn’t even see he had been cheating on me since the very beginning.” She started to laugh. “I’m all good, and I’m over it.”
“So, it doesn’t bother you that he’s over there trying to get into other women’s pants?” he asked.
Eden glanced over and watched Mac for a few seconds, then turned back to him. “Not at all. Good riddance. So, how are things with you?”
It was cute, her trying to make small talk, and he knew she wasn’t great at it, but at least she was trying.
He chuckled. “I’m doing good, and you?”
“I’m great,” she said.
“You look amazing.”
She glanced down at herself and gave a little curtsey. He noticed she had lost a little weight, which she didn’t need to do. Eden had looked stunning every time he saw her. Not that it had been often in the past year. He had to take care of club shit in the city.
The Mafia decided to try to take some of their turf back, but it had been pointless.
A few lives had been lost, but they had gone back to their little patch with their tails between their legs.
He couldn’t fucking stand the Mafia, the way they treated their women, and just the way they were, thinking they could throw their weight around as if they owned everything. He had no respect for the Mafia.
The music was upbeat, and Maeve still hadn’t returned. Razor was not a dancer, but he was not willing to go another minute without having Eden in his arms.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked.
She looked at the dance floor, and he saw her hesitate. He expected her to say no, but then it was like she had a stern talking to herself, squared her shoulders, and she nodded.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
It was then she grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. They were standing close, and the quick music changed to something slow, seductive, intense. It was the kind where you pulled a woman into your arms and held onto her, softly.
This was intense, where you looked her in the eyes and told her without saying a word that tonight she was going to be sinking on your dick, and you were going to rock her world.
Razor expected her to run for the hills, to try and escape. Instead, she looked right back at him, and Razor forgot about everyone else at the bar.
He watched Eden, completely besotted with her.
She was a little devil, all right. She had been in his thoughts for a long damn time.
He was a loyal brother, and he had noticed Eden long before Mac ever had.
It had been at the diner, where she quickly rushed inside, needing to get two large mugs of coffee.
Maeve was freaking outside over something, and Razor had watched as Eden laughed, flicked her bangs out of the way, complaining about how annoying they were, always getting in her face.
He couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. And the next time he saw her, she’d been on Mac’s freaking arm.
He’d been the one to ask about her, to find every little detail about her.
She’d lived in Rivermont Ridge all her life and was a website designer.
She never went to college. Her parents were killed in a drunk-driving accident when she was fifteen.
Maeve, her older sister of five years, took her under her wing, never allowed her to go to foster care.
The two sisters moved out of the family home and used the money to find a small home in the cul-de-sac where they now lived.
Maeve was an amazing makeup artist, in high demand, but refused to move out or work for any one company.
She freelanced and could take any job she wanted.
The same could be said for Eden. She was in high demand, created and handled multiple websites, and had a large portfolio of clients. They were both successful and strong.
He had wanted Eden from the start. But Mac got to her first. Now, Razor wasn’t going to let her get away.
This was his chance to finally take what was meant to be his from the start.