“I asked him to look it over. Make sure it was good to go. In the meantime…” He held out his hand and a key dangled in front of my face.
“Why did you buy me a new bike?” I asked, circling the machine. It was gorgeous. There was no denying that.
“That way you can ride with me.”
“I could ride with you on my bike,” I argued.
He just shrugged again. “Just do me a favor and keep it.”
Sighing, I reached out and took the key from him. “Like I’m going to turn down a beautiful bike like this.”
“Good.” He grinned, happy that I’d given in.
Little did he know I was going to give him shit every time he wanted me to ride it. Not because I didn’t want to, but it seemed like that was a requirement to be a part of this family of his. My eyes narrowed as I noticed two more bikes sitting nearby. “Who’s are those?” I didn’t recognize them.
“No one’s.”
I looked over at him and he was busy dusting the imaginary dirt off my gift. “Overdrive…”
“I got them for the boys.”
“The…” I choked on the next word. “The twosixteenyear olds?” I sputtered. “Those boys?Myboys?”
“They should learn to ride now,” he insisted.
“They should learn to drive in a tank,” I told him. “Do you still have access to any of those, by the way?”
“No,” he chuckled. “And there’s nothing wrong with learning to drive first on a motorcycle.”
“They’re dangerous!”
“You ride one,” he shot back.
“But I know how dangerous they are,” I insisted. “Besides, I’m not impulsive, rambunctious teenage boys.”
“They’ll be fine. Trust me.”
Shaking my head, I gave in. There was no way those boys weren’t going to end up on a bike as fast as they could talk me into it. Not when their new heroes all rode motorcycles. Both of them were so happy to be here. To be living with the guys. I wasn’t going to rock the boat too much. Besides, OD was right. How was I going to tell them no when I’d been riding a bike for years.
“What’s the gift for?” I asked, realizing this might be a good time to bring up the news I had for him.
“Can’t I just give my old lady a gift?”
“Sure,” I said. “Didn’t think jewelry would be appropriate?” I asked with a grin.
His head snapped up from where he’d been inspecting something on my new Harley. “Do you want jewelry?” he asked, sounding confused. “I didn’t really take you as the type-”
“I’m kidding, OD.” I walked into his arms. It had double advantages. It gave me the hug I wanted, helping me to boost my courage, and it kept him from obsessing over the pristine Harley. “I do have something I need to tell you, though.”
He pulled me in close, wrapping those muscular arms securely around me. “What’s that?”
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the way you’ve not only accepted my brother and Teddy, but that you consider them ours.”
“They are ours,” he said. It was just a matter of fact statement coming from him and I was sure I couldn’t love him any more than I did in that moment.
“How would you feel about a third boy?” I asked. When he didn’t speak, I blurted out, “Or maybe a daughter?”
He pulled back and frowned down at me. “Is there another kid who needs help?”
