“Nothing, you already do far too much,” I assure him, feeling more guilt for not letting him see how grateful I am.
“So…you gonna let me be there when you bring my niece into the world? You can bite my hand and curse at me as much as youwant.” He raises his eyebrows and puts on a brave smile, looking at me hopefully.
“Sure,” I agree, standing up and wiping the sand off my ass just incase he tries to kiss me again.
“I’m sure Vike will be pleased I got him off the hook.” Greaser stands up too, taking my hand in his as we both walk back towards the stairs that lead to the clubhouse.
“Earth to Alicia.” Peyton clicks her fingers in front of me as I stare across the barroom, thinking about Vike.Again.
“Sorry, I was deep in thought.” I smile at her and sip the iced tea Polly’s brought over for me.
“Which one were you thinking about?” she teases.
“What?” I stare back at her, wondering what she means.
“Were you daydreaming about Vike or Greaser?” She smiles cleverly as she checks her phone again.
“You waiting for a call or something?” I change the subject, not wanting to answer her question.
“No, I’m just wondering where Raze is; he promised he’d be here….I’m ovulating.” She lowers her voice so no one else can hear.
“Oh.” I nod my head, knowing that her and Raze have been trying to get pregnant for some time now.
“I’m starting to wonder if he’s as committed to this as I am,” she admits, looking a little deflated. It’s not like her. Peyton is one of the most positive people I’ve ever met.
“Don’t be silly, of course, he is. Raze is crazy about you. He’s just busy. You know how hard he’s working to build as many legitimate businesses as he can right now. He’ll be helping get the garage ready to open.” Unlike the club's last president, Cliff,Raze values the opinion of the community. For so long, the Dirty Souls have been misunderstood by everyone. It’s good to see them fighting back and making changes.
“Enough about me, back to you. Who’s got you acting all dreamy?” She gets us back on topic.
“Vike’s been avoiding me,” I give in and tell her. I figure it will do me good to talk this out with someone, even if I do sound pathetic.
“I have noticed.” Peyton confirms that I’m not just being paranoid.
“I’m starting to wonder if he regrets moving in. Maybe he feels suffocated by all this.” I look down at my stomach and think about what I’m expecting of him. Greaser is right; this baby isn’t his and I’ve been far too hopeful in thinking he has feelings for me.
“And Greaser?” Peyton asks, glancing across the room to where he’s sitting with Saint and Wrath.
“Greaser wants to be there for us; he got upset when he found out I’d asked Vike to be my birthing partner.”
“It’s not Greaser’s decision to make, it’s yours. It’s nice that he’s excited about becoming an uncle, and he sure is different since he came back, but this is still your baby.” She smiles.
“I told him he could be there; it makes so much more sense. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.” I shrug, looking across at Greaser and wondering if I could ever feel for him the way I do Vike. He’s made it clear that he’d like us to be more than friends, instead of pining after a guy who’s clearly not interested. Maybe I should open myself up to the idea of a man who is.
“So you’re going to have both of them there?” Peyton seems surprised by the idea.
“Of course not, that would be disastrous. They hate each other. I’m just gonna talk to Vike and let him know that it’s going to be Greaser instead.”
“And how do you think he’s going to take that?” she questions me.
“Right now, the way he’s been acting, I think he’ll be relieved.” I sigh sadly, and Peyton jumps up from her seat when the door swings open and Raze steps inside with Sasquatch.
“Excuse me, I have a baby making appointment with my husband,” she whispers with a twinkle in her eye, as she rushes toward him, taking his hand and dragging him out the back door of the club.
“What's this?” I stare at the brochure Peyton presents me with when she climbs back into bed. She’s got that freshly-fucked look and a content smile on her face as she straddles my lap and beams excitedly.
“I picked it up earlier when I went to the grocery store. I thought we could maybe go take a look at one.” I frown as I stare at the picture of the perfect one-story home in front of me.
“What’s wrong with where we’re living now?” I ask, sitting myself up and staring at her in confusion.
