“I’ll try not to be too late.”
“Do what you need to do,” she pressed. “I’ll be passed out in blissful unawareness.” Looking down at her hand on his chest, Becks tried to stay strong. She didn’twanthim to go. She wanted him to stay and hold her as she fell asleep or to have him help her unbox her belongings, but she’d disrupted his life enough.
And maybe if she wasn’t there, he and Liam could have a more reasonable conversation.
Eventually, she would have to face her brother too, but today, she was just too exhausted. She’d be more likely to tell her brother to go fuck himself than anything else right then. She knew Liam loved her, and yes she’d dumped a mess in his lap when she’d run away from her own botched wedding, but she also had to do what was best for her.
The back of Ghost’s fingers slipped down her face in a gentle caress. How did such a simple action soothe her worries so completely?
“Please don’t think less of me, but I truly don’t want to go.”
A smile crept onto her face at his soft confession. “I feel the same way, but since we haven’t had a chance to sit down and figure out my job, maybe we shouldn’t risk your employment too.”
Ghost snorted. “I run this club, which means I own the bar. What are they going to do to me? Fire me?” Becks chuckled as he turned his head to press his lips into her hair. “But I suppose you are correct that it would be the responsible thing to do.”
“Being an adult sucks sometimes.”
He nodded into her hair. “So much, but,” his hand traveled down her side to her ass, “it does also come with certain perks.”
Becks smiled into his chest. “Go to work, and no matter what time you get back, you can continue your efforts to put a baby in me.”
To Becks’ surprise, Ghost actually pushed her away and bolted out the front door. She stared, jaw dropped, at the closed door he’d just left out of. Had he really just?—
The door opened again. Ghost stood in the doorway, already working on undoing his belt. “Well, I think that’s enough work for today.”
Becks laughed, loving this more relaxed, easygoing side of Ghost. The stress he’d been under when they first met wasn’t weighing as heavily on him, and she hoped she was the reason. She hoped shecontinuedto be the reason.
Approaching Ghost, she pushed him back out the door. “Go!” she chuckled.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, and brought her in for a long goodbye kiss. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Actually, I won’t.”
Ghost frowned, “What do you mean?”
“I don’t have your number,” she reminded him with a smile. She’d sent Sandy and her mother each a message the day before to tell them they’d arrived safely in Mount Grove, but beyond that, Becks had been enjoying the peaceful disconnect. Although, Libby might be on the warpath by now. Not like Liam’s though. Libby would just be pissed Becks hadn’t called her and given her a play-by-play of her wedding night, dick size included.
If she had Libby’s number memorized, she would have texted from Ghost’s phone, but she didn’t so she had to rely on her mom to tell her bestie.
“Shit. I did forget about that.”
“No one will ever be able to say we didn’t do things our own way,” Becks quipped with a half smile.
Ghost chuckled. “There is that. Here,” he pulled out his phone. “Put your info in here, and make sure you mark yourself down as my emergency contact too.”
Becks took his phone and unlocked it. “Really? This soon? Don’t you think that’s rushing things, Ghost?”
He dropped his hand to her ass and gave it a sharp slap. “Don’t be cheeky. Legally, you’re the person who gets to pull the plug on me now that we’re married. It used to be your brother.”Ghost paused as if he was thinking. “Maybe that’s the reason he’s so pissed…”
Becks shook her head, not ready to joke about the rift she’d caused between Ghost and Liam. Handing him back his phone, she said, “I was serious about you taking your time and doing what you need to do at work. I was also very serious about you waking me up when you get home.” She took a deliberately large step back, lifted her shirt quickly to flash him her bra-covered tits, and then closed the door in his face.
CHAPTER 13
Work was for shit. How the fuck did married men do this? Even guys who weren’t married, like Demo, but so head-over-heels obsessed with their woman that there wasn’t a single thought that ran through their brain that didn’t involve her? Ghost hadneverin his life been a clumsy person, nor had he ever been so attached to his phone that he checked it every five seconds to see if she’d found her phone yet and messaged him.
Two prospects, Jackson and Marcus, were working behind the bar tonight. Thankfully, it was a Tuesday and a slower evening. The pool tables were full, but only one dart board was in use. There were some empty seats at the booths, tables, and bar. Ghost never thought he’d wish forfewerpatrons. All he wanted was a fucking empty bar so he could go home to his wife.
The old bell over the door jingled, but Ghost ignored it as he worked to clean up the bottles of vodka he’d spilled. To his surprise, Lucky, Bulldog, and Bear walked into the bar. He honestly could not recall the last time he’d seen these three men inside his establishment. Bear had been the most frequent prior to marrying Tessa; as a single father, Lucky had rarely had time to come out when the club and bar had first formed; and Bulldoghad always been more of a homebody, preferring to party at the clubhouse instead of the bar.
