“And I’m in the same place. My feelings for Isla are growing. Can’t help it. But I was beginning to wonder if I’d somehow…broken us by wanting to love her, as well.”
Garrett slides his hand to my chest, placing his palm flat over my heart. “You didn’t break us.”
“Intellectually, I knew that…”
Garrett swallows. “I feel a little guilty. Like I’m letting you down by falling for her.”
I lean in and place my forehead to his. “Listen to me and listen well. I have spent years loving you in a way the world doesn’t always have room for. I chose you every single day when it would’ve been easier to disappear.” I breathe him in and kiss him. “You loving her doesn’t take anything away from you and me. It makes us bigger.”
His eyes shine a little. I’ve never seen the man cry unless he was in real pain. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” I say, without hesitation. “And maybe we should talk to Isla about this. Explain that we’re solid, that she isn’t a wedge between us. That she’s an addition. And it’s okay to love us differently.”
Garrett nods. “We should definitely have that conversation with her.”
“Let’s do it tonight, after we’ve been to the clubhouse. We said we’d go yesterday.”
“I’m scared, Wild. I know we’ll manage whatever happens. But…fuck…knowing that everything I’ve worked for in the club could come to a grinding halt because our brothers can’t gettheir heads around the idea I love you. It’s gonna take some getting over.”
“I know you’re scared. But it’s not going to happen. And you’re not on your own, this time. I’ll be right by your side. We’ll put ourselves on the line, because this life we want to build is worth it and requires it.”
For our safety, we want to be fully transparent with the club. The purpose of settling here is to be open and out and an Outlaw. If we can’t make that work here, it would be better to know that before our roots get any deeper.
And people are starting to find out now, anyway.
Butcher and Greer have likely guessed.
Catfish and Wren know.
Even Karlie knows.
And it’s starting to feel like we’re deceiving our friends. Friends who we’re likely to need help from.
Thankfully, Grudge already called a meeting today with just the core leaders of the club, so we’re going to add it as an agenda item.
Silence settles between us, comfortable, as always.
After a minute, Garrett chuckles. “This must be the most emotionally mature conversation we’ve had in this bed.”
“Don’t ruin it,” I say with a laugh. “Are we going?”
“We should shower, first,” Garrett says. “You might have to wash my feet, as there’s no way in hell I can bend to reach them, yet.”
I roll out of bed. “Might even suck your dick while I’m down there.”
That gets a chuckle. “You seem to have forgotten I’m forty. I need more than ten minutes to recover.”
It takes an hour for us to get out the door. We wash each other, including his feet. And while it did take more than ten minutes, he came twenty-two minutes after his last orgasm.
The clubhouse is pretty empty when we get there. Wraith is leaned back against the far wall, arms crossed, reading something on his phone. Atom’s lounging in a leather chair nearby. His foot taps with his restless energy. Smoke is playing pool by himself, mindlessly walking around the table potting balls.
Grudge is in his office with Wren. They’re poring over some papers.
“What’s going on in there?” I ask Catfish, who is sitting at the bar nursing a coffee.
He shrugs. “They’re working on a long-term strategy for the club. That’s what Grudge wants to talk to us about.”
“And you don’t know what it is?” Garrett asks.
