“No,” I agree, my voice softer than it normally is with my brothers, “it’s not. But I’ve always wanted her to have a mom, someone who could understand her and help her dream big.”
“Has Rian met Brielle?”
I’ve played this whole high school sweetheart reappears in my life situation close to my vest. I haven’t shared everything that’s happened. Not because I’m hiding it, but because it feels sacred and like I need to close ranks around it to protect it.
And I haven’t been ready to let anyone else in. Even my brothers.
I smirk. “Rian was there when I ran into her and then she found Brielle in the practice room. They danced together,” I admit.
“Oh,” understanding dawns on Ace’s face and then he’s grinning like the cat who got the cream, “Rian’s all in on momma Brielle, I take it?” I shrug and nod. “And you’re all in on claiming your Old Lady?”
“You better fucking believe I’m claiming my woman as my Old Lady. As soon as I get the cut, it’s going on her back. And I’m going to give her this,” I wave my hand around the space.
He nods and crosses his arms across his chest, mischievousness in his eyes. “Then,” his voice is overly magnanimous, “I’m going to give you some advice. Get the building, make appointments to meet with contractors, but get her involved now. Let her sink into her dream fully, let her build it. If you just hand it to her, she might see it as control instead of care.” Then it’s like a lightbulb goes off above his head and he snaps his fingers, his voice excited, “Are you taking her with you back home this weekend for Rian’s birthday? You should.”
I blink at Ace a few times before narrowing my eyes at him. “What are you even talking about right now? Are you some woman whisperer?”
After throwing a wink in my direction, he wiggles his eyebrows. “I’m just a guy who likes a good rom-com every now and again and I do alright with the women. Which you should remember when you finally bring your woman around.”
Even though I know he’s fucking with me, I still growl out a warning. Ace throws his head back and laughs. As the sound fills the room, I look around and realize he’s right. She needs to be here to make it happen.
But I’m still going to buy the building. I call the realtor and tell them to make it happen while I flip off Ace. He sobers up quickly when he hears me on the phone, his jaw falling open.
As I stride past him with a grin on my face, I slap his shoulder. “No time like the present. I’m going to take your advice on getting Brielle involved. I just didn’t want her to try to tell me I can’t pay for the renovations. But I’ll just get her to marry me and then my money is hers. Also, yes, I’m taking her back home this weekend, I need both my girls with me.”
He sputters and follows closely behind me as I head out of what will be Brielle’s studio and lock the door behind me, “I-I-I never said to buy the building right now or marry her.”
“Oh, I know,” I assure him. “But I think it’s the only way she won’t try and fight me. I see no fucking reason to go slow, not when I know she’s always been mine.”
I’m throwing my leg over my bike when Ace finally starts moving. “I think this is little more than a rom-com hero could pull off,” he mutters while looking at me and shaking his head like I’ve lost my fucking mind. Maybe I have.
But I don’t think so.
I think I finally have something I’ve been lacking for years—clarity.
My Tiny Dancer is back in my life and the only speed I can take this is full throttle. Fuck a rom-com.
We start up our bikes and head back to Elysium. I don’t get to experience the wind in my hair for nearly long enough, but it’ll have to do. The next time I’m on the back of my bike, I hope Brielle will be wrapped around me.
I can’t help but grin at the thought while taking the elevator up to the clubhouse floor. Ace keeps looking at me like he’s not sure if he should egg me on or do research on psych holds. I’m not worried about it, he’ll see.
The first person I see when I step into the main room of the clubhouse is Pope. I give our Prez a chin lift and realize he’s been waiting for me. He crosses his arms across his chest while studying me.
“Heard you bought a building?” He arches an eyebrow in challenge, “You want to tell me what you’re up to?”
“I’m giving my woman the dance studio she’s been dreaming about opening.”
Pope rears back like I slapped him. Not surprising, all things considered.
“Your woman?”
Ace chuckles next to me. “Came as a surprise to me as well.”
I shoot him a look, but he doesn’t give a fuck. He only rolls his eyes when I glare at him.
“Brielle,” I tell Pope, “she’s the new dancer. Just so happens she’s the girl I grew up with, that I fell in love with. At 18 she went one way and I went another.” I shrug one shoulder, the move casual even though nothing about how I feel for Brielle is casual. “Now she’s back in my life and I’m not letting her go. She wants a dance studio, and I can give her one while also getting her off the Elysium stage before I kill someone.” The smile I shoot my Prez is sinister as fuck. “Win-win.”
Pope looks at me for a long moment before he tips his head back and barks out a laugh. “You need help with the studio? You know the club has your back,” he shoots me a meaningful look that is heavy with implications and words left unsaid, “and your woman’s back.”
