“Yes, ma’am, it is. It’s called the bride’s share. You’re supposed to tuck it all away in case you decide the biker lifestyle ain’t for you. Most women save it to buy baby stuff, or one woman I know blew it all on scratch-offs.”
“It’s just basically the bride’s money to do whatever she wants. That’s a wild idea.”
“Yep, that’s about the size of it. You won’t need it because we’re gonna make a visit to your grandfather’s lawyer tomorrow so you can get your inheritance. I already set the appointment up.”
“I guess I can tear open envelopes by myself. Thanks anyway.”
Mica pushes himself up off the floor and takes another swig of his beer. “I’ll give you some privacy to decompress.”
“Thank you, Mica. For everything.”
“Goodnight, Nova,” he says. “If you change your mind about my offer, you know where to find me.”
“That’s a kind offer, but I’m not ready for anything like that,” I tell him.
He turns and heads to the other bedroom to sleep.
I take the property cut off and then squirm out of my wedding dress. Truth be told, I wish I had taken Mica up on thesex he offered. Being a virgin at my age is not cool, and he’s probably amazing at sex. Deep down inside I know having sex with a man you can’t trust is a bad idea.
I begin going through all the envelopes and discover there are no cards, like I thought. Only cold hard cash. Not all of them are hundred-dollar bills, of course. I get lost enjoying my last beer of the evening and opening all the envelopes. Some of the hand drawn pictures are really cute.
Somewhere along the way, my phone buzzes. I pull it out and open the texts from my friendly neighborhood stalker without overthinking the situation. I need to know what I’m dealing with. It’s just more of the same kind of rambling bullshit.
Then I read one that chills me to the bone.
You think a Sons of Rage property cut changes anything? You’re still you, Nova. And you know where to find me when this falls apart. It will fall apart. These things always do.
How does this asshole seem to always know what’s going on in my life? I lock the screen and toss the phone aside.
I go back to processing those envelopes because I need to keep my mind off what’s going on around me. I’ve got too many balls in the air, too many people who claim to have my back, and I still don’t know who I can actually trust.
Downstairs the music gets louder. Someone starts singing badly, and everyone cheers loudly. I’m guessing the revelry will continue through the night.
By the time I crawl into bed, I’m thoroughly exhausted. I lie back on top of the covers in my fancy bridal lingerie and look at the ceiling.
Chapter 6
Mica
Getting up at the crack of dawn made sense because it was nearly impossible to sleep for the better part of the fuckin’ night. All I could think of was Nova’s long silky hair, the way her engagement ring reflected the light, and how she looked in that dress. I’ve never seen anything as lovely as my wife in her beautiful wedding gown. Swiping through those pictures of her long sexy legs in spiked heels kept me up when I should have been sleeping. Having a hard cock was embarrassing, but stroking myself to those images was crass. That’s the kind of thing that pathetic, desperate men did, not me. Something told me that if she didn’t take a liking to me soon, I would break eventually.
Nova is still sleeping, so I grab a quiet shower and pull on some clean clothing and head downstairs. The party downstairs has petered out. The few people still up have started drinking coffee in an effort to sober up.
The main room looks exactly the way a room looks when two hundred people spend six hours getting shit faced, dancing, and celebrating. It’s a complete catastrophe. Bodies fill every horizontal surface, sometimes grouped in twos or threes. Siege and his old lady are on one of the long couches wrapped in each other’s arms. He and Rigs are both married to social workers. Who would have thought?
There’s trash everywhere. The wedding cake is still standing tall and proud on the bar.
Several club girls are moving around, trying to clean up, including Silver.
“You’re up early, Silver. Did you turn over a new leaf or something?”
She gives me a wink and a grin. “I did. In case you haven’t noticed.”
I snort a laugh. “Not fuckin’ likely, darlin’.” I see her face fall so I add. “Nah, seriously, I know you’re tryin’, and it looks good on ya.”
She preens a bit at that then says, “Is it okay if I have another piece of your wedding cake? It’s really good and it’s a shame to waste it.”
“Knock yourself out.”
