Page 66 of Misadventures of a Biker

He alternated glances between Devin and me and then met my reluctant gaze. “Teddi Mack?”

I stepped in front of him and shook his hand. “How are you doing, Harry?”

He smirked. “Not as good as you, I suppose.”

I suspected he’d heard of the sale of Margaret’s beachfront mansion. “Oh? Why do you say that?”

He glanced at Devin and then at me. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. “You two were in the front row of the theater, weren’t you?”

My face flushed red hot. “We were.”

“I’ve been trying to talk Maggie into something like that for a lifetime,” Harry said with a laugh. “She’s far too prudent to agree to it, though.”

I didn’t know what to say. I offered him a crumpled smile.

Following a moment of awkward silence, he gave a crisp nod. “Nice to see you again, Teddi.”

“Nice to see you, too,” I replied.

Devin shook his hand. “I’ll look forward to your call.”

He patted Devin’s shoulder. “Enjoy your youth.”

Devin draped his arm over my shoulder. Red-faced and embarrassed beyond words, I shuffled toward the door.

“He wants to sell his house,” Devin said. “There’s one in Port Royal he’s got his eye on. He said it’s time to downsize.”

Harry’s home was one of Naples’s most prestigious. To date, it was the most expensive piece of real estate I’d ever sold.

I raised my head. “Really?”

“We were talking about the movie, and he commented about the ‘people up front who were having fun.’ I laughed like I had no idea who they were, and the conversation went to my tattoos. Then he asked, ‘Where’s a guy like you get a job?’ But he said it jokingly. I told him where I worked, and he said, ‘I know a gal who works there. She sold me the house I’m living in. I was planning on giving her a call.’ Then you walked out of the bathroom. It was like a lightbulb went off when he realized we were the two in the front of the theater.”

“Perfect,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “Just perfect. I can’t believe he saw us doing that.”

He paused. “I can’t take these tattoos on and off. I like it that way. It forces me to be the same guy whether I’m at work, a biker rally, or a movie theater. I can’t fake my way into being anyone other than who I am.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Take ownership of who you are instead of trying to hide from it.” He paused, placed his hands on my cheeks, and kissed me. “You might be surprised at how good you feel about yourself.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Devin

Wearing his Sunday best, Herb surveyed the table. The last time I’d seen him so happy was the day he picked me up from prison. Glowing with a combination of pride and excitement, he put his hands on his hips.

“Damn, this looks good,” he said, glancing from one dish to the other. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“You said chicken-fried steak was your favorite, so that’s what you’re getting.”

He looked at Teddi. “I’m not sitting until you do.”

She took her seat, glanced at the food, and let out a sigh. “I haven’t eaten like this in a long time.”

“You look like a few meals wouldn’t hurt you any,” Herb said. “You’re thinner than when I bought this house, that’s for damned sure.”

“I was going through a phase when you bought this house,” she said. “I was on a cookie-and-wine diet.”