Page 31 of Bombshell

“You hush up,” Mildred told him. “Dolly likes to hear about it. She said so.”

Walen cut his eyes at me with a twinkle in them. He was amused. “I bet,” he drawled.

“Walen just broke up with his girlfriend. She wasn’t good for him. Didn’t appreciate his riding and was bringing him down. It was about time they ended things. It’s a shame you started dating that new guy.”

My face heated, and I dropped my eyes to the table, not sure how to handle this.

“Aunt Mildred, Lacy was my fiancée, and I’m gonna guess Dolly isn’t in need of your matchmaking help either. Why don’t we talk, enjoy some of your cake, and not make her any more uncomfortable than she already is?”

Mildred waved a hand at him. “She isn’t uncomfortable. Are you, Dolly?”

My eyes widened as I looked from Walen to Mrs. Mildred. “Well, uh—”

“Yes, she is. Why don’t you check on the Bundt cake? We don’t want it to burn. I’d like to take it with us when we head to the hotel.”

“I’m not going to the hotel,” she argued.

I jumped up, thankful for the excuse. “I’ll do it. You stay put,” I told her and hurried over to open the oven.

I needed a reason to leave, but I didn’t have a good one, and it was too late to think of one now. It would be clear as day I was running off. I hadn’t mentioned needing to prep for the storm when I stopped by. They would know I was lying if I tried using that excuse now. It wasn’t in my raising to be rude. Besides, Walen seemed nice enough.

A knock at the door gave me yet another reprieve.

“Cake isn’t ready just yet,” I told them. “I’ll go see who’s at the door.” Not waiting on Mrs. Mildred to stop me, I left the room, sighing in relief as I reached the front door.

However, once I opened it and found Micah standing there in a pair of black jeans and his bare chest, showing under his open leather vest, I wished I hadn’t opened it after all.

“What are you doing here?” I snapped.

He raised an eyebrow. “Looking for you. There’s a hurricane headed our way, and I did try to call. You declined it.”

Yes, I did. And you called me slow.

“I think everyone is aware of that. I’m fine,” I replied.

He shifted his stance and studied me. “You in a snit about something, Tink?”

Yes, Micah Abe, I absolutely am in a snit. Because you called me slow, you jackass.

“Just don’t see why you had to stop by my neighbor’s, is all.”

“Is there a problem, Dolly?” Walen asked from behind me.

Micah’s gaze hardened as he looked past me. I was not going to let him make a scene and upset Mrs. Mildred.

“No, Walen. This is my best friend’s brother. He’s just looking for me. I hate to leave before the cake, but I need to get something for him,” I explained.

Walen nodded, not looking sure about my explanation. Right now, Micah looked every ounce the badass biker. His tatted chest was on display, and he had his hair pulled back in a ponytail, but some strands had gotten loose. I was sure Walen was thinking I had myself mixed up with some dangerous folks. He had no idea.

“Yeah, we can wait on you to return. Cake isn’t ready yet anyway,” he replied. His entire body seemed tense as he kept looking at Micah.

I felt Micah’s hand touch my waist, and I almost jumped right out of my skin.

“Let’s go.” His tone was demanding, and if I wasn’t afraid that he’d do something unnecessary, I would tell him to piss off.

Instead, I did my best to hold my smile. “Tell Mrs. Mildred I’ll be back when the storm is over to help with the bills.”

Walen finally looked at me. He didn’t seem pleased with my decision, but he wasn’t going to argue with me. “Okay. I’m here until I convince her to leave, if you need me.”

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