Page 42 of My Prince

“Maybe we could ask Compass’ cousin with the Bone Hawks MC to check out the cabin. To be on the safe side.”

Yarder nodded. “Not a bad idea. That way, we can at least cross that place off.”

“Yarder!” Poppy called.

Yarder glanced in Poppy’s direction. “Yeah?” he called back.

“I need to flip the mattress.”

Yarder furrowed his brow. “You need to do what?” he called.

“Flip the damn mattress. Just come to our room,” she ordered.

Yarder sighed. “What did we do before our ol’ ladies were ordering us around?” he asked. “I’ve never flipped my mattress in my life, and suddenly Poppy shows up, and I’m going to flip my mattress instead of watching them build a new garage.”

“Life is crazy, man,” I laughed. A few days ago, I was dodging Adalee and the camera, and suddenly she was warming my bed, and I never wanted to let her go. Sometimes you needed to just slow down and really open your eyes.

“Keep an eye on them,” Yarder ordered. “The blueprints show six bays, but I told them to add on two more. Make sure they remember.”

I nodded, and Yarder headed back to the clubhouse. I watched him go, thinking about how much had changed in such a short time. Aero had found Sloane at that crazy book signing, Cue Ball had Olive and Rocky, Throttle had fallen for Olive, Yarder had Poppy, I had Adalee, and Fallon was here, trying to help us find Russ. Life was unpredictable, but at least it was never boring.

I turned my attention back to the construction. The crew was progressing well, and it looked like the garage would be done sooner than expected. I wandered over to check on the plans, making sure the extra bays Yarder mentioned were accounted for. Everything seemed to be in order, but I kept a close eye on the workers just to be sure.

As the afternoon wore on, I couldn’t help but think about Adalee. She was in the kitchen with Sloane and Dove, probably baking up a storm. The thought of her being part of the club and not just the camera crew felt right, like she belonged here with me.

Chapter Eighteen

Adalee

Decorating a cake after so long felt like coming home. At first, I was a bit rusty, but it was kind of like riding a bike. After a few attempts, I finally got it right.

“It looks like we got it from some fancy bakery,” Sloane marveled, her eyes wide as she admired the cake.

The cake was a four-layer masterpiece, each layer separated by a rich caramel filling promising a sweet, decadent treat. The entire cake was covered in a smooth, white buttercream icing, providing the perfect canvas for the decoration.

I decided to go all out on the cake with painted buttercream flowers. I used a small spatula and smeared each flower petal in shades of blue and green. There was a big, puffy border on the top and bottom, and dark green leaves were scattered around the flowers.

“Wow, Adalee,” Dove said, stepping closer to get a better look. “These flowers are incredible. How did you do that?”

I smiled, feeling a sense of pride. “It’s all in the technique and a little bit of luck and patience. If you slather enough buttercream on, it starts to look good. It’s very much a trust-the-process technique,” I laughed.

“Patience?” Sloane laughed. “Girl, I don’t know if I have that kind of patience. But it looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it.”

“Do you think we could just have cake for dinner?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sloane laughed. “I don’t think anyone would complain about that.”

“Wait!” a voice rang out, cutting through our conversation. We all turned, surprised to see Garett standing there with a duffle bag in his hand and Mark close behind him.

“I’m not waiting,” Garett spat. “The longer I wait, the closer I am to winding up dead.”

Oh boy. Yarder’s meeting with Garett and Mark had obviously not gone well. I made my way over to them, with Sloane and Dove following close behind. Olive and Poppy, who were lounging on the couch, perked up their ears at the commotion.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Mark gestured to Garett, his expression grim. “He’s leaving.”

“Leaving?” I repeated, my heart sinking. Things were definitely not going well.

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