Page 77 of Fletch

“I won’t lose my house,” I snap. “But even if I did, I’d sort Ruby, not you.”

“Yah know, an easy solution would be you both just move in here with me.”

I frown, then laugh. He doesn’t join me. “You’re serious?”

“Why not?”

I scoff, and my mouth opens and closes a few times, trying to think of what to say. In the end, all I can come up with is, “No.”

“I missed out on so much with Ruby. I don’t want to miss any more.”

“Jesus, Fletch, you didn’t even want kids.”

“But then I discovered I had one.”

“And now, you want to be father of the bloody year, paying her school fees, giving her a place to live.”

He sighs. “Yah know, I’m being polite by asking. If I have to fight for her, I will, and then the offer won’t be extended to you.”

“Great,” I mutter. “Our truce lasted a couple hours. I’m sick of men bullying me into making decisions so they get what they want.”

“Hi, Gemma.” I turn to find Luna smiling. “I have a surprise for you.”

My frown deepens, but before I can question her, she grabs my hand and leads me outside and round to the back of the clubhouse. I stare wide-eyed at the bright flowerpots. “What’s this?” I ask.

“I love flowers,” she says, “and when Fletch said you wanted to open a shop before, it got me thinking about this empty space out here.” She crouches down and sniffs a tulip. “I had Grizz dig over these beds for me, and today, I got all these plants.”

I run my eyes over the pots and smile. “You must’ve spent a fortune.”

“Maybe you can help me?”

“With?”

She laughs. “Planting them in the beds. It’s hardly a shop’s worth, but I’d love to have them in The Bar and at The Zen Den.” I glance back in the direction we just came from. “What else are you doing right now, apart from arguing with Fletch?”

I give a shrug, and she hands me a set of gardening gloves. I smile, taking them. “Thanks.”

“I’ve never seen him so serious,” she tells me, grabbing some pots and moving them over to one of the empty flower beds. “He’s usually a flirt or fooling around. Since you, he’s been more serious.”

“Great, now, I make him miserable,” I mutter.

She grins. “That’s not what I’m saying. I think you make him happy. He wants to be a better man for you.”

“What yah doing?” We both turn at the sound of Lexi’s voice.

“Planting. You want to help?” asks Luna, standing to grab another pair of gloves. She throws them to Lexi, who eyes me suspiciously as she pulls them on. “I was just telling Gemma how Fletch seems a lot more serious these days.”

“He’s had to suddenly grow up after finding out about his kid,” she mutters, arching a judgemental brow.

“Hey,” says Luna, frowning, “it’s not easy to tell a brooding biker he’s a dad.”

“Sorry,” Lexi mumbles, grabbing a small trowel.

Luna smiles at me. “I didn’t tell Grizz either. Not right away.”

“You didn’t tell anyone you’d even had a baby,” adds Lexi.

“I couldn’t face the rejection,” she admits, and there’s a vulnerability in her eyes.

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