Page 55 of Taken By the Biker Daddies

“It’s fine. Everyone has secrets. And I had my suspicions. But you know me. I don’t pry.”

“I know.” It was one of the reasons we were able to get along well.

Wade sat down. “I just hope you don’t start acting like one of those spoiled jerks now.”

I sat up straight, placing my hands on top of the desk. “Will you punch me if I do?”

“Absolutely.”

I chuckled. Of course, he would. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“To be honest, I feel like punching you a little right now.”

He rammed his fist into his palm. My eyebrows arched.

“Is it because of Lauren?” I asked him.

He looked at me. “Do you plan on continuing to ignore her?”

I very well could, especially in this big house. I had a feeling Wade wouldn’t be very happy with that, though.

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

“I do,” Wade confessed to my surprise.

I knew he did, but I wasn’t expecting him to admit it out loud so readily. This, from a man who hardly talked about his feelings, if at all. Lauren had really gotten through to him.

Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew just how much of a force Lauren could be.

“God knows I tried not to,” Wade added. “But I do.”

“I’m happy for you,” I told him. “You’ve found another woman you can put ahead of yourself.”

He shook his head. “I’m worried I’ll mess up again, though.”

“You won’t,” I assured him. “This time, Lauren is the one in a tough situation. Since you know how it feels to be haunted and not have control over your life, I’m sure you’ll be able to support her. And she’ll be grateful for it.”

Wade gave a slight smile. “Thanks.”

“Lauren has you, and she has Jake. She doesn’t need me.”

Wade shrugged. “Maybe. But she still wants you.”

That I couldn’t refute, and I couldn’t deny that I still wanted her, too. I was just still too upset about everything to take her back into my arms.

“Now that you know about my background, surely, you can understand why I don’t like it when people use me,” I told Wade. “It’s just happened so many times before.”

He leaned forward in his seat. “I can see how that has happened a lot. But did Lauren really use you? Weren’t you the one who asked her to be your fake girlfriend?”

“I didn’t ask her.”

“No. You just told everyone that she was. And now you blame her for going along with your lie?”

“I never thought it would become real. I only said that because…”

“Because you didn’t want to get in trouble for hitting her with your bike,” Wade finished the sentence for me. “Which you did. You seem to have forgotten about that.”

“I haven’t,” I told him. “You have no idea how bad I felt about hurting her even before I got to know her. I was at a loss when the doctor said she had amnesia. I was worried that she’d lost everything because of me.”

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