Page 102 of Three to Fall

He rolled his eyes. “Give me your tie.”

I glanced at him warily. “Not if you’re going to put it around my neck and get all up in my face tying it for me.”

Grayson plucked the tie from around my neck. “Why? Scared I’ll kiss you while I’m at it?”

“I wouldn’t recommend trying it.”

“You kiss Chaos.”

“Doesn’t mean I want to kiss you.”

He chuckled, making a show of putting the tie around his own neck and twisting it around his fingers into a neat knot I would have never in a million years been able to achieve, even if I’d had the YouTube tutorial in front of me every time.

“Don’t worry. I have no interest in kissing you either. Doesn’t mean I can’t help you though. Friends do that.” He loosened it, pulled it over his head, and then held it out to me, asking silent permission to fit it over my head.

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“You aren’t big on suits, huh?”

“Is it that obvious?”

He tugged one end, and the knot magically slid up to sit perfectly at my throat. “Only because you look about as comfortable as patients do when you have to check their prostates.”

I took over the fitting of the tie, straightening it so it hung neatly down the center of my chest and then shoved my hands in the pockets of the dress pants I’d bought the day before. Hadn’t even washed them yet because I was pretty sure there wasn’t an iron at the clubhouse, and I didn’t want to lose the neat front creases the store had pressed into them. “I just wanted everything to be perfect for Kara.”

He spotted her standing close to the grave. She talked with Bliss and Rebel, their kids all occupied by War and Fang letting them run off energy in an open space where they wouldn’t step on graves. A bunch of nurses from the hospital had come, as well as Chaos’s brother, Liam, and his family. All of the club had turned up, from prez to prospect…

I swore under my breath.

Grayson glanced at me. “What’s wrong? Everything is fine.”

“Ice isn’t here.”

“Is that a big deal?”

“Only if anyone wants to drink after this. I had him organizing all the alcohol.”

Grayson elbowed me. “Stop. This whole thing isn’t on your shoulders. I’m sure he’ll be here. And if he isn’t back at the clubhouse with the alcohol when we get there, then who cares? We’ll go buy more.”

I breathed out a slow breath, knowing that was true.

“It’s not your job to make everything right for her, you know.”

“But I want to.”

“Sometimes, I do too. But what she needs right now is you. Me. Chaos. Not alcohol or your tie to be straight.”

“It’s really annoying when you do your shrink thing and think nobody will notice.”

“Am I right though?”

“Nobody likes a know-it-all, Gray.”

He laughed and nudged me with his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get this thing done so we can go drink…”

I stared at him. I’d literally just told him that if Ice hadn’t made it back from Louisiana then there was nothin’ to drink.

“The pop and juice boxes we bought for the kids.” He rubbed his stomach. “Mmm, delicious.”

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