Page 9 of A Wife by Christmas

“Yeah, it is.”

Again, that fucking smile. It was twisting his guts.

“I’ve not been on loads of dates. A couple. Not many. I don’t really have a lot to compare to. It’s hard to explain.”

“Nothing hard to explain. You’ve been around a bunch offucking losers, it sounds like to me,” Brick said. He shrugged. “Their loss.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s their loss, all of it, but I’m the lucky bastard who got you.”

She opened her mouth and closed it. “Thanks.”

He frowned. “You’re not used to getting compliments, are you?”

“Not in person. Through my channel, I do, but not in real life.” She took a deep breath. “Trust me, I’m not looking for pity or anything like that.”

“Well, let’s change that. I want to get to know you,” he said.

“You do?”

“Yeah, I noticed you don’t have a lot of pictures around your house,” he said.

She frowned and sat back. “How could you know that if you haven’t been in the rest of my house?”

“It’s kind of a knack of mine. Scoping out the area, knowing my surroundings. When you’re on the road, it’s what you’ve got to do to survive. There are a lot of people out there that would have you killed.”

“Is that why you’re settling down at Storm’s Bar?” Cathy asked.

Normally, when it came to personal questions, he made sure to shy away. He didn’t want people he didn’t know snooping around in his business. The law has always spent its fair share wanting him and the club.

Again, they never got what they wanted. Rebel, the club president, knew what to do and when to do it, to avoid any bullshit landing at their door.

Cathy was no snitch. She wasn’t an undercover cop. She was a woman who was curious about him. And he found thatrefreshing.

“Yeah, I guess. Also, the club prez is married now, has a kid, and that whole deal. The clubhouse is open to those of us that want to settle down, or just pit stop. We’re a club that has each other’s backs, but we’re not like close-close. If that makes sense.”

“And did you love it on the open road?” Cathy asked.

“I did for a long time.”

“And now?”

“I’m the one that is supposed to be asking you all these questions, getting to know you.”

“And I can’t ask them of you?”

“You can, but I’m the one doing all the answering.”

She shrugged. “Go ahead, ask me anything.”

“Why are you alone?”

“Wow, you really like to get right in there, don’t you?” she asked, laughing. He saw the blush staining her cheeks.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It sounds bad, but it’s not.” She pressed her lips together. “Okay, so my sister and I don’t get along.”

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