Page 25 of Demo

Both Demo and Keys looked at him in surprise. There was an innocence to Keys’ expression, almost like confusion, that made Demo take a second look at him. The kid wasn’tthatyoung. He knew he’d been with the Honeys at parties and such.

Pumpkin continued, pointing an accusatory finger at Demo, “You fell for her! What the hell, man? We were supposed to go down as the last of the club’s bachelors!”

Demo knew the vehemence in Pumpkin’s voice was feigned. They’d never once said such a thing to each other.

Before Demo could argue Pumpkin’s statement, Keys turned back around towards Demo. “You fell for her? How? You said you’d never met her before.”

“I hadn’t,” he told Keys. “And I didn’t,” he told Pumpkin.

“Oh, please.” Pumpkin resumed his pacing. “I know that look. You’ve got the same look on your face as the others after they met their ol’ ladies. You fell.” Then he leaned forward and slapped Keys on the shoulder. “Text the women. I need them to know I wasn’t the next to fall.”

Keys looked both shocked and confused. “Fall for what?”

“Kid, we need to get you out from behind your computer screens more if you’re not following along with this conversation,” Pumpkin told him with all seriousness.

Demo had to agree with that statement at least. “I didn’t fall for her!” he insisted again. “I like her, yes, and I enjoyed my morning with her, and I wanted to ask her out but she reminded me how unethical that would be, plus she still thinks she’s married, for Christ’s sake, and I don’t want to move too fast… I just think it’s best for us to be friends.”

Both Pumpkin and Keys stared at him for another long moment.

Demo sighed in frustration, “What?”

“Okay,” Keys nodded, “now I see it.”

Pumpkin let out a loud laugh. His son started to squirm and he quickly cut off the sound. Increasing his bouncing and rubbing his son’s back, Pumpkin said in a much lower voice, “Friends, my ass. I’d bet SJ’s entire college fund that you were daydreaming about her when we walked in here. You had the goofiest look on your face.”

Demo’s eyes narrowed on him. “You have, like, ten bucks in his fund.” Demo would know; he’d been the one to set up the fund as soon as SJ’s social security card and birth certificate had come in the mail.

“Kid’s barely three months old. I’ve got like eighteen years to build it up,” Pumpkin said with defense.

Demo chuckled. “Look, yes, I like Paige. But nothing can come of it while she still thinks she’s married.”

Pumpkin waved that off. “We’ve faked worse.”

Keys snorted. “Yeah, you helped so much with that,” he said dryly. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Pumpkin gave the kid a cocky smile before turning back to Demo. “If you like her, go after her.” Then he added, “Just make sure the ol’ ladies know you were the next to fall. Apparently, they think babies will automatically attract single women like sharks to blood and I was going to be the next to fall.” Pumpkin rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a woman to raise my son.”

Demo had to bite his tongue against reminding Pumpkin he’d been singing a different tune not too long ago. “Are they still placing bets on us? I thought that stopped after Bulldog took the last plot in the Pentagon?”

The Pentagon was the club’s name for the five houses that had been built on club property. When the club had purchased the former distillery, there had been the main building, a large garage, an outdoor pavilion area, and a lone rundown house that Steel and Jenna had moved into with their two teenage kids. One of the first projects that the club did together was rebuilding Jenna’s new house to her specifications. Nearly five years later, Lucky had added a modular home next to Steel’s house after his had been burned to the ground by Richard Hannigan. Four months after that, Bear and Angel added their homes following Tessa and Bree entering their lives. Angel’s house was handicap accessible and designed specifically for a wheelchair user. The four houses had remained there for nearly six months with no club member claiming the fifth and final plot in the pentagon shaped area.

Then Abby had returned to Bulldog’s life.

“It did,” Pumpkin nodded, “but they recently started it back up again. Something about the next plot of land…” He shrugged. “I don’t know about you but I have no desire to move out of the clubhouse anytime soon. Steel even gave me permission to turn my apartment into a double with the one next to mine once SJ gets old enough to need his own room.”

Demo was impressed by that news. Steel would have never allowed that if the Honeys were still around. He wondered if it would affect any of the single men living in the clubhouse to have a kid living in there too. Before club kids had only visited the clubhouse, but none lived there.

Then Demo frowned. He hadn’t included himself in that wondering.

Hewas single. Nothing about Paige’s and his flirting during his treatment that day had changed that. And yet…

Demo didn’twantto be single anymore. He hadn’t since he’d gotten shot. But he also hadn’t been actively looking for a woman. Between healing, therapy, and the nerve damage, finding a woman had been put on the back-burner.

Paige had been right under his nose for nearly two years. He knew a lot about her life from tearing apart Richard’s finances with Keys. But today had been the first day he’d spoken with her. If only he’d known…

Known what? It was ridiculous to think he was in love with her. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Love took time, energy, and commitment.

But hadn’t Bear taken one look at Tessa and known? Lucky made it sound like he’d been hit with a sledgehammer rather than Cupid’s arrow when he’d laid eyes on Harper for the first time. Jumper had been secretly in love with Jasmine for four years before the two of them got together. Despite his womanizing ways, Cage claimed he knew he wanted Angel from the very beginning but overheard her tell another brother that she would castrate any patched member who tried to hit on her with a dull spoon.

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