Page 84 of Deserter

The corner of his mouth twitched up in a reluctant smile. “Anything for you, Celia.”

Hawk was the club’s newest patch and according to Molly, the best-looking. She’d been eyeing him for the better part of the day. If he’d noticed, he hadn’t let on, much to her disappointment.

I studied his face while he talked to Jamie. He was attractive, like an older version of River Phoenix. But, unlike the other bikers, he was clean-shaven and not covered in tattoos. In other words, the exact opposite of what Molly usually looked for in men.

Jamie clapped him on the shoulder. “Bet you’re regretting teaching her how to play fuckin’ blackjack right about now.”

Across the room, Lucy held up a cup of punch and pointed to it. She looked like a red-headed Dolly Parton with her teased hair and tight curls. I tried to squeeze past Jamie, who was deep in discussion with Hawk, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“Where you goin’?”

I pointed to Lucy. “I’m gonna go visit with the girls. I think I’ve taken enough of Hawk’s money for today.”

“I think you owe me an explanation, wife,” he whispered against my shoulder.

My skin prickled at the term and I leaned into him with a happy sigh. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, husband.”

“Where’d you learn to play blackjack? And don’t give me that‘it’s my first time’bullshit.”

I shrugged. “I watched a lot ofPrice is Rightgrowing up and got really good at the pricing games. Have you ever watched them playHit Me? It’s a lot like blackjack.”

He narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure me out. “Best Hawk and I can figure; you counted the cards.”

I arched my back and Jamie’s hand moved down to knead my sore muscles. “I just kept track of the cards that had been played. Is that cheating?”

I’d kept a running tally in my head with every low and high card played. As Hawk burned through the deck, my strategy improved, and I began winning.

It was simple math.

He kissed my forehead with a grin. “Not illegal, babe, but don’t broadcast that shit, especially around these fuckers. They’ll be lining up to get their money back.”

“It should be common knowledge. Otherwise, you’re just throwing your money away. And I beat them fair and square.” I pressed my spine against his palm with a sudden wince.

Jamie’s brows drew together, and he stopped rubbing my back. “You okay, babe?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I just overdid it yesterday by running around, trying to get everything ready. I’ll go visit with Lucy and then sit down again.” At his stern expression, I added, “I promise.”

Lucy was on her third drink by the time I finally made it over to her. “Jesus, thought Grey was gonna keep you all to himself over there. So, how was your first and last experience with gambling?”

I took the cup of punch in her hand with a chuckle. “First and last? I see my reputation has been ruined.”

There was a tug on my wedding gown. “Excuse me.”

I looked down to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed little face staring back at me. He couldn’t have been more than seven or eight. I leaned down to him. “Hello there. What’s your name?”

“Mikey. Did you know your stomach is ginormous?”

“Michael,” Lucy chided, while I fought a grin. “We don’t say those things to people.”

“Miss Lucy, it is! Look at it. It’s like that movie,Alien, when it bursts out of the guy’s chest. Like this.” He thrust his fist forward with a cry before falling to the floor dramatically, twitching as if in the throes of death.

I covered my mouth with a laugh before ominously replying, “The doctor told me it was a baby girl, but we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?”

He popped back up with a mischievous smile. “What if it’s an alien? What will you do then?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know how to take care of an alien baby.”

Mikey puffed up his chest. “I could help you. I’ve done a lot of research. I’ve been reading all the books on UFOs and then Mr. Grey bought me a telescope so we could find the beautiful Celia star in the sky. Stars are boring though and when he’s not around, I look for—”

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