Page 48 of Havoc

“This is an amazing breakfast,” I told him. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll just fast-track you straight to the altar. No games, no waiting. I do, and that’s that.”

Havoc rolled his eyes. “You’re a woman who loves breakfast, aren’t you?”

I nodded, swallowing a big bite of biscuit. “Heck yeah. If I ran the world, every meal would be breakfast.”

“I could live happily in your world,” he said, shoveling in a forkful of eggs.

I watched him for a few seconds before softening my tone. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I would’ve been happy with less.”

“Word to the wise—don’t ever tell a man you’d be happy with less. It’s his job to give you the best in life. You’re too nice a person to always settle.”

For some reason, that made my eyes sting. He didn’t notice—too focused on his plate—but I couldn’t stop staring at him. When he looked up, that fierce, protective look was back. The one that said he’d go to war for me.

I remembered his expression last night when I kissed him first and he took control, kissing me until I was dizzy.

“Thank you,” I murmured. “Your food is delicious. I’ll return the favor by cooking for you one day.”

“Any old time, sweetheart. I’m always starving.”

I met his eyes and tilted my head. “What do you mean by always starving?”

He talked while he chewed. “I run a construction crew and work alongside my guys. Hard manual labor. I don’t mind—it keeps me in shape—but I burn through four, maybe five thousand calories a day. No matter how much I eat, I’m always hungry.”

“You might not be getting the right macros. Have you ever thought about seeing a nutritionist?”

He shook his head with zero interest. “No, I most certainly have not. I’ll just try to sneak in more healthy snacks.”

I could tell it wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have, so I made a mental note to look into it myself later. We kept chatting, mostly about his job and the club. We were both trying not to let Slater dominate our thoughts. When I finished eating, Havoc cleared both our plates.

“If you want, I can do the dishes while you get dressed,” I offered.

He flexed his biceps in a mock bodybuilder pose, his muscles practically bursting out of his skin. “You sure you want me to cover up this delicious real estate?” He slapped his arm. “I went shirtless just to impress you this morning. Bet you didn’t know that.”

I shook my head, laughing. “No, I didn’t. But consider me impressed, hot stuff.”

He ran a hand through his hair, letting it fall loose around his shoulders. “See? That’s me—showing off again.”

I made a little circle with my finger. “You don’t need to point it out. I know what it looks like when you’re trying to impress me now.”

He gave me a teasing grin and looked me up and down. “Then best show me what it looks like when you’re trying to impress me.”

I burst out laughing and tilted my head. “Last night on the rock—that was me showing off my amazing kissing skills.”

He shook his head like he was offended. “Good first try, but you got owned once I took over the kissing.”

The sexy bastard wasn’t wrong.

“Everything’s not a competition,” I said, pretending to sound wise. “Tell you what—if you’re nice, I’ll try to impress you again when you least expect it.”

He laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Wanna go for a little hike this morning? There’s a trail behind the cabin that leads to a waterfall. It’s got a thirty-foot drop, and it’s fuckin’ beautiful this time of year. I like to hike out there and look for arrowheads.”

My heart warmed at the idea. “That sounds perfect.”

“That sounds like an amazing way to spend the morning,” I told him.

“It is,” he deadpanned. “That is, if the wolves don’t come after us. They’re pack animals, you know. We wouldn’t stand a chance on our own.”

I shot him a withering look. “Go get dressed while I clear the table.”

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