Page 31 of The Secrets We Keep

When the girls and I are finished setting everything up for the evening, I head back to our suite to get ready. I shower, wash and style my hair, and put on some makeup. Grayson has been spoiling me since we got back together. He took me to the store to buy any makeup I wanted and to the mall to buy clothes. He even surprised me with clothes that he thought would look good on me, and he chose perfectly, because they do.

I look down at my arm, noticing the faint redness that remains. Thankfully it healed really well, and the new skin looks almost identical to the old, once the redness completely fades, it will look like nothing happened. I decide that it looks nice enough to wear something sleeveless tonight.

I walk into the closet and slip on a pair of figure-hugging jeans and a black tank top that dips low in my cleavage. I’m slipping on a pair of strappy sandals when a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

“You look incredible,” Grayson murmurs huskilyagainst my ear.

I chuckle as I spin in his arms to face him. He’s wearing dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and his leather cut. The shirt hugs his muscular arms and is tight across his chest. “So do you,” I tell him breathily as I lean up and plant a kiss on his lips. He attempts to deepen the kiss, but I push him back and tsk. “If we start that, we’ll never make it downstairs.”

“That’s fine with me,” he rasps.

I laugh as I move out of his hold and walk toward the door. “Let’s go, Gray. We have people to see.”

He rushes to get to my side and wraps an arm around me, his fingers digging into my hip. We call for Asher to follow us and Grayson guides us out of the suite, locking it behind us.

“How many people are going to be here?” Ash asks excitedly as he grabs Grayson’s free hand.

Gray doesn’t speak for a moment, his emotions getting the best of him. The easy affection that Asher shows him now makes my heart swell.They both deserve it.

“There’s going to be a lot of people. They’ll all be excited to meet you, too,” Grayson tells him with a wink.

As we get closer to the main room, chatter fills the air. Music is playing but it’s soft, for now. We walk into the room as a family and are met with cheers.

Gray puts his hands up and everyone quiets down. “Alright, alright. Thank you all for coming to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of our club! This weekend is a big party, but you will keep it PG until the kids leave later,” he warns everyone and is met with a few chuckles. “With that said, my old lady has spent most of the week getting this all ready, with the help of the girls and Chef. Let’s eat!”

The men cheer and all get in line, eager to get some food.

“Thanks for all of your help, beautiful,” Grayson murmurs into my ear.

I pat his chest. “It’s no problem.”

It really isn’t a problem. Grayson hasn’t let me return to work. He told me that it wasn’t safe to go back since Eric could retaliate, and in the same breath told me that I should do something I really want to do. If I want to work at all. We had an argument about it because I didn’t want to rely on anyone to support me, but I thought about it, and I can use this time to find something I truly love for work. Maybe even get back into culinary school.

“Well, the guys are always going to remember what you’re doing for us,” he tells me. “They’ve never had someone put this much care into the club.”

“Can we eat?” Asher asks jumping up and down.

“Yeah,” I tell him as I ruffle his hair. “Let’s get this starving boy some food.”

Chef really outdid himself with the food. There aretwo types of pasta, crab legs, fried shrimp, oysters, fried chicken, a glazed ham, and steaks. For sides we have mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, candied carrots, cheddar and broccoli rice, and salad. We even have cake, brownies, cookies, and ice cream for dessert.

We move along the food line and then take our seats by Rowan and Axel. Asher talks through dinner and Rowan listens raptly. He loves being an uncle and Ash loves being his nephew.

We finish eating and I motion for the girls to help me and Chef get things cleaned up. The music picks up and the club is filled with laughter. There are more people here than I could possibly count and I lost track of Grayson after dinner, but I make small talk with a few members while Asher and Paisley stick close to my side.

Asher tugs on my shirt, drawing my attention to him. “Mama, we want to go to Chef’s house!”

I smile. “Okay, let’s go find him.”

I usher the kids toward the kitchen, where I’m sure to find Chef, but we’re stopped before we can get there. Candy stands in front of the door, her eyes are bloodshot, and her hair is a mess. She looks like she’s on a binder. But most importantly, she’s not supposed to be here.

“Move,” I order her while I push the kids behind me.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” she slurs.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I say through clenched teeth. “Grayson is the president of this club, and he banned you from the Silver Springs’ charter.”

“I don’t know what he sees in you,” she spits as she stumbles forward. “You left him before; you’ll leave him again.”

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