Page 22 of Xactly What She Needs

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” I stutter, feeling like a total jerk. “You both just seem like you’ve been together forever.”

Dee waves a hand in the air. “Nothing to be sorry about sweetheart.” She gives me a kind smile. “And the reason we know each other sowell isthat we were together before I met my husband.”

I blink and then blink some more trying to process what she said through my wine fogged mind.

Mac starts to chuckle while shaking his head. “Ours is a long story,”heshrugs. “Basically, I lost the girl to another man, but eventually I won the woman.”

I tilt my head at him. “Were you married to Xander and Jax’s mom?”

He snorts into his beer. “Nah, Darlin’, their mother was only in it for the thrill of being on the back of a bike. She rode off with another man before my boys were even out of diapers.”

“That’s horrible,” I mumble, because seriously, who does that? “I can’t imagine a mother just leaving her children.”

“Hrmph.” Dee growls impressively. “That woman was no mother. She was an egg donor, at best. Those boys were better off without her selfish ass hanging around.” The venom in her voice makes me want to hide under a table. I resist, but just barely. “Leaving sweet babies like that. I hope she ended up with crotch rot.”

I chose the wrong moment to take a sip of my wine. It goes spraying all over the floor, making me turn one hundred shades of red. My hand goes to my mouth, just too late. “Oh my god, I am so sorry!” I mutter behind my hand.

“What is going on over here?” The voice that sends pleasant shivers down my spine questions.

I look up into his dark eyes and want to crawl into a hole at the humor I see reflected in them.

“Dee happened,” Mac drawls, his eyes twinkling.

Xander nods his head. “Makes sense then.”

Dee whacks Mac across the chest with the back of her hand. “It wasn’t my fault.” Liar. “I was just telling her about your egg donor.”

Xander’s cheek twitches. “And that caused Bri to spew wine all over the place?" heasks dubiously. I’m guessing he’s known her long enough to know she isn’t telling the whole truth.

Jax pops up like a freaking ninja and hands me a paper towel. I give him a grateful smile as I wipe my mouth.

Dee purses her lips and mumbles, “I may have also said that I hope that awful woman has crotch rot.” She sounds like a sullen child. Good grief, how do they handle her? “But, really, no momma should ever leave her babies, that just is not right.”

Xander and Jax look at each other and have some weird silent communication before looking at Mac. “Really Pop?” Xander asks. “This is really who you waited for, for like thirty years?”

“Damn right.” Mac shines with pride.

“This is exactly why you two boys are single,” Dee huffs.

“We’re grown ass men, Dee,” Xander grumbles butis utterlyignored.

“At least I have kids who are happily married and giving me tons of grand babies.”

Jax lifts an eyebrow. “Your daughter-in-law tried to drown one of your sons atgunpoint.”

My eyes go wide but that’s all I can manage. What the hell?

She waves a hand in the air, something she seems to do quite often. “Psh, he deserved it. Plus, that gun wasn’t even loaded.” She looks around the room and smiles. “And if that hadn’t happened, my sweet Kayla would’ve never met and been handcuffed by Marc. We all would’ve missed out on having the world’s sweetest man in the family.”

“He’s over in the corner teaching all of the kids how to tell someone to Fuck Off without actually saying the words,” Xander drawls, his arms crossed against his chest.

“I swear, I love that boy more and more each day.” She takes a massive gulp of her wine. “He really is my favorite.”

“How do you even go about that?” I ask, trying to focus on anything but the last minute of conversation, there’s just too much to digest.

“Well,” Xander smirks and shakes his head, “he’s telling them that if someone pisses them off, to tell them to sit on a cactus and spin. I’m not sure what else because my ass wasn’t going over there and gettin’ropedin when Kay finds out.”

“He really is the creative one in the family.” Dee gushes like a proud peacock.

---