Page 45 of Bride for the Bikers

“Ain't that the truth?” Emily shrugs, then grabs my hand. “Come on. Help us look.”

“What? But I—” They give me no choice, dragging me to stairs heading down into darkness.

The guys just watch, smartly not getting in the way. Pretty sure these women are a force to be reckoned with.

Faith flips on the light and Emily tells me, “I've yet to see a girl show up with one of our teams and not be in some sort of trouble. So whatever your situation is, this is probably the best place to be. I’m sure the guys are distracting you in their own way, but sometimes you need to get away from all the testosterone and motor oil.”

I mean, she's not wrong.

In a corner in the basement is a couple of stacks of cardboard boxes. “Has to be one of these,” says Faith, pulling down the top one and opening it quickly. She shuts it even faster. “I'm actually surprised they didn't bring that one already, but… it's definitely not the one we're looking for. Maybe if they decide to make more. Far far in the future.”

“Can you help me with this?” Alessa asks, wiggling another box. “It's heavy.”

“Oh, sure.” I grab the other side and we get it down together. “Who's Summer?”

“One of the newest members of the Harem Brunch Club,” says Emily as she pulls a box open and shakes her head.

“That's an actual club?” I look at the other two to see if they're laughing. They’re not.

“Kind of. All the bikers get cool sounding team names so we had to make something up when there started to be a bunch of us.”

“Em is the OG,” Alessa says, pulling at another box, and I help her with that one too. “She's the old lady of King, Hero and WildChild. Me, I was number two, though technically I did meet my guys first.”

“We’ve discussed this. It doesn’t count,” Emily says with a grin. “I was the first one Eagle-eye had to deal with.”

Faith put a hand on her hip. “If we’re going by that definition. I’m his daughter, he’s been dealing with me the longest.”

Emily waves a hand. “Whatever. Summer’s the one about to burst open, and Natalie and Kaylee are there with her. Aaaaand, that's all of us… so far anyway.”

“It's a lot of names,” I say. “I'm sorry, but I think I already forgot half of them.”

Emily grins. “It’s fine. If you stick around long enough you’ll figure it out.”

“I'm telling you, we're not—”

“Don’t pressure her, Em. I’ve never gotten the feeling that Team Wrecking Ball was looking to claim an old lady. Lightning and Thunder definitely, um… work together, but just because it works for us doesn’t mean it has to work for everyone.”

Faith nods. “It takes a lot of trust, and a really strong bond. Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with them, but not all the teams are cut out for it.”

“They have that,” I say confidently, wanting to defend them. “It might not be with me, but they are amazing together.”

“I bet,” Alessa says with a dirty chuckle. “Maybe you can settle a question we've had about the twins. Are they identical… all the way?”

Faith snorts a laugh.

I bite my lip.

“Oh, come on!” Emily exclaims. “We won't tell anyone.”

“Okay, yeah,” I say, then cover my mouth with my hand like I just let slip a big secret. Two very big secrets. “They're exactly the same.”

“I knew it!” says Faith just as Alessa holds up a black onesie with a stroller with motorcycle wheels on it.

“Found the box! Let's get going!” She lifts it and starts for the stairs.

On their way out, Emily turns. “It was nice to meet you, Harper. Maybe we’ll do brunch sometime.” Then, with a wink, she’s gone.

“Yeah… maybe,” I find myself answering to thin air.

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