Sarah pushed a spiral notebook in front of me and handed me a pen.
“Answer the questionnaire, please, ma’am,” Sarah said in what could only be described as her customer service voice and smiled sweetly at me. “We’ll get you set up and married in a flash.”
“A questionnaire?” I asked as I looked down at the paper in front of me.
“Things like sizes, favorite colors, favorite flowers - all the important shit. I’ll need you to list your second and third choice on some of those since we’re under a time crunch.”
“You’d be much better off to just fly to vegas like Zeke and I did,” Lisa told me. “Carlie and Sam did the same thing the weekend after us. We watched each other’s kids.”
“Rowdy wants me to meet everyone. He said I’ll feel safer that way.”
“That’s a nice gesture. He wants you to feel comfortable,” Kari shrugged. “He doesn’t understand how hard it will be to go from constantly looking over your shoulder and keeping your head down so no one notices you to being in front of a crowd where everyone knows your name.”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “He said he was going to invite his close friends and family, so I’m not sure why we need the dress and the flowers. It’s probably going to be just you guys and his dad, really.”
“Oh, no, honey,” Carlie laughed. “That’s not how this works at all. The entire club will be there with kids and wives in tow. So will the Texas Kings and their families. That covers Rowdy’s idea of friends and family. He might even invite some other people, too, like Nicole and the others from the shelter.”
“Most definitely Nicole,” Rowdy said from the doorway behind me causing me and Sarah to both jump. He stuck his hand out to Sarah and handed her a sheet of paper, “Here’s a list of other people besides both clubs. You know how to get in touch with all of them already.”
“Once we settle on a time and place, I’ll get in touch with Bird’s wife, Summer. As the club president’s wife, she’s got a system in place already. Of course, if Carlie and Lisa would take over, I could teach them how to do all that, but no,” Kari drawled with an eyeroll. “They just leave it to me.”
“You’re the princess,” Carlie shrugged with a smile. “No sense in dethroning you.”
“Piss off,” Kari flipped off her sister-in-law.
I laughed softly, guessing that this was a long-standing argument.
“We have to put up with your brothers,” Lisa shrugged. “The least you could do is run things to make up for that hardship.”
“Hardship my ass,” Sarah growled. “You two still can’t keep your hands off each other. I know that was you two in the storage room at the clubhouse that night.”
“La la la la,” Kari said loudly with her hands over her ears.
I laughed again, this time along with everyone but Kari. Rowdy leaned down and kissed me on the lips.
“Reagan called and he’s on his way with the girls,” Rowdy said quietly. “Why don’t we get them and then run to your place so you two can pack a bag for our trip?”
I smiled and nodded, a blush taking over my cheeks at his nearness. He dropped another soft kiss on my lips and turned around to walk back into the house.
“Please tell me that his ass looks that good even without the faded jeans,” Sarah whispered. “I’ll hate you, but I really want to know.”
I glanced over at Carlie and Lisa and they were both leaning closer to me waiting to hear my answer.
“It’s fantastic,” I whispered, remembering how I watched him walk from the bed to the bathroom in only his boxer briefs. “Like a sculpture.”
All three women sighed in unison and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah,” Sarah drawled. “Now I have to hate you.”
◆◆◆
“Okay, Mom,” Lexi was standing in the doorway of my room in our apartment, her hands crossed over her chest as she stared at me. “What’s going on?”
“I told you,” I said, exasperated that she wasn’t packing like I’d told her to do twice already. “We’re going to stay at Rowdy and Leia’s house tonight and then head out of town tomorrow.”
“Are we running?” Lexi whispered.
“No, baby,” I said softly and smiled as I turned to look at my daughter. “We’re not running. We’re not going to run anymore.”
“How can you know that?”
“Things are changing for us, sweetheart,” I told her as I pulled her into my arms. It squeezed my heart when her head was too high for me to rest my chin on it like I had done just a week or so ago. God, she was growing up so fast it scared me. “Rowdy and I will talk to you and Leia about it this evening, but first we have to get packed for our trip and then he has something at his house he wants to show you.”
“Is he your boyfriend now?” Lexi asked as she pulled back to look into my eyes. I didn’t think I was lying to her when I nodded. She must have believed me because her eyes got wide and she whispered, “Really?”
“Yeah, baby,” I nudged her toward the door. “Go get your things you’ll want for the trip. Gather up a book or two and some stuff to draw and write on and I’ll be in there to help you pack your clothes in just a few minutes.”
“I like him, Mom,” Lexi told me. “Leia said that he’s the greatest dad ever and his eyes are soft, you know?”
“I know, sweetie. Now get moving!”
Lexi scurried out of my room and I turned to open my dresser drawer and gather up underwear for the next week. I dug past the everyday stuff that I had and went to the special occasion underwear that I had bought years ago and never worn.
I thought about what Lexi had said about Rowdy’s eyes. She was right. They were
