I’m spared when a nurse walks in.
“Ms. Wilson?”
“That’s me,” the blonde says, facing the nurse.
“Your brother just woke up. He’s asking for you. If you’d like to come with me?”
Liz turns to me and runs a lethal-looking, bright red fingernail down the front of my shirt. I have to curb the urge to snap it off.
“You gonna wait for me?” she purrs.
I step out of her reach and pull a rigid Sophia to my side.
“We’ll be heading out. I gotta get my woman home.”
With that I firmly steer Sophia out of the room and down the hall. Halfway to the front door she manages to slip from under my arm.
“I’m nobody’s woman,” she fires at me.
“Not yet.”
I let her dart outside in front of me and get on my bike as she gets in the Jeep.
Then I follow her home.
CHAPTER 5
Sophia
NORMALLY ON MONDAYS I do some laundry, clean, run any errands, and grab a few groceries. Today I haven’t gotten much further than hanging around on the couch, sipping coffee, and streaming Netflix on my laptop.
I did call the hospital first thing this morning to find out how Bernie made it through the night. As it turns out, not so good. When he woke up, he became incoherent and combative and they suspect his brain may be swelling. I guess that would mean surgery, as his doctor had indicated was a possibility.
I wish I’d had a chance last night to exchange numbers with his sister. The woman is alone in town and I could’ve given her a call, even though she’s already not my favorite person. She’d been borderline hostile to me yesterday, before Tse returned and whisked me out of the waiting room, but maybe that had been the stress of finding out her brother’s condition.
Yesterday was exhausting and I’d almost immediately rolled into bed when I got home. Of course, that was after Tse annoyingly insisted on following me, parked his bike alongside my Jeep in the driveway, and walked me to my door.
There was a moment I wondered whether he was going to try and kiss me. It wouldn’t have been the first attempt, he tried it once last year and I rebuffed him. Last night though, I’m afraid if he’d tried I might not have stopped him.
The man tempts and infuriates me in equal measure and it makes me feel off-kilter when I’m around him. He’s like chocolate, you know it’s bad for you if you make it part of your daily diet, but you tell yourself all you want is a little taste. Except, one taste leads to a constant craving.
My phone rings and I grab it off the coffee table. It’s Lisa.
“Hey.”
“Just heard what happened yesterday, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It was a bit of a shock, that’s all.”
She makes a humming sound.
“Mm-hmm, I bet you are. How about you come here for a bit of lunch? I know Brick will wanna see you.”
I look down on my ratty old yoga pants with the torn seam on my inner thigh. The most comfortable piece of clothing I own and I was hoping I could spend the rest of the day in. I’d have to get dressed.
“Oh, I don’t know…”
“Get your butt over here before my husband decides to come knockin’ on your door to see for himself you’re doing okay. Besides, Finn’s first birthday is next month. We need to plan.”
I grin. Not sure how much planning a birthday for a one-year-old requires, but her mention of Finn awakes a different kind of craving. That little boy has my heart and it’s been weeks since I’ve seen him. He’s the only man in my life I’d ditch these yoga pants for.
“Oh, all right. Give me an hour. I’m not dressed yet and I want a shower.”
“Fine. We’re in the clubhouse.”
I don’t get a chance to change my mind because she’s already hung up.
The clubhouse. I assumed she meant lunch at their place. I should’ve asked before agreeing. I don’t feel like running into Tse, or Wapi, for that matter. The last few times I was at the clubhouse you could cut the tension with a knife.
Maybe they won’t be there. It’s the middle of day on a Monday; surely those guys have work to do. A girl can wish.
I drag my ass into the bathroom and take the next half hour to get ready. Then I grab my purse, check my wallet for some cash for the dessert I want to pick up on the way, and head downstairs.
I lucked out at the City Market downtown. They had a dozen pastéis de nata left. Mom makes those Portuguese custard tarts for special occasions and despite trying my hand at them for years, I can never quite get them right. The ones they sell at the bakery in the City Market are the closest to my mother’s recipe I’ve ever tasted, and I’m craving a little comfort food.
Only a few motorcycles are parked in front of the clubhouse when I drive up and I sigh a breath of relief. Looks like most of the club is out, which suits me just fine. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the sanctuary the club offered me last year, but the testosterone runs so thick in there sometimes it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Sophia!”
My name is called as soon as I get out of my vehicle and when I turn I watch Brick walk toward me, wiping his hands on a rag. He must’ve been working in the garage and seen me drive up. As soon as he’s close enough, he pulls me in for one of his bear hugs. He smells of motor oil and mountain air, and for a moment I linger in his arms. Every time I see him he greets me like he hasn’t seen me in years, instead of a few weeks at most.
I get it. When
