Chapter Twenty-Five
Ian
“Guess what?” Chris said as I walked into the shop.
“What?” I asked.
“I have breakfast rolls. I walked passed this vendor today, and it smelt so good. So I got us each one. You see, I’m a good friend.”
I laughed. “Thank you. I actually already ate this morning, but I’ll keep it for lunch.”
“You already ate? What did you have?”
“Bacon, eggs, toast, coffee. The lot!”
“What? Since when do you get up early to make breakfast? Ah!” Chris said as the realization dawned on him. “Your girlfriend made it for you!”
“She’s not my girlfriend. But yes, Eliza made me breakfast.”
“Lucky man. And then you get to work and your best friend has food for you too? What did you do to deserve this treatment?”
I chuckled as he threw the roll to me. It was wrapped in foil and still warm. I put it aside to have later. Chris was already tucking into his with great fervor.
“People are finally treating me like the king that I am,” I said.
“Ha! You wish. So, any news on the ex? Has he returned?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Nothing at all.”
“And yet you’re still hanging out with Eliza?”
“You know, something about the whole thing seems strange to me. The dude finds out where she is and then doesn’t come after her? But at the same time, he stops calling her completely? He doesn’t exactly sound like the guy that would just suddenly forget about the whole thing. I’m telling you, he’s planning something. I am certain that he’s going to come and find her. I don’t know when, but I just know it’s going to happen. I’ve met plenty of jerks like him before. They don’t let things go easily. He hates the fact that Eliza was the one that left him. He’s so used to having control over her. He’ll be here. I’m sure of it.”
Chris sighed. “I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right. What are you going to do when he does?”
“I have no idea. But I’m definitely going to make sure that he doesn’t come back. Anyway, before I get started, I need to go talk to my father. Thanks for the roll again. I’ll definitely have it later.”
“I sort of regret giving it to you. I want another one. They were good, man.”
“No way,” I said. “You gave it to me.”
Chris chuckled. “Well, if it’s not there when you come out, it’s not my fault.”
I grabbed the roll and put it in my pocket, and then headed over to my father’s office while Chris shouted obscenities at me. I decided not to tell him about what I had learned about my father. If my father hadn’t even told me about it, then I wasn’t sure he wanted everyone to know.
“Hi, Dad,” I said as I walked in.
My father looked up at me. I now knew why he was looking older these days. He wasn’t just tired; he was ill.
“What’s all the commotion about?”
I pointed to the foil sticking out of my pocket. “Ah, just Chris trying to steal my food. Nothing unusual.”
“Yep, that sounds like a regular day for the two of you.”
“Listen, Dad, Patriot told me about the cancer. I’m not sure why you didn’t tell me, but I just wanted you to know that he told me.”
My father shrugged. “Oh, it’s no big deal. It’s treatable. I’ll be fine.”
I knew my father well enough to know that it wasn’t fine. But like me, he wasn’t one to show when he was upset.
“Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know that I know. Also, I’ve given some thought to the whole club thing. And yeah, I’ll give it a shot. But I’m only going to watch the club until you are well enough to take over again. You are meant for the job, Dad. Not me. But I’ll help out until you get better.”
My father looked at me and nodded. “Okay, thanks, Ian,” he said.
Thanks, Ian. Was that it? He’d been begging me to consider taking the position all week, and that was all that he could say to me. I thought about saying something else but then decided that I didn’t want to get into it, either. I stood up to leave.
“Okay, then. Well, we can discuss things further another time. For now, I better get back to work. It’s another busy day in the shop.”
“Great,” my father said. “Good luck. I’m sure it will go fast. And tell Chris to stop stealing your food.”
I walked out and told Chris what my father had said, which resulted in another string of obscenities thrown my way. I then went straight to the bikes and started working on them. I put the music up loud and tried to drown out my thoughts. But it wasn’t easy. I kept going back to the conversation with my father, and the conversation with Patriot. The whole thing made me uneasy.
I worked about two hours late that evening, which was quite normal for a Friday. I tried to be quick so that I could go home and see Eliza, but I simply couldn’t rush some of the work. I wondered if she was waiting for me at home.
I saw her car the moment I arrived, and when I opened the door, I was greeted with the strong of spaghetti bolognese. She walked up to me and handed me a glass of red wine and kissed me gently on the mouth.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t know where the beer was. And anyway, it felt like a red wine sort of night.”
I took a sip and smiled. “It’s perfect. You’re cooking?”
She grinned. “Yeah. It felt like an Italian sort of night.”
“I thought you weren’t great in the kitchen?”
“Ah, but anyone can make spaghetti bolognese,” she said timidly.
“You’re wonderful,” I said and pulled her in again.
“You know,” she said as she looked me up and down. “You could pass for an Italian. What about me? Think I could?”
I chuckled. “Your bright-blue eyes give you away, Lashes. You’re a California girl.”
She looked down at her feet, and I knew that I’d said the wrong thing. “I think I’m an Arizona girl,” she said quietly.
“Oh, you are. But tonight, we’re Italian.”
She looked up and grinned at me. “We are! I like your house, by the way. I hope you don’t mind that I took over in the kitchen like this.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re making me dinner. I don’t mind at all. I’m glad you like my house. I do, too.”
“I’ll be honest though; it wasn’t what I expected.”
I groaned. “Here we go again. You keep getting me wrong. What did you expect?”
She giggled. “I don’t know. I guess I thought it would be more manly.”
I looked around in horror. “It’s not manly?”
“Well, it’s not girly, either. But it’s nice. You look after your place. And it’s actually very creative. I studied interior design for a year. I changed my mind when I realized it wasn’t for me, but I learned a lot in that year. And you actually have a good eye for it.”
“I’m not sure whether to be happy about that statement or not. I mean, I have a reputation to uphold you know.”
“Big, bad biker? Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone that you have a softer side.”
“You better not,” I said and laughed. “To be honest, about two years ago my house did not look like this. I lived in a rougher part of town, and the only decorations I had in the house were empty beer cans, which I had stacked proudly against the wall.”
“Really? So, what changed?”
“I guess I grew up,” I said.
“Do you miss that lifestyle though?”
“Do I miss coming home to an apartment that smells like stale beer? Not so much. I’m a lot happier with who I am now.”
Eliza smiled. “I like who you are too. And I feel the same. I’m a very different person to who I was last year. Hell, I’m a different person to who I was a month ago. So, did you talk to your father today?”
I took a sip of the red wine and watched as Eliza did the same. Her lips were beginning to turn red, and it was starting to turn me on. The red wine was tasty, but I had a feeling I’d enjoy it a lot more if I drank it off of her. I shook my head to stop my thoughts from going that way and concentrated on the conversation instead.
“I did. He was a bit funny about it, to be honest. He didn’t say much other than that it was no big deal.”
“He sounds like you,” Eliza said.
“You’re not the first person to say that to me these days. I’m starting to wonder if it’s true. Anyway, I guess he just didn’t want to speak about it. I suppose I can understand that. I told him that I was going to look after the club while he was getting better.”
“You did? That’s wonderful news!”
“Well, I didn’t say that I would take over from him for good. I just said that I would do it while he was away. Patriot told me that he would be in an out of the hospital for a few months. So while he’s recovering, I’ll look after the club. But after that, he must take it back. It’s far more suited to him.”
“I think you’re doing a lovely thing. In fact, I happen to think that what you’re doing is incredibly sexy.”
I looked at her in surprise. “Sexy? Why do you say that?”
“First, it’s always a turn on to see a guy do something nice for his father. Second, I quite like the idea of you taking control of the club. You have a lot more power and influence than you realize, Gunner.”
“I have a question,” I said suddenly. “How come sometimes you call me Ian, and sometimes you call me Gunner? It’s usually one or the other with people.”
She smiled bashfully and took a sip of her wine before saying anything.
“Are you blushing?” I asked.
“Maybe. It’s just . . . I guess I do it automatically. You’re Ian to me most of the time, I suppose. But, sometimes you become Gunner.”
“But why?”
“You’re Gunner when I’m thinking of you sexually?”
I grinned. I had not expected her to say that. “Didn’t you just call me Gunner?”
She bit her lip ever so slightly, and I felt my entire body give way to her. She nodded. “I did.”
“So, you’re thinking of me sexually?” I asked.
She nodded.
I put my glass of wine down and moved over to her. I took her glass and put it down too.
“I’m thinking about you in that way too, Lashes. Although, I don’t think I ever stop thinking about you in that way.”