Epilogue

Delilah

 

One year later…

 

“Are you sure you can handle it, Mom? The dinner rush is coming, and I don’t want to leave you short-staffed or without another eye doing the books.”

 

“No, no, no. I’ve got this. You’ve worked the last ten nights, and you, more than anyone else, deserve a night off. Go on! Go enjoy it!”

 

“I know, but with the baby and the restaurant, it’s too much. This is a two-person job, Mom.”

 

“Honey, I’ve run a restaurant for the majority of my life. I know this business like the back of my hand. So, when I tell you there’s nothing to worry about, there’s nothing to worry about. Trust me. Ariel will be running lead in the front of house, and she’s got that down now. There isn’t anything we can’t manage with you.” Mom grins saucily as she leans in and whispers in my ear, “Plus, I know how much this night means to Race and you.”

 

“It’s not a big deal,” I say a little bashfully, “it’s just a date.”

 

“It’s your anniversary!” she exclaims, a look of mock-horror taking over her face.

 

“Well… Yeah…” I admit. “Yeah, it is that.”

 

“And after everything that went down that night with your dad and our deal with Nicco to open this diner, you better believe that it is a big deal. The last year has been crazy, Del. You have to admit that much. So, for Christ’s sake, give yourself a break from time to time. Or at least this time. Let yourself enjoy a night off with no baby, no restaurant, no mom-boss.”

 

“I’d never call you ‘mom-boss’,” I say playfully. “And besides, I don’t even have anything to wear. After Mateo’s birth, I can’t seem to fit into my old things. Everything’s all over the place now.”

 

“I wouldn’t worry about that. Race dropped off a pretty bag I may have peeked into while you were bussing tables.”

 

“Mom! Seriously! What the hell?”

 

“Oh, come on. Relax, we’re all adults here. Besides, I was just curious. Can’t a girl dream?” She looks at me with those moony eyes. Ever since my father appeared and then disappeared again, she has started to put herself out there on the dating scene. Her first date was with an old dog that used to bum around her old diner. She’s never told me how it went, but if they’re still together, she’s keeping it pretty tight-lipped.

 

“Yeah, yeah, sure, a girl can dream,” I chide, “but I’d still appreciate it if you stayed out of my shit.”

 

“Just look at it, Del,” she says with mild reproachfulness – but a thin smile belies her tone.

 

It’s been quite the transition going in on a business with my mom at the head. Surprisingly enough, she seamlessly took over the management of the new place. She started off by picking out a location that could easily bring in the boys after their shifts. She instituted a twenty-five percent discount to Devils wearing their colors and a fifty percent off deal for their dates.

 

The BB Cafe took off, bringing in more money than she could have ever dreamed of making as a waitress. As her second in command, I’m not forgotten when it’s time to split the profits.

 

For me, however, I’ve only been back for a few months now. Giving up time with Mateo was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. There is the new home to attend to and the baby to bring up, but Race pushed me pretty hard to take the role, noting how I had a spirit similar to his.

 

“You need to work,” he told me. “To have purpose, to be independent.”

 

And he was right. While being a mom came naturally for me on most days, being cooped up in the home for twenty-four hours a day sure as hell wasn’t. I found myself easily going from waitress to mom to restaurant manager in under a year.

 

My mom waves me off towards the door, pushing me through the office we share. “I left the bag, along with the rest of your items, back in the staff bathroom. I’ll guard the door. You get changed and put on some fresh makeup.”

 

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. The idea of a new dress, one that Race had picked out for me, is thrilling. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t covered in spilled food, spit up, or road dust.

 

I race off towards the bathroom and shut the door quickly behind me. A bright red bodycon dress is tossed neatly over the towel holder with a pair of matching stilettos lined up neatly underneath it. The color practically takes my breath away.

 

It’s a perfect fit, sliding down the long lines of my changed body. My new curves fill out the strapless top nicely. Even I give myself a second glance in the mirror before I head back outside.

 

“Damn!” Ariel sings out across the busy restaurant. I try to conceal my blush as about a million eyes turn in my direction.

 

“Fucking hell,” one of the bikers sitting at the countertop mutters to another, “Race is one lucky son of a bitch.” I stand a little straighter at that.

 

He is lucky. After all that we’ve been through, after over a year being the claim of the second-in-command of one of the largest motorcycle clubs in L.A., and a new mom and business owner, we have had our struggles. There have been times I’ve wanted to rip his eyes out, especially after Mateo was born. And I’m sure there were times when he was ready to pack it up and go back to bachelorhood. But I can’t see any of those times as I proudly walk towards the doors of the restaurant in the fancy dress my man has bought for me.

 

“He’s got good taste. I’ll give him that.” Ariel smiles as she gently rubs my back. “He’s also hell romantic for a guy who spends his days beating the shit out of other men. Can he give Seb some tips?”

 

“Seb’s a great guy, Ariel,” I remind her. Without him and his quick thinking, I’d be looking over my shoulder every time I stepped out the door.

 

The first few weeks after that night with my dad had been tough. I didn’t trust my new freedom – always wondering when my father would come after me. I watched his case from afar – tracing his arrest and the court trials for murder and conspiracy until he was put away for life without parole.

 

There are some days I feel horrible for him and wonder if he really did just want his family back together. But then I look at Race with Mateo, and I know how wrong that thought is. A real father is present. A real father stays with their family no matter what. A real father is man enough to do what is right for the mother of his children.

 

“Any sign of him?” I ask Ariel as she leans against the hostess stand.

 

“I think that’s sign enough!” she exclaims as she walks around to the front. My eyes go wide at the sight of the jet-black stretch limo pulling up to the door.

 

“He didn’t,” I mutter.

 

“Oh, he did,” Ariel corrects me.

 

A slicked up, cleaned up Race steps out the passenger door wearing a button-down black shirt and tight black trousers. He’s still sporting those motorcycle boots he never takes off, but this look… I can get used to. My heart thumps loud in my chest with my stomach going up and down with the beat. I gulp as he opens the door to the restaurant. A warm breeze sweeps through, but I’m all goosebumps.

 

“Y-you look…” he stammers, staring at me.

 

“No, no… you look…”

 

“Here, I’ll help,” Ariel jokes. “You both look like you’ve stepped off a red carpet or something. Now go on, get going! No one wants to spend their anniversary at a diner with these dirty riders!”

 

I try to suck back my laugh as I take Race’s hand and walk towards the car. He says nothing until we’re inside and the car’s already taken off.

 

“I didn’t know what to do for our anniversary. I was never good at this kind of thing.”

 

“Really? Because this and the dress were enough…”

 

“No. It’s not enough. It’s never going to be enough for you, Del. The things I want for you and our family… I could never fully tell you how much you mean to me.”

 

“Then don’t tell me,” I instruct him, placing my hand on his face. I press my lips against his, taking in his familiar scent and taste. It’s enough to make me go completely mad with want. Need.

 

I move closer to him so that I nearly wind up in his lap with my bare legs draped across him. He cups a piece of my firm backside in his hand, massaging and toying with my skin. A few fingers travel under the line of my dress until the hem is pulled up towards my hips.

 

“Here?” I ask, already knowing the answer. I could take him anywhere.

 

“Here,” he replies firmly, catching my eyes in the dim light of the skyscrapers and office buildings the limo drives by.

 

Race’s lips move towards my neck and down towards my clavicle. I hold onto him tightly. My fingers move through his hair as he kisses the tops of my breasts while using his jaw to move down the neckline so that it rolls over my nipples and to my stomach. I can’t help but let out a deep sigh as his tongue travels around the tip of my erect nipple until it’s encased in his warm, wet mouth. My body dips back so that it falls onto the seat. He follows me, his body neatly tumbling on mine. My legs part, letting him in.

 

He stops his traveling hand and his roaming mouth to ask, “What’s this? No panties? I thought you were wearing a thong…”

 

I smile back. “Not tonight. Is that okay?”

 

“Dammit,” he growls out. “That’s more than okay.”

 

Race leans back into me, going to work on the rest of my body. I watch as his head moves down the line of my stomach to the naked spaces between my thighs. My body hums and turns warm at the delicious feeling of him pressing his mouth against my skin.

 

Enjoying every bit of him and the way he shows his love, I close my eyes and let go.

 

THE END