Chapter Fourteen

Grace

Cullen wasn’t the most punctual person on earth. Oh, he’d make sure church with the Cobras started at eight sharp. But when it came to how long he’d be gone when he said he was going out, I knew better than to take his word as gospel. I knew better than to make dinner plans or hang around waiting for him.

He was never on time when it came to me.

So when he said that he’d bring dinner home, I figured we’d probably end up eating at his dinnertime, which was ten at night. Having a baby that woke me up at daybreak, ten had quickly become my bedtime.

But as Ella napped, I decided to keep myself busy. There was a lot of work to be done, cleaning and baby-proofing the house. I got back to work, tossing all of the liquor bottles into the trash. Then I cleaned the kitchen, did some laundry, and baby-proofed most of the rooms that I thought Ella was likely to explore.

When I was done, I felt a little better about having Ella in the house. The place was more like a home and a bit less like a bachelor pad.

I looked at the clock and realized it was after five. He’d been gone almost two hours already.

Sighing, I climbed the stairs. I needed to get Ella up or else she wouldn’t sleep at night. When I got her up, I decided to feed her dinner in the brand new high chair that Cullen had bought for her. I fixed a chicken breast and vegetables and when she started chomping on it, my stomach started to grumble.

When my stomach grumbled for mashed carrots and peas and bland chicken, I knew I had a problem. I was starving.

Ella was wide awake, so I read a book to her but mostly I chased her from room to room. Where was Cullen? Not only was I starving, but my little darling was wearing me out. It was past six, almost six-thirty.

Cullen had made it clear he didn’t want me to leave. He’d armed the alarm when he left and told me to stay put. But that was fine as long as he would be holding up his end of the bargain and coming home when he Goddamn said he would.

Which he wouldn’t.

Ella had been cooped up in the house all. She needed to get out and get some fresh air. Hell, I needed to get out. Maybe I’d take Ella to the beach. And stop by the clubhouse and tell him to hurry his ass up.

That was actually a good idea. For so long, Cullen had always acted like it was either the Cobras or me. Like he couldn’t have both; he could only choose one or the other. I was sure the other Cobras had probably heard stories about me being an old ball and chain. He’d probably told them that I couldn’t deal with him being a Cobra and I’d constantly nagged him to quit it. If I showed up and was supportive, maybe he wouldn’t see the Cobras and me as two opposing sides. Maybe he wouldn’t feel the need to put me second. Maybe he’d realize we could definitely work this out.

A plan filled my mind as I finished scraping up the last of the carrots from the container. Yes, he’d said that church was sacred. Members only. What happened at church, stayed at church. But Cullen was president and used to bending the rules. Plus, if I showed up in my little black number, he’d never be able to hold a grudge.

I wiped Ella’s mouth with a bib. “Want to see where daddy works?” I asked her.

She nodded excitedly and clapped her hands.

All right. I’d gone through a bunch of papers during the clean-up spree and located an address on the bay for a warehouse he was renting. I figured that had to be the clubhouse. I lifted the receiver on his phone and called for a cab.

Then I went upstairs, dressed myself in my slinkiest black dress, and put Ella in her cutest red romper. “Two hot mamas, out on the town, right girl?” I said as I propped her up on the sink and wet her curls to bounce them back into ringlets.

“Mama,” she said, pointing at my reflection.

“Yes, baby. Let’s go see daddy. He’s got a date with us.”

When I finished brushing my hair and applying lip gloss, I looked out the window and saw the cab there. Cullen had a stack of cash in his armoire and had told me to help myself. So I lifted some twenties from the stack and stuffed them into my purse.

Then I disarmed the alarm to step outside and hurried to the cab with Ella in my arms.