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Eye roll.
The truth is that we agreed we’d focus on our careers before jumping into something permanent. Rhett is a member of the Wind Dragons motorcycle club, just like my own father, and just like most of the people I love in this world. He’s making his way up the ranks of the MC, and I know how important that is to him. His cut is a lot more than just a vest—it’s his way of life, and it consumes most of his time. The MC is lucky to have him.
Amy shrugs, and I can only guess that she heard some sort of new rumor about me. “Nothing, I was just wondering.”
“She’s dating that biker dude,” Sam calls out from the back of the class. He’s one of my more...stubborn teenagers, and often spends his days in the principal’s office.
Biker dude. How simple they make Rhett sound, when he is anything but.
“There’s no rulebook to when someone gets married, if ever,” I tell the class. “And that’s all we will be saying about that.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to get married. My dad said it was the worst mistake he ever made,” Peter, another student, comments.
I think about the marriage my mother has with my father. And then I think about Clover and her husband, Felix. Marriage can be a beautiful thing, as long as you choose the right person. Who you marry is a lot more important than when you get married.
I change the subject and continue with my lesson. Thank God this school year is almost over.
When the school day is finished, I get into the black Mercedes Benz CLK that my parents bought me, place all my documents on the passenger seat and head home. I turn the music off, just because after a day of teaching, I need a little silence to process the day.
When I pull up at my big black electric gate, I press the button on my set of keys and it starts to open. Being the daughter of a biker has always made me be overly careful with security, because I have seen too many things throughout my life for me to get comfortable. I head up my driveway and wait until the gates close and lock before I get out of my car and go inside. I bought this house last year with Rhett—a newly built four-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-story home. It’s close to work, and a twenty-minute drive to my parents’ house and the clubhouse. This house is the one I intend to live in forever.
I feel at peace as I step inside, canvas prints covering the cream walls of the entry. I smile at the big picture of me and Clover. We’re back to back and posing at a festival, both of us covered in glitter and sparkles. When Clover got married, I worried that maybe our friendship wouldn’t be the same, but instead of losing my best friend, I gained another. Felix always makes me feel welcome, and lets me know how important I am in not only Clover’s life, but now his, too.
Some bonds never break—they strengthen.
I get comfortable on the couch, kick off my heeled sandals and lie back with my phone in my hands. I send Rhett a message asking if he’s still coming home instead of staying at the clubhouse, and then pull out the English papers that need to be graded tonight.
It’s late by the time I’m done, so I order in some dinner, take a shower, and then jump into bed, getting prepared to do it all again tomorrow.
And Rhett?
He never even texted me back, and he never came home.
Just another day in the life of an almost old lady.
* * *
Friday night comes around and I meet Clover at Riley’s, our local bar, to catch up. She works for the FBI but is currently taking time off so she can stay at home with her beautiful one-year-old, Sapphire, who is also my goddaughter.
“Look at this picture I took of Fire today.” She beams, passing me her phone.
I smile at her big blue eyes, mop of dark hair and her mom’s smile. “She is so cute.”
I scroll through pictures of Sapphire with Felix, already knowing how much she has him wrapped around her finger, along with Clover’s parents, Faye and Dex Black. The genes in that family are fierce, and Sapphire shares her mother’s hair and eyes, so I know she’ll be a knockout when she’s older.
“She’s trouble,” Clover replies, but with pride in her tone.
“Wonder where she got that from?” I tease, swallowing the last of my beer. “It’s in the bloodline.”
“Her dad is normal.” She smirks, referring to her cop husband, Felix. “But you’re right, I have no chance—she’s going to be a little hellraiser.”
I’m sad that I don’t get to see them as much lately and be part of my goddaughter’s everyday life. Clover moved down south when she went to the police academy and met Felix, which is about two hours away, with traffic. I thought when she quit the force she’d move back, but she and Felix made a home down there, so I only see them every few months.
“There’s a reason that Fire is the perfect nickname for her.” I grin.
Clover puts her phone away and studies me, before moving her eyes to her drink and twirling her straw around the vodka. “So how’s things with Rhett?”
Here we go. You’d think that she’d let me finish my drink first before going for the jugular.
