Weaving through others, they crossed the grass and before they reached the couple, Layla could hear them talking.
‘Five more minutes, Lover,’ the female said, she had her back to the proceedings and the male faced into the yard, but he was so ensconced in shade that Layla couldn’t decipher his features. ‘You can stand there and count down the seconds in your head. Just smile and try to look like you’re having a good time.’
‘Smile?’ he growled.
‘Ok, maybe that’s asking a little much. Just try not to scare people.’
‘Hello!’ Ruger announced their approach, but Layla had a sense these people knew they were about to be descended upon.
‘Ruger,’ the female said, whirling around and landing a beaming smile on him as she tipped her head up to accept Ruger’s kisses on either cheek. Layla was sure she heard the male she still couldn’t see properly growl and it made her step back. Ruger did the same and held his champagne toward the female. ‘Drink?’
‘You make a very pretty couple,’ the female said, accepting the glass from Ruger.
‘Yes, this is Layla,’ Ruger said.
‘Layla Jansen,’ the female said. ‘We had figured that out. She and Drew have the same eyes.’
‘You know my brother?’ Layla asked.
‘This is Flick,’ Ruger said. ‘And the guy in the background is Rushe.’
And all the pieces fell into place. ‘Ah,’ Layla said, leaning in to give Flick a hug. She made no attempt to touch Rushe because she wasn’t sure he’d put her down in one piece. ‘Drew saved your life.’
‘Yes, he did,’ Flick said without compunction. ‘He helped me to save Rushe’s life too, but we don’t talk so much about that.’
‘Talk so much about what?’
Turning around, Layla saw Colt and Blaser approach with their women who greeted Flick, but they didn’t touch Rushe much as she had done. Flick held Bri’s hand and the women stood together as Flick rested a palm on her bump.
‘He’s going to be beautiful,’ Flick said, bending down to rest an ear against Bri’s stomach. Bri laughed and held her hands up.
Layla was confused. Bri had been quite demure about her bump and usually didn’t like anyone to touch it in public. But with Flick, she had no reservations.
‘Do you know it’s a boy?’ Colt asked Blaser. ‘You never told us.’
‘Bri knows,’ Blaser said. ‘She’s not telling me.’
‘She was the one who wanted it to be a secret in the first place,’ Colt said. ‘Women, always reserving the right to change their minds whenever it suits them.’
Flick stood up and made eye contact with Bri before hugging her again. Rushe took her shoulders and pulled Flick back to his chest. His arm came around her neck and he relaxed his hand on her shoulder.
‘So when are you two getting married?’ Flick asked Bri.
‘We just bought a house,’ Bri said. ‘Give us a chance… You two have been together longer than any couple here, shouldn’t we be asking you when do you plan to tie the knot?’
Flick opened her mouth, but Rushe spoke. ‘We are married,’ he said.
Flick clamped her mouth shut and turned her frown up over her shoulder in Rushe’s direction. ‘We are?’
‘Sure. I have a piece of paper that says so,’ Rushe said.
‘You had one of your contacts forge a marriage certificate? Did I sign it?’
‘Yep,’ he said, and squeezed her closer. ‘You think I’d take the risk of someone else making medical decisions about my body?’
‘He means mine,’ Flick said to the group. ‘There you go. We are married.’
‘So that just leaves Ruger and Layla,’ Lyssa said and all focus switched to them.
‘Talk of marriage brings Lay out in hives,’ Ruger said, looping an arm around her.
‘Actually, he hasn’t asked me,’ she said, digging an elbow into his ribs.
He lowered his mouth into her hair, but spoke so everyone could hear. ‘That’s because I like having you around. I’m getting used to it. I can’t have you running off.’
‘We’re looking at property,’ Layla said, letting herself smile at his sentiment. Although she shared it with the group, not Ruger. ‘Now that Dax has sold off everything from Jersey for us, we have a pretty decent nest egg.’
She hadn’t contributed nearly as much as Ruger had, but the salon was booked solid, months in advance, so she was earning more than he did at the moment.
‘You and Dax seem to be working well at the club,’ Colt said to Ruger. ‘Any issues?’
Ruger shook his head. ‘He’s a decent guy, a bit more direct than me, but we have our strengths.’
Layla had heard tales every day of different conflicts the men had dealt with and they were a good team. Ruger could use his easy charm and humour to defuse possible issues, and if that didn’t work out, Dax had the security guys working in tight formation to take out any threats to the women.
‘Dax’s wife Ivy has taken over all of the running of the garage,’ Blaser said. ‘I only check in once a week now, which has given us the chance to start looking for new premises for a second garage closer to home.’
‘Home,’ Ruger said. ‘Close to your mommy.’
‘Your mommy too,’ Bri said. ‘And she’s been a huge help.’
‘She has?’ Ruger asked. ‘I figured she’d be getting in your way.’
‘No, actually, she gets Blaser out of my way,’ Bri said, nuzzling her fiancé’s chest. ‘Without the garage and Risqué to worry about, he’s constantly under my feet. But your mom gives him plenty of jobs to keep him busy while I get our new place set up.’
‘You’re all getting your lives together. It’s impressive,’ Flick said. ‘And I hear you got your book deal, Doctor.’
Lyssa’s grin hadn’t moved all day, but Layla couldn’t blame her. She had everything she wanted in life. ‘Yes, it will be published next year,’ Lyssa said. ‘I’ll send you all signed copies.’
‘You can send mine to Serendipity. Rushe and I don’t have an address that we like to share,’ Flick said. ‘But I would love to read about your observations especially in Risqué. I worked in a kind of gentleman’s bar myself once.’
‘We’re not talking about that,’ Rushe said.
The exploits of Rushe and Flick probably didn’t belong in any book, at least not any one that wasn’t R-rated. That thread of conversation had been shut down by Rushe. The only person who might argue with him was Flick and right now she was saying nothing. So Colt moved the group on to a new topic, one that the men were far more comfortable talking about.
‘Any word on Padget?’ Colt asked, becoming all business, he kept his attention on Rushe, but it was Flick who answered.
‘We’re watching him,’ Flick said. ‘After he got out on that technicality we were pissed, but it’s worked in our favour because he’s leading us straight to all the players. It’s sort of fun to circle in on him.’
‘You’re one of the most fascinating couples I have ever encountered,’ Lyssa said, in a voice suggesting she’d forgotten that everyone else was there. ‘How is your sex life?’ Flick’s smile grew coy before she turned it down against Rushe’s flexing arm.
‘Cherrypop, it’s our wedding day,’ Colt said. ‘It’s a day off from work.’
‘Have you ever had one of those?’ Ruger asked his new sister-in-law.
Lyssa was always in work mode and asked some of the most outrageous questions, but Layla had gotten used to the intrusive and unapologetic nature of her almost sister. Bri was quieter, and more careful, but her confidence grew exponentially when Blaser was with her.
Suzette and Gus were somewhere around. Their relationship was public and they seemed to spend most of their time arguing, although they managed the apartments together with an efficiency not previously known. Suzette had announced their engagement a couple of weeks ago when the gang were all having dinner together. From Gus’ expression, Layla wasn’t sure that he knew the news beforehan
d. It sort of looked like he was learning it at the same time as everyone else. After that, Gus’ brother Mattie gifted them the apartment block and everyone was sure that was a positive step.
Since Suzette and Ivy weren’t the best of friends and because Dax was flusher than he had been, Ivy and Dax had moved out of the apartments and into a new house. Layla had come to know Ivy since they both spent time in Risqué with their men while they worked, and she loved the straight talking attitude of Mrs. Harrow. On the sly, Layla knew that Ivy and Dax were considering having children of their own and their new four-bedroom house suggested they were close to making it happen.
‘So why are you buying a house?’ Flick asked her. ‘Didn’t you just buy your salon?’
‘We did,’ Layla said.
‘I thought you had an apartment above your salon.’
Layla hadn’t known who these people were a few minutes ago, but they already knew everything about her life. ‘It’s too small for us,’ Layla said, glancing up at the height of her partner. ‘Ruger needs more room to lay about.’
‘She needs time away from work,’ Ruger said, suggesting the move was for her benefit when in actual fact, he spent most of his day in the salon flirting with the customers who ranged from teenage girls to pensioners. Her clients lit up when Ruger came in and she loved to watch him charm them all. He loved being social, but working nights at Risqué then spending afternoons in her salon meant he wasn’t getting much down time. With them working conflicting hours and them living in her place of business, they were finding themselves in work mode too often. ‘We’ll rent out the apartment and bring in a bit more dough.’
‘We’ll need more space for when we have kids,’ Layla said for the shock value and sure enough, Ruger’s embrace tightened.
‘For what?’ he asked.
His ashen expression made everyone in their group laugh, so Layla kept on going. ‘Sure, everyone else is having kids and it would be great for them all to be close in age, wouldn’t it? Then they would go to school together, and grow up together.’ His mouth opened, but nothing came out and she grinned, triumphant that he would learn not to tease her about marriage unless he wanted to be teased right back.
‘I think children would be a great idea,’ Bri said. ‘And there’s a house opening up on the block behind ours… Pru could put you in touch with the seller.’
‘Excellent,’ Layla said. Ruger took her champagne and downed the rest of the liquid before putting her flute on a nearby table.
‘Uh, excuse us,’ Ruger said. With his arm still clamped around her shoulders, he led her away from the others who were laughing at his reaction to Layla’s declaration.
He took her to the side fence and cloaked her body with his so no one could lip read their conversation or scrutinise their expressions. ‘What?’ she asked. ‘I was enjoying that conversation.’
‘I could tell,’ he said. ‘But it’s best not to talk kids when my mom is in earshot. Have you learned nothing in your time with my family?’
‘We eat dinner at your mom’s nearly every week and if you think she hasn’t brought up the idea of more grandkids with me then you’re crazy.’
‘You really think we should have a kid?’
‘Relax,’ she said, cupping his face. ‘We’ll have kids when the time is right for us, not just because everyone else is having them.’
‘I’m trying not to look relieved in case it upsets you.’
She laughed. ‘You’re still settling into your management role at Risqué. I’m still building the business and we’ve just decided to buy a house. I think we have enough plates in the air.’
‘You know…’ His eyes slinked down and she took her weight off the fence.
‘What?’ she asked, worried he was about to say something terrible.
‘I did ask Drew.’
‘Ask Drew what?’
‘If I could ask you, you know, to marry me.’
‘You did?’ she asked and although she didn’t want to be gratified, she was. Asking the head male of the family for her hand seemed archaic, yet there was something endearing about it. ‘What did he say?’
‘That if I hurt you, he’d rip off my limbs and send them to the four corners of the country.’
‘That sounds like Drew.’
‘But he also said I could, if I treated you right. Then he said I could have you… if you said yes.’
‘Which he probably wasn’t holding his breath for,’ she said.
Her brother knew about her history with men and might assume that she’d run for the hills if Ruger asked for her hand. But she had been taken on by more than just the man. The family had adopted her as well and that was very enticing for an orphan. Losing any of them would break her heart, but the Warner clan had proven they never abandoned one of their own. If there was heartache to be faced, they would do it together, as a family.
‘Maybe not, but I…’
‘You what?’ she asked, watching his hand slide into his pocket. Holding her breath, she couldn’t even manage to blink when he produced a small velvet box. ‘What is that?’
‘What do you think it is?’ he asked and she couldn’t believe that he was smiling at a time like this.
Unable to take her eyes from the box, Layla heard more than saw his expression and as her heart picked up its pace, she swallowed away her anxiety. ‘I don’t want to run away from you,’ she whispered.
‘Which is why I’m not going to ask,’ he said, taking her hand and placing the box in her open palm. ‘You’re going to keep this and when you’re ready, if you’re ready, you put it on. We never have to talk about it and I’ll never ask. This is a token of my intent and I will not hurry you. When I see it on your finger, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to make plans.’
‘You’re sure about this?’ she asked, seeking out his gaze. ‘You’re really sure you want to be with me and you won’t ever… you won’t ever leave me?’
‘Legs, there isn’t a woman in the world out there like you, he said, tracing his knuckle down her cheek. ‘I think you were made for me and once a Warner man picks his woman, that’s it. Warners mate for life.’
‘Sometimes you’re just so…’ her smile grew and her heart stopped hammering. ‘I love you, Ruge.’
‘What’s not to love?’ he asked, opening his arms and stepping back. ‘The band is set up, so there’s going to be dancing soon. You want to go and put that in your bag?’
She had been a bridesmaid along with Bri and Suzette and her dress didn’t come with pockets. They had put their gowns on together at the Warner house, with the men getting ready at Bri and Blaser’s new house since it was so close. Layla had a backpack containing the clothes and accessories she’d taken off when getting ready for the ceremony, which was probably the bag Ruger was referring to.
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head and some of the shine left his demeanour. With her eyes locked on his, Layla opened the box and slid the solitaire onto her finger. When the box snapped shut, his mischief returned and he leapt forward to grab her up and kiss her.
Regaining her breath, Layla could only see stars when he finally let her down to her feet again. ‘Now you never get to take it off.’
‘Good,’ she said, dropping the box into his pocket then taking his hand. ‘It’s a binding contract, so now you belong to me. You still haven’t delivered on your karaoke promise, but you know how I love to dance, and there’s no way you can avoid it today.’
Leading him toward the music and the family, she exhaled all of her anxiety. He’d tease and protest, but he was hers, and she would never let him get away.
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Coming In January 2016
Turn over for a sneak peek of:
Sleight Mistake
Chapter One
‘It can’t have been that bad,’ Lacie said to her best friend.
‘You’ve met my mother, have you ever known her to be speechless?’
‘It might be something to do with Bump,’ Lacie said, eyeing Sorcha’s belly over the square aluminium table between them. ‘You’re six and a half months pregnant and you’re only just now telling your parents about it. Of course they’re surprised.’
‘We had to wait for Bruce to… you know.’
‘The bruises have healed and the statements are in. Wallace’s bail was refused. It’s all a waiting game now.’
The pair sat in this unassuming coffee shop enjoying one of their frequent girlie lunches. Lacie had never been sure what was “girlie” about them, other than the gender of those present, but that was what Sorcha dubbed them.
‘How are things going at SW?’ Sorcha asked, finishing her sandwich and wiping her hands on a napkin. ‘Are you going to finish that sandwich?’
Lacie switched plates with Sorcha. ‘The sale’s done. Two weeks left until the exchange.’
‘How’s Ryder doing with moving on?’ Sorcha tucked into the remnants of Lacie’s sandwich.
‘He spends most nights at my apartment,’ Lacie said.
‘I wonder why,’ Sorcha said, her playful eyes glowed and her sleek smile giggled.
Lacie averted her attention from her friend’s suggestive expression. ‘The SW boys are taking the hiatus as extended vacation time, though none of them are venturing far.’
‘You’re still coming to the party at my parents’ house tonight, though, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, don’t panic. I said I would, didn’t I?’
‘Bruce says he’s got a family thing, some baby daddy he is,’ Sorcha said, gobbling down the food. ‘He’s not coming.’
‘I knew that,’ Lacie said, rubbing the corner of her paper napkin between her thumb and forefinger. ‘That’s why I’m your date tonight.’
Game Of Risk (Risqué #3) Page 27
