by Sam Crescent
“I don’t want him to get in trouble,” Suzy said.
“He won’t. James probably already knows. All the guys go to him for problems.” Chloe pushed her hair out of her face.
“I haven’t asked you how you’re doing.”
“I’m not the one that has turned up pregnant. That is certainly a new one, right.”
“Yeah. How are you and Richard?”
“Difficult. I never expected it to be hard, but then I should have known it wouldn’t be easy.”
Closing her eyes, they settled into the sofa.
“Shall I order takeout?” Chloe asked.
“Please.”
****
The following day Suzy stood in James’s office after avoiding seeing Pixie. She saw the pity in several of the club members’ eyes, and it made her feel sick. This was what she had hoped to avoid, yet it wasn’t even down to the fact he dumped her.
“I’m not going to let you quit,” James said.
“You know the truth?”
“I was the one that told him to tell you the truth. Think about it, Suzy, he could have just said a condom broke. No matter how much you’re hurting right now, he did tell you the truth.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t asking if I could quit. I just wanted to make sure I still had a job. Pixie is your brother.”
“I know my brother very well. I know he’s not the easiest man to get along with. Damn, he’s not even the easiest man to like.” James stopped. “But with you I saw him change. He’ll still be my asshole little brother, but I finally got to see the true Pixie. The guy he keeps on hiding.”
Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her face. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t do anything. Just know that we all care about you, and about Pixie. I truly hope someday you can find it in your heart to forgive him.” James stood and rounded the desk. He held his arms open. “This is not a come on, or anything. I just want to give the woman, the mother of my future niece or nephew, a hug.”
She laughed, and walked into his arms. She gave him a quick squeeze, and stepped back. Cora came in, and smiled. “Better not be stealing my man.”
“I wouldn’t.” She had one of her own. One that she was really pissed at.
“We’re all having dinner at the diner if you’d like to join us. Pixie will be there before you ask,” Cora said.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re carrying his baby. The next generation of Dirty Fuckers. We all know. May as well get used to the fact that you’re now part of the club.”
“Then I’ll come to dinner,” she said.
There was no point running from the club. She needed them, and even though she was pissed at Pixie right now, she wasn’t going to stop him from seeing their child. She probably wouldn’t even be mad for very long. At the moment, she was just hurt, and she needed to deal with it.
Chapter Twelve
The days went by, and Pixie refused to pretend nothing was going on. When Suzy was around, he still went to see her. Conversation was a little awkward for her, but he refused to be put off. He’d fucked up, and he knew it. There was nothing he could do to change what was going on. The last thing he was going to do was abandon the woman he loved.
So while she worked, he studied her, watching for any signs that the pregnancy was wearing on her.
Of course he spoke to her. He rarely was able to be quiet.
“You look more beautiful each day. I wonder if that is the whole glow thing from the pregnancy.”
Nothing. She kept on working.
“I know I fucked up. I really hope you can forgive me. I was also looking for places to live.”
She looked up then. “Why?”
“Our kid can’t be stuck in an apartment. At first I thought we could live here. We’ve got a pretty large yard out back, but then I figured that wouldn’t be good enough for our kid, so I’m thinking a house. Luck would have it, there’s a house for sale next to Cora. Not the old man’s place, but a couple who seem to have split. I didn’t get the details.”
“I’m not moving in with you.”
“You can’t keep me out of your life, Suzy. I love you.”
“You messed with condoms. You damaged them so I would get pregnant.”
“Can’t you see that as romantic?”
She shook her head. “Pixie, you can’t do romance. You do fucking.”
“What about our vacation? I did a lot of romance.”
“Fucking.”
“We made love,” he said.
“I really need to work, and I can’t do my job if I’m arguing with you.”
He was silent for several minutes as he stared at her. She looked so beautiful, and even though she hadn’t really spoken to him for a few days, he knew she still loved him. Also, he talked with Kitty, and she told him the reason it can hurt so much is the fact you loved them so much. So, in theory, Suzy was pissed because she loved him too much.
“I’m going to leave you in peace, but the way I saw it as being romantic is the fact that I didn’t know how else to keep you.”
“Pixie?”
“No, let me speak. I’ve never loved a woman. I’ve never cared about a woman. Then you come along, and I can’t stop thinking about you. All I want to know is if you’re okay, and it twists me up inside to think someone could take you away from me. It was wrong, and I have an entirely fucked up reasoning, but I can promise you, everything I did, it was out of love.” Running fingers through his hair, he stared into her eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I love you that much, and I don’t know if I’m even good enough to keep you, but I know I never want to let you go.”
“You hurt me.”
“Then let me prove to you that I can be the guy you need. I can give you the romance. Please, Suzy, I don’t want to lose my shot with you.”
She bit her lip and stared down at her paperwork. “Okay.”
“Excellent. Prepare to be romanced.”
He left the room, and without stopping, he got on his bike, and rode out of the clubhouse. Romance was not something he was good at. He had just crooked his finger, women had fallen at his feet, giving him whatever his heart desired.
You’ve got this.
Over the next two weeks, Pixie did everything he could find in romance books. Seriously, he read romance books, and not the nice sweet romance kind. He went hard core erotica. It was all the rage now, and he intended to use those authors to find out the best way to show his woman, he loved her.
Flowers and chocolates were the easiest.
Next he went with jewelry, which didn’t bode well with him. Suzy wasn’t the jewelry kind of woman. After that, he organized dates. Well, in order to help him not screw up, he double dated her.
One night he went with James and Cora. His brother stopped him from putting his foot in it, and ruining everything. He hated it when men looked toward Suzy, and he wanted to stake his claim. His double date with Drake and Grace didn’t go so well either. He took her to the movies, and he ended up yelling at the assholes who kept interrupting the movie. Suzy asked him to stop, but he didn’t. In the end, he was the one that got kicked out for threatening bodily harm. Assholes! The date with Sharon and Thomas went better. They went to the zoo, which was a fucked up place to have a date, but it worked. Suzy loved the day, and Pixie believed he was making real progress.
Visits and sleepovers at her house had ceased. During the day he was able to stay close to the club as she worked nonstop for James. The nights were the hardest for him. Sleeping alone was next to impossible. He missed curling around his woman, and loving her.
About three weeks’ worth of romance, Pixie sat in the diner with Teri enjoying a coffee. He’d dropped Suzy back at her apartment, and come to the diner.
“You’re looking down in the dumps,” Teri said, straddling a chair.
“Not exactly in a good mood.”
“Why not?”
“Life, relationships, I suck at them.”
She push
ed some hair out of her face, staring at him. “You really do love Suzy.”
“Yeah, hasn’t anyone been paying attention? She’s my fucking life, and I’m the one that blew it.” He rubbed his eyes.
“It was a shitty thing that you did.”
“You don’t think I know that. If I could take it back, I would, but I would never change the time I had with Suzy.”
“She hasn’t cut you out of her life.”
“I know.” He pulled the black velvet box out of his pocket.
“Holy shit.”
“Do you think she’ll even accept this?” He flipped it open. “I bought it the night before she was sick again. I was going to propose over breakfast. Instead, I started to get really scared that I’d been caught out.”
Teri took the box, opening it up. “You’re really serious.”
“Yeah. I just wish Suzy could forgive me.”
“How about I close the diner tomorrow night? You bring her here, have a romantic meal, and propose. Lay all of your cards on the table. I think she’d surprise you.”
“You do?”
“Suzy is hurt, and I’m not justifying what you did. I think it was really shitty, but I also know you love her. You really do, and she loves you. There’s no changing that.” She smiled at him. “I think you’ll make a pretty good dad.”
“You think so.”
“The club will make sure of it.”
“You’re the best, Teri. Really.”
“I try.”
****
Suzy glanced over at Teri wondering what was going on. Pixie called her to get ready for dinner, and without giving her a chance to decline, he hung up.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Pixie has a little surprise for you. I think you’ll be surprised, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him.”
“Do you think me being pissed is wrong?”
“No, absolutely not. You have a right to be pissed. Pixie, he went about everything the wrong way. Even I’m pissed at him, but I’ve noticed a change in the both of you. You love him, Suzy. You can’t tell me these past few weeks have been easy.”
“They haven’t been easy.”
“They’ve not been easy for Pixie either. I only hope you can both find some happiness together.”
Once they were at the diner, Suzy noticed it was dark.
“I’m not going on. Everything is ready,” Teri said.
Climbing out of the car, Suzy made her way into the diner. There at a single table in the center was Pixie. He wore a tuxedo, and he lit two candles.
“Hello, beautiful.”
“Pixie,” she said.
“I wish I could have come and got you myself, but I had strict instructions on what to do. Please, would you take a seat?”
She moved toward the seat he’d pulled out, and lowered herself down. “This is beautiful.”
“Only the best for my girl.”
He poured out some water, and she noticed he took water as well.
“You did all of this?”
“With Teri’s help. Actually, it was her idea.”
“She really is something.”
He nodded, finally taking a seat. She stared across the table, her heart racing.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, the words spilling from her lips. “I like having you to cuddle up to.”
Pixie took her hand.
“Everything just got screwed up,” she said.
“No. I screwed up, and you had a right to be pissed. I would have been pissed. I miss you. How is everything?”
She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Fine. I’m going to see the doctor in two days. I should have made an appointment sooner, but with everything that happened, I kind of forgot.”
“I want to be there.”
“I’d like that.”
Silence fell between them.
“Oh, fuck this.” He got out of his chair and down on one knee. “Suzy, I fucked up. I really did, and I wanted this to be an entire romantic evening, where everything was built up, and I showed you how I can be the perfect guy for you, but the truth is, I can’t. I’m me. I can promise you that my entire life will be devoted to you, and to the children we have. I bought this before I even suspected you were pregnant.” He lifted the lid on the black velvet box. “Suzy, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I know. Marrying an asshole isn’t exactly a good pitch, but I know I can make you happy.”
He kept on talking about how he’d love and protect her. Tears filling her eyes, she silenced him with a kiss.
Cupping his face, she pulled away, and smiled. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
“You want to marry me, right? That’s why you got the ring?”
“Hell yeah, I just thought I’d have to convince you of it some more.” He slid the ring on her finger. “Don’t want you changing your mind.”
She stared down at the ring, smiling. “I wouldn’t change my mind. It’s beautiful.”
“Do you forgive me?” He placed his hand on her stomach.
Covering his hand with her on, she smiled. “I was hurt, Pixie. Hurt, scared, excited, nervous. I never thought I’d have kids, and now I am.”
“I’ll look after you. I’ll take care of you. I’ll always take care of you.”
“I love you, Pixie. I really do, and I know that even if we do encounter some bumps in the road, that love is never going to change.” She cupped his cheek. “I forgive you, Pixie.”
He leaned in close, and kissed her. “Let’s eat so I can take you home, and we can have a good night’s sleep.”
“Just to sleep?”
“Fuck yeah, I haven’t slept any in the last three weeks. I’m fucking exhausted.”
Suzy giggled, holding Pixie close. Yes, he was an asshole but he was her asshole, and she wouldn’t have him any other way. The next time though, she was going to be the one protecting the condoms.
****
Teri watched as the club sat around several tables, checking things off for the wedding. As part of his act of contrition Pixie was organizing the wedding. He was going to give Suzy the dream wedding, the church, the tuxedos, the flowers, the cake, all of it. Teri loved watching the club, and seeing the way they were all growing. Staring at Leo and Paul, she wanted to help them. They clearly needed someone, and soon.
Checking her watch, she kept on looking outside waiting for her sister. She hadn’t told any of the club that her sister was on her way to see her. Well, she’d told them that she had someone visiting, not necessarily her sister.
Just as Teri looked up, she noticed a cab pulled outside of the diner. She noticed Skylar’s raven hair first, then her pale skin, finally her full figure. There were a lot of years between them, but Teri knew Skylar was very nervous about her curves. Their mother, if someone wanted to even call the woman that, would make Skylar’s life a nightmare. Teri remembered coming home to find Skylar being forced to exercise. It wasn’t just a healthy exercise either. Their mother had her doing it for four hours, and even sent her to bed without food.
Leaving the diner, she stood watching her sister.
“Sky,” she said.
Her sister turned toward her, and smiled. It was the smile that got Teri most of all. Skylar was the nicest person Teri had ever known. She had lost touch with her, and now she had the chance to make everything right.
“Teri,” Sky said.
Rushing toward each other, they embraced, hugging each other hard.
“It has been too long,” Teri said.
“I’m so glad you called. I was worried you wouldn’t want to see me again.”
“Always.” Pulling away, Teri pushed her hair off her face. “Come on, there’s some people I want you to meet.” Taking her hand, she entered the diner, and smiled at the men, who were staring curiously at the two of them. “Everyone, this is my sister, Skylar. Skylar, this is everyone from the Dirty Fuckers MC.”
Skylar held her hand up and waved. “Hello.”
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Teri looked at Leo and Paul. She wanted to jump up and down in victory. Her sister had a lot of issues, and she knew the two men held the power to help her. Maybe, just maybe, all three could be what they were looking for.
Epilogue
Six months later
Lying in the bath against Pixie’s chest, Suzy giggled as he traced over her swollen stomach.
“My kid is not being called Randy.”
“How about Burt?” she asked, glancing up.
“We don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl. What about Sienna? I like that name for a girl.”
“I like that name as well.”
He ran his fingers over her stomach, marveling at how his son or daughter kicked out. “They’re going to be fighters, either of them.”
Staring down into Suzy’s smiling face, Pixie knew his world was complete.
“The baby is due in like two months, and we’ve just found this house. We’re going to need to fully furnish it.”
“The guys are going to help tomorrow. Consider it an extended wedding gift.”
She lifted her hand out of the water, showing off her wedding band. “I sometimes forget we’re married.”
“What surprised me was finding out that James and Cora are now married. Neither of them gave anyone any warning.”
“Sucks. I’d have liked to have watched those two get married,” Suzy said.
He took hold of her hand, locking their fingers together. “They wouldn’t even consider renewing our vows when we got married.”
“My wedding day was perfect.” She glanced back up at him. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you. Forever and for always.”
“Such a charmer.”
He cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. What a difference six months had made. He was married. Skylar had moved in with Chloe, and had even made them their wedding cake. Pixie hadn’t known Teri had a sister let alone one that baked. The whole club was excited to meet her. She was the complete opposite of Teri though, shy and nervous. Still the same lovable personality, just hard to talk with at times.
“Do you know who sent Skylar those roses?” he asked.
“Leo and Paul. I heard the two of them while they placed their order. I think they have a soft spot for her. She’s a lovely person. I adore her.”
