“I’ll be ok in a minute. You broke me.” I giggled.
“Um, flower, that was all you and I loved every minute of it.” I felt him move into the shower and I turned my body so I was wrapped around him, resting my head on his shoulder. All I needed was a power nap.
“Aaahhhhh,” I screamed as the cold water hit my back.
“Well, that woke you up.” He chuckled.
“That’s not funny.” I slapped him on the shoulder and his laughter continued. He pushed me under the now warm water and I dipped my head back to get my hair wet.
“I can’t clean us both with you wrapped around me like a monkey.”
“But I’m comfy,” I complained. “Am I too heavy for you?” I was four months pregnant after all.
“Flower, you weigh hardly anything.” I released my legs from around his waist and I slid down his body. I cupped his jaw, his beard always looked funny when it was wet.
“I love you so much, Aiden.”
“I love you too, flower.”
***
Solar
This was definitely one thing I never thought I would be doing. Attending my own mum’s funeral. We had met up with Ace and Ana in the town centre. I parked my bike right next to the harbour and with the sun shining today, the water was bright blue and all the boats bobbed happily.
“You ok?” Jasmine asked as she wrapped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my back. I was leaning on the railings watching the birds swoop around trying to catch any remnants of old food. The seagulls were staking out a nearby café waiting for any crumbs.
“Yeah, I just want it to be over with already.” I stood up straight and pulled her in close to my chest.
“Hey, guys,” Ana said as they approached us. She was dressed in a black dress, flat shoes and her long dark hair was tied up away from her face.
“Hi.” Jasmine smiled as they hugged.
“You ok?” I asked Ace after we shook hands and I patted him on the back.
“Yeah. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.” He ran his hand over his face and through his beard.
“Ace, let’s go and grab a coffee,” Ana said. He nodded and waved his arm to the other side of the harbour.
“Mum’s café is just over there. I’d love for you to see it. We’re gonna ride behind the funeral car from there.”
“We can walk it,” Ana said to Jasmine, looping their arms together.
“Follow me, bro,” Ace said and I was surprised how strange and right that sounded; him calling me that.
We rode down the road just a little bit, turned left and then we were in front of a café called Nancy’s Café Nook. I pulled my helmet off and hung it over the handlebars.
“Come on in,” Ace said, slapping me on the shoulder. I followed him in and was surprised to see that it was full considering the sign on the door read ‘closed’. When I looked again, all I saw was Unforgiven Riders MC cuts. I was glad that I had made Jasmine wear her leather properties.
“Everyone!” Ace shouted and the room fell silent. “I’d like to introduce my brother, Solar. He’s from the Cornish Crusaders MC down in Cornwall. He’ll be riding with me today.” They all climbed to their feet to introduce themselves.
“Hey, I’m Dyson, VP.” I nodded my head and shook his hand.
“I’m EC.” A younger guy with bright blond hair grabbed my hand and slapped my back. A few more of the guys introduced themselves and before I knew it the café was emptying.
“They’re all making their way to the church,” Ace informed me.
“Yeah, we should get going too,” Ana said. She gave Ace a hug and whispered in his ear. He nodded his head and kissed her on the forehead.
“You ok, flower?” I asked her as I grabbed her hand and pulled her in closer to my side. She nodded her head and looked up at me. I kissed her lips before she was pulled away by Ana.
“I’ll see you soon. Love you.” She blew me a kiss.
“Love you too, flower.”
“I just wanted to show you this before we left,” Ace said, interrupting my view of my woman. He led me over to the café counter and on the wall in a frame was a very old photo. It looked like it had been blown up in size and it was of me and Ace as newborn babies. We were both in blue matching baby-grows and blue hats.
“Mum asked me to have this blown up and framed in here. She told me this was the one picture she always kept with her. She said that if I ever found you to tell you that her heart broke having to leave you, that she always loved you and hoped that one day you could find it in your heart to forgive her.”
“I don’t remember her. I don’t remember what she looked like or anything,” I said as I stared at the photo of me and my brother.
“Here.” He pulled open a box and grabbed a couple of pictures of our mum; she had short brown hair, the same green eyes that we both had and she didn’t look very tall either.
“Who’s older?” I asked.
“That would be me, little brother. By a whole seven minutes.” Ace laughed. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. “Come on, let’s lock up. The car will be here any minute.”
We mounted our bikes as the funeral car came around the corner, a woman dressed all in black climbed out of the car and headed towards us.
“Ace, how are you?” she asked in a soft voice.
“Not too bad. This is my brother…”
“Aiden,” I cut him off. It didn’t feel right being called Solar on a day like today.
“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry for your loss. Once we get to the gate of the church, I’ll climb out and walk in front of the car, you continue on your bikes and then we will all follow the coffin inside of the church.” Ace and I both nodded. This was the first time that I had been to a proper funeral. I was in police custody when my dad was buried, they said I could go but I didn’t want to.
It was a strange feeling seeing the coffin in the back of the car; she had a floral arrangement on the top in the words of ‘mum’. As the car started, Ace nodded to me and we both followed behind slowly, riding side by side.
Once we reached the church, we parked our bikes and hung our helmets on the handlebars. Jasmine was waiting for me by the main doors so I sauntered over to her and she immediately wrapped her arms around me. I never would have been able to do this without her support.
“You ready?” Ace asked as he sidled up beside us. Ana held hold of his hand and the four of us followed the coffin inside.
It was strange that today was the day I was learning all things out about my mum, I now knew that she was fifty seven, she loved to cook and eat; that’s why she opened the café and wasn’t slim. She was an avid reader and was part of a book club. She never remarried and had no more children, but she did long for grandchildren.
We moved to outside for the burial, Jasmine kept close to my side and I kept my arm tight around her, I fed off her strength; she kept me going today.
“You wanna stay and have a moment alone?” Jasmine asked once the prayers were said and everyone started moving away.
“No. I’m good. I know she loved me. Ace showed me a box of photos she had of me, I just wished she had tried to find me years ago. Maybe I should have tried to find her.”
“You can’t change the past, honey,” she told me.
“Let’s get home to our boy.” We said our goodbyes to everyone and Ace and I promised to stay in touch. We were very much a like and I’d like to get to know him more and find out more about my mum.
Ace had asked about our dad and when I told him he was dead, he didn’t seem bothered by the news.
Chapter 26
Solar
It had been six weeks since my mum’s funeral and we had met up with Ace and Ana twice. Ace had finally met Nate and he had immediately started calling him uncle Ace.
We were moved into our new house and Pup, Tanya and Cooper had moved into my apartment. Tanya was given anti-depressants by the doc, but even now that Cooper was fourteen weeks old, she still was
n’t overly maternal towards him. Pup had expressed that sometimes he felt uneasy about leaving them together but on occasions he didn’t have a choice. Jasmine had looked after Cooper many times before along with Cammie and Ashlyn but that wasn’t a solution for all of the time.
“Thanks for helping me with this, man.” I said to pup.
“No worries, man. I’m always happy to help out here.” He winked at me. We were stocking the bar at ‘Nudes’ while the girls rehearsed. When we took over, we changed it from being a twenty-four hour place, to a member’s only club. Our turnover had already doubled, we were now a high end strip club. Our bar manager had gone sick and no one was available to cover until we opened at four.
“You all set for tonight?” he asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Nate is staying the night at Jasmine’s mum and dad’s house.”
Cooper started crying, he was in his car seat behind the bar and Pup tried to soothe him by rocking him with his foot.
“I’ll take him for a little minute if you’re busy,” Candy, our main attraction said. She was tall and curvy, had curly blonde hair that reached her waist and a set of breasts that would have any man drooling over them. She was dressed in jogging bottoms and an oversized hoody.
“You sure?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah, I’ll just sit over there. You’ll be able to see us at all times,” she said pointing to one of red plush sofas.
“Thanks.” He pulled Cooper out of his car seat and handed him over the bar to her.
“Wow, look how gorgeous you are with your blond hair and button nose,” she told him as she walked away.
“You doing ok, man?” I asked as I began stacking the glasses behind the bar.
“Yeah, it’s just hard work. Oh, how was the scan? Did you find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?”
“Nah, Jasmine wants it to be a surprise.”
“Hey, it’s nearly four, you go ahead and get out of here. I’ll see you at the club later.” He jumped over the bar and headed in the direction of Candy and Cooper. He sat on the sofa next to her and stretched his arm over the back of the seat and they both pulled funny faces at Cooper. I could hear his loud giggles and that brought a smile to my face.
***
“What are we doing here?” Jasmine asked as we walked into town and sat on a bench.
“Do you know this was the first place that we met?”
“Yeah, it was a horrible time for me. I couldn’t believe that Nate had walked away from me. He had never done that before. I thought it was the scariest time of my life until he was kidnapped.”
“Well, this place was the best time of my life. It was the first time I got to meet you and look into those hazel eyes of yours. I dreamt about those gorgeous eyes for months.”
“Did you?” she smiled.
“Yep. Who knew that fate had our maps planned out for us? I know we weren’t brought together in the most conventional way, but I’m glad that we found our way back to each other.”
“Me too.” She smiled, laying her head on my shoulder. She rubbed at her tummy; I’m guessing where the baby was kicking, she was now twenty one weeks pregnant and getting bigger by the day.
“Flower.” She looked up at me and I dropped down onto one knee. She gasped. “I love you more than life itself, I never want us to be apart. Will you marry me?” I pulled out a ring box and flipped open the lid. I had bought her an enchanted nine carat white-gold diamond solitaire ring.
“Oh my god. Yes!” she cried out; happily. I grabbed the ring, tossed the box onto the floor and slipped it onto her finger. “I want the box too.” I looked at her confused as I picked it up off the floor. “My fingers may swell the bigger I get. I want to be able to keep it safe.”
“If you can’t wear it on your finger, I’ll buy you a necklace so you can wear it around your neck. It will be with you, always.”
“I love it. I love you. Thank you.” She placed both of her hands on my face and bought her lips up to mine. I deepened the kiss and she opened her mouth up for me, my tongue immediately slipped inside and a bolt of desire shot straight to my cock as our tongues met.
“Take me home,” she panted. Her eyes had darkened; she was turned on.
“Sorry, we have one more stop first.” I pulled her up off the bench, wrapped my arm around her shoulders and we walked back to the car. She held her hand out in front of her, admiring her ring.
“This ring is gorgeous.” She smiled wistfully.
“I’m glad you like it.”
***
I held hold of Jasmine’s hand as we walked in through the clubhouse doors.
“Where is everyone? It’s very quiet.”
“SURPRISE!” everyone shouted as we rounded the corner. “HAPPY ENGAGEMENT PARTY!”
“Good job I said yes then, wasn’t it?” Jasmine laughed.
“There’s no way you could have refused me. You love me too much, plus you’re carrying my kid.”
“True.” She laughed as she rose on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.
“Congratulations,” Prez said as he kissed Jasmine on the cheek and slapped me on the back. Carla was busy gazing at the ring. “Life doesn’t get much better than this.”
“Thanks, Prez.”
Everyone congratulated us and all the women loved her ring and they were all amazed that I had managed to get the correct size.
“You having fun, flower?” I asked as we gently swayed to the music. I could feel the baby kicking in her tummy. I would never get bored of that feeling. We created life with our love; our unexpected love.
“I love all of this, Solar, thank you so much.” She kissed me once more and I was only hanging on by a thread; not to drag her back to my room and make her scream.
“Sorry, flower.” I dug into my pocket and pulled out my ringing phone. It was a number that I didn’t recognise. “Hello. Yeah. What? We’ll be right there. Thanks.” I gazed around the room for Pup, he was dancing with Lottie, one of the club bunnies.
“Aiden, what’s wrong?” Jasmine asked, following behind me.
“Pup. We got a situation.” He let go of Lottie and came closer to me. “Outside.” All three of us hurried outside and I unlocked the car. “I just had a call from my old neighbour. They said all they can hear coming from your apartment is a baby screaming.”
“Shit!” he swore, running over to his bike. Jasmine and I climbed into the car and we followed Pup down the road.
We could hear Cooper crying as soon as we opened the main door. Pup flew up the steps followed closely by me. Jasmine took her time, I tried helping her but she shooed me away. Pup unlocked the door and ran inside, straight for Cooper’s bedroom. I searched the flat for Tanya and she was nowhere to be seen. The place was tidy as usual. Cooper was still crying but it wasn’t screaming anymore, more like little sobs.
“Is he ok?”
“His nappy exploded. Where the hell is she? Sleeping?” he asked as he changed him into a fresh nappy and clean clothes.
“She’s not here, man.”
“What?” His head shot to mine.
“All of her clothes are gone. The wardrobe is empty,” Jasmine said.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Jasmine
“I can’t believe we are here again,” I said shaking my head at Solar as we waited in the doctor’s room for her to come in. I was lying on the bed ready to have my twelve week scan.
“I love that you’re pregnant again.” He puffed his chest out like he was proud that he knocked me up so soon after our last child.
“Aiden, I only gave birth seven months ago!”
“Oh come on, aren’t you happy about it? Even just a little bit?” He ambled closer to me and pressed his lips to mine.
“You know I am, but two babies under eighteen months is gonna be tough. I wanted to go back to work. You know how much I love my job.”
“Ok, no more babies for at least two years.”
“What? No, no more bab
ies. This is child number three. We can stop here.”
“We’ll see.” He smiled at me as the door opened up and the doctor came in.
“Hello, Jasmine. I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.” She laughed. She was only young, in her early thirties at most.
“I didn’t expect to be here so soon either.” I glared at Solar and he chuckled. He held hold of my hand as the doctor squeezed some gel on my tummy. She moved the wand around a couple of times as she stared at the little screen.
“Is everything ok?” Solar asked.
“Yes, I just need…. I’ll be right back.” She placed the wand back in its cradle and hurried out of the room.
“Oh no, something is wrong with the baby. Aiden.” I squeezed his hand harder and he whispered reassuring words in my ear.
“So sorry about that,” the doctor said as she came back in followed by another doctor.
“Hi, Jasmine, I’m Dr. Knotts. Let’s see what’s going on, shall we?”
“Is everything ok?” Solar asked again.
“Yes, everything is perfectly normal for two babies.”
“Huh, what?” I asked.
“Congratulations, you’re having twins.” She turned the monitor towards us and pointed out each baby before the sound of two heartbeats filled the room.
“Oh my god, twins. Honey, we’re having twins.” I looked at Solar and he was staring at the screen, mouth opened wide.
“Is there a history of twins in your family?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah, I have a twin brother,” Solar finally spoke.
“I’ll print some pictures out for you. Congratulations again.”
“Thank you,” Solar said, nodding his head.
The doctor passed me some tissues to clean off my tummy and once I had my t-shirt and jeans back into position I swung my legs around on the bed.
“Twins?” he asked again.
“Twins.” I nodded in confirmation. “Shit, three babies under eighteen months old.” He laughed and hugged me close to his chest.
Unexpected Love (South Coast Brothers Book 5) Page 17
