“Just dropping some breakfast off for King.”
His smile grew. “He’s a lucky fuckin’ bastard.”
“Yeah, and a grumpy one too.” I reached into my handbag and pulled out some Advil. “Can you please give him these in case he runs out?”
He took the pills. “You really do look after him, don’t you?”
“It’s purely selfish. I want him home in a good mood. If he runs out of those, I’ve no hope of that.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “Sounds about right.” Jerking his chin towards the office, he said, “You want me to get him for you?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not staying. Just let him know food has arrived.”
“Will do.” With that, he exited the kitchen.
I quickly washed the few dirty mugs in the sink before leaving and was almost finished when Cherie came in. She was Wolf’s old lady and seemed to be on the fence about me. Not quite in the camp of bitches who had it in for me, but wary of accepting me.
“Hey,” I greeted her as I emptied the sink.
“Hi, Lily,” she said as she placed a large box of lamingtons on the counter in the middle of the room. Her tone was cautious, making me think she didn’t want to talk to me.
“Are you on your way to soccer?” I knew her son played every Saturday. Wolf had told me all about how proud he was of Jeremy for his achievements on the team.
Surprise filled her features. “Ah, yeah.” Her words were stilted, like I’d caught her off guard. Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “How did you know that?”
I smiled. “Wolf told me. He’s a proud dad when it comes to your kids.”
Her brows arched and a scowl settled across her face as her shoulders stiffened. “Oh really? That’d be why he never makes it to soccer practice or very many of the games or our daughter’s dance recitals then, wouldn’t it?”
What she said about Wolf didn’t line up with what I’d seen of him so far, but what did I truly know? Some people were good at showing the world what they wanted them to see. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
She crossed her arms, scowl still in place. “Yeah. But you know what?” She settled her weight onto one leg, her body language blazing with attitude. “At least I know it’s because of this club rather than the fact he doesn’t care. At least there’s that.”
I frowned. “What’s the club got to do with it?” I suddenly felt very defensive on King’s behalf.
“Don’t give me that shit, Lily. You’re one of us now; you know what it’s like being with a club member and always coming second to Storm.”
I knew what she was getting at, and yet I didn’t feel the way she did. I’d accepted right from the start of my relationship with King that his club came first. I had no issues with that because he’d never made me feel like I came second. Even when I was frustrated that he’d been called out while we were in the middle of stuff, I knew he didn’t make that choice easily.
“I know what you’re saying, Cherie, but it’s a choice we make when we choose to be with a club member. We can’t pick and choose what we want from them at certain times.” God, King’s words were coming back to me from last night when we’d argued in his office. It irritated me that I’d just used them on her, but damn it, he was right. I’d have to think some more on that later.
“Yeah, I understand that, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it when my man’s feeling the pressure from King to do shit. He’s got family stuff going on at the moment, but I know he’ll never say anything or ask for some time off, because the club makes it clear they always come first. I’d just like a little compassion when it’s needed.” She pointed at the lamingtons she’d brought in. “Let them know these are here. I’d hate for anyone to go hungry while they’re working on a Saturday.”
I didn’t miss her sarcasm and was still working my way through what she’d said as she stalked out of the kitchen. Wolf had seemed weighed down when I’d talked to him yesterday. But it wasn’t my place to ask him about it, so I hadn’t brought it up. And I wasn’t sure if I should mention it to King. Club business wasn’t something I ever wanted to get involved in. But if I knew something that could help King, was that something I should bring to him? Jesus, navigating my way through this was tricky. I was going to need a lot of time in the bath to think about this.
“Lily.”
King.
I locked eyes with him, my core instantly heating from his attention.
He came my way, looking anything but pleased. “I told you not to come.”
“And I told you that you need to eat.”
“Fucking hell,” he growled as he curled his hand around my neck and brought his lips down onto mine. When he ended the kiss, he said, “One day you’ll actually fucking listen to me.”
“I do listen to you, King. I just don’t always do what you want me to do. And I never will, so you better be ready for that if you want to marry me.”