Hyde's Absolution (Sydney Storm MC 4)

She rested her elbows on the counter. “Do you like him enough to want something more?”

It was a question I’d been going over and over in my mind. One I wasn’t sure I wanted to answer. But this was Tatum and I told her everything. “I feel like I have a love-hate relationship with him. He’s too damn bossy for me most of the time, but then he will say or do something that impresses the hell out of me. He seems like a good dad, and I think that says a lot about a person.” I sighed. “Yeah, I like him. But it doesn’t mean much if there’s no hope of anything happening with him, you know?”

“I understand what you’re saying. But you know what? Sometimes we don’t know what we want until it’s given to us. You’re pretty hard not to love, Roe. Hyde might just change his mind once he gets to know you.”

A loud knock sounded from the front door, followed by, “Roe! Let me in, I’ve got shit I neeeeed to discuss!”

It was Savannah. I’d never seen her so excited when I let her in. She practically bounced on the spot.

“I just met the father of my babies!” She exclaimed. I was almost sure she was about to pee her pants from the happiness radiating off her.

I followed her into the kitchen where Tatum and I were set up with drinks and nibblies at the kitchen bar. “Who? And where? You want a drink?”

She madly nodded and motioned with her hand for a drink. “Yes, I need all the drinks to celebrate.” Sliding onto one of the spare stools, she conti

nued, “We met on the train coming home from work. I practically poked his eye out with my umbrella. I said sorry and just about fainted when I realised how good-looking he is. He’s a fucking suit! I’ve been fantasizing about him ripping his tie off and tying me up with it ever since I had to say goodbye to him.”

I handed her a drink. “So, what, you guys spent the ride home talking? He asked for your number? You’ve got a dinner date this weekend? I need to know everything.” I was heavily invested in this story already. Any love story was worthy of my attention. Because, love… who the fuck didn’t love love?

“Yes, yes, yes! To all of that!” My sister was a die-hard romantic like me. “I’m gonna need your help picking a dress to wear. And will you do my make-up? Say yes or otherwise I might just stab you at this point.”

I laughed. She seemed so worked up about needing my help. “I’ll do it, babe. We can go shopping for a new dress tomorrow morning if you want. I haven’t got any plans for the weekend yet.”

She collapsed against me with relief, hugging me. “Yes! That sounds perfect.”

“What’s his name?” Tatum asked.

Savannah’s face lit up again. “It’s the absolute perfect name ever. Theo.”

Tatum’s lips curled at the ends, and I knew she was trying not to laugh at Savannah. She loved her, but she also wasn’t all about the dramatics that my sister was well known for. The extent of Tatum’s ability to handle drama and over-the-top behaviour was with me. And I was sure that was only because she loved me so much.

“I love it,” I said.

Tatum finished her drink and shoved the empty glass across the counter at me. “Yeah, it’s a cool name,” she agreed. Although she wasn’t a fan of Savannah’s excessive excitement, she always threw her support Savannah’s way.

Savannah’s smile could have lit my house. “It really is.”

My phone vibrated on the counter. Checking it, I found my mother calling. “Put the kettle on. I’m about five minutes away.”

“Huh?” I wasn’t aware she was coming over, but the way she said it was like I should be expecting her.

“To hear about Savannah’s new man! She rang me and told me to come over.”

I slid off my stool and made my way to the kettle. Flicking it on, I said, “You should have gotten Dad to drive you so you could have a drink with us. Tatum’s here, too.”

“He’s driving. Pour me a drink instead.”

I grinned. I loved having my family around me. “Done.” I ended the call and announced to the girls, “Mum’s on her way. It’s time to get serious here. We’ve got a lot of celebrating to do. Tatum’s found the perfect cake for her wedding. And her man’s on total board with it. Sav’s found herself a suit. And I’ve had the best sex of my life.”

“I promise we’ll get to the cake, Tatum, but Roe, you need to spill about this sex.”

“It was with a biker,” Tatum said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“No!” Savannah said, shocked. “I thought you were all about the steady, stable guys.”

She was right. I’d been so vocal over the years about always steering clear of bad boys. The longest relationship I’d had was with the kind of guy you didn’t bring home to your parents. It had ended badly with him cheating on me and lying to me about almost everything. It took me a long time to recover my self-esteem after that. And I’d put on a lot of weight in the process. I’d sworn I’d never date a guy like him again.

“Sav, if you saw this guy, you’d know why I slept with him. It was just sex. It’s not like I’m dating him.”