She wiped the counter and looked at me. “I honestly don’t know, Layla. I killed my husband yesterday so I’m not sure how a wife is supposed to feel after that.”
“You didn’t kill him,” I reminded her.
“I might as well have.” She stopped cleaning and sighed. “I don’t know what came over me when I got the gun. All the hurt and humiliation came at me, and I couldn’t stand it any longer . . . ” Her voice cracked and although no tears fell, I knew that if she were a weaker woman, she’d be bawling by now. Sharon Cole was keeping her shit together, but only just.
I had been going to ask her if she wanted time off, but my gut feeling was she didn’t, so I’d put her to work. We’d had a quiet afternoon so we’d spent it cleaning the bar. It had just turned six o’clock and the after-work rush was beginning to trickle in.
Jess had just had her break and wandered back in. “Have you heard from Donovan today?” she asked.
“He phoned earlier to check on us and said he’d be busy all day so I’m not expecting him until late.”
“That’s a good man you’ve got there,” Sharon said. “Hold onto him tight and don’t let go.”
I smiled. She was damn right I had a good man.
“Go and take your break, babe. Jess and I will manage while you’re gone.”
“Thanks, I won’t be long,” she said, leaving us to it.
A customer distracted me and when I’d finished serving him, Jess asked, “Is Sharon really okay? She’s putting on a brave face, but her husband just died so I’m wondering how she’s managing that?”
Jess didn’t know the full story, and Donovan had given Sharon and me strict instructions not to share the truth with anyone. I knew he’d done this for more reasons than to cover himself. He’d vaguely mentioned something about the motorcycle club being at risk if the truth came out, and I knew he never exaggerated anything, so I kept tight-lipped.
“Sharon’s a tough woman, Jess. She could be breaking on the inside and I doubt she’d ever show the world. I’m just gonna go with the flow with her and take it as it comes.”
“I can see that about her, but if she does crack and can’t come into work, I’m happy to pull extra shifts to cover her. I just wanted you to know that.”
I smiled at her. “So you do love me,” I teased.
She rolled her eyes before grinning at me. “Don’t let it go to your head. I’m doing it more for me than you because you can be a bitch if you have to work too much.”
I laughed. “Yeah, yeah, that’s just your excuse to cover your real reason.”
She shook her head at me and turned to take care of the customers who had just arrived. I helped serve them and couldn’t stop thinking how lucky I was to have her.
***
We ended up having a busy night, which was great, but by the end of it, I was exhausted. At eleven o’clock Donovan wandered in, looking even more exhausted than me. I was wiping tables down and he came straight to me and pulled me into his embrace. He placed a kiss to my forehead before murmuring, “I missed you today, baby.”
As he let me go, I looked up at him and said, “Me too. How was your day?”
“Let’s just say I’m glad it’s over.”
His voice told me everything I needed to know and I grabbed his hand and led him towards the stairs. As we passed the bar, I said to Jess, “Call me if you girls need me, okay?”
Her gaze landed on Donovan and she nodded. Shifting her eyes back to mine, she said, “Sure thing, boss.”
I mouthed thank you at her, and led my man upstairs. I knew he needed me tonight and it was confirmed when we entered my bedroom and he shut the door and pulled me into his arms.
I looked up into his face as I wrapped my arms around him. “If you need to talk, I’m here for you but if that’s the last thing you want, I understand that, too.”
He brushed his lips over mine before saying, “A man could only hope to find a woman like you. I do want to talk but there’s no fucking way I can stay away from you a minute longer, sweetheart.” His hunger blazed in his eyes and caused me to shiver with anticipation.
Yes.
My hand moved to the bottom of his tee and I pulled it up and off him. At the same time, he removed his jeans and then his boxers. My gaze moved over his body and my heart beat faster at the sight of his muscles. He was so powerful and strong. And yet, on the inside he was so very vulnerable and broken. I didn’t like that life had done that to him, but I knew it had made him the amazing man he was.
My amazing man.