Jasmine saw the smile on the woman’s face. “You like that?”
“A little bit. It’s kind of cool to watch him. He has something about him that makes it impossible for me to stay mad at him for anything longer than a few hours. The things we do for men. Are you wanting to cook them all dinner?”
“Yeah, or us. I don’t know. Would it be silly to make, like, a big casserole or something like that?”
“I don’t think so. You may even get some of the guys to fall in love with you. Most of them don’t end up going home. Too much trouble with the old lady, if you know what I mean.”
She had a feeling she did but didn’t comment.
With Renee’s help, she got all of the ingredients prepped and ready. Using several large casserole pots, she assembled six pots and made a note to cook up some biscuits or something to put on the side so everyone had plenty.
She left Renee to put everything in the oven as Bethany woke up. It was a struggle to take care of Bethany with a wound in her shoulder but not impossible. Once she brought the little girl downstairs, she saw Renee was already making the crust for the pecan pie she intended to make.
“She’s a little angel,” Renee said.
Jasmine put her in the high chair. “She’s so wonderful to take care of.”
“I can’t believe he’s got a kid. It’s kind of funny though that he got a girl. It’s like karma has come to bite him in the ass.” Renee laughed. “I was thinking you and I could hang out sometime. Just the two of us. Away from the club.”
“After the lockdown?”
“Yeah. You and me, a possible spa day or a girls’ night. What do you think?”
“You’re not going to get her into trouble,” Hawk said.
She hadn’t even heard him return.
Bethany gave a squeal as he lifted her up, and Jasmine watched his daughter snuggle in against him. It wasn’t that long ago she was screaming to get away.
Pushing some hair out of her eyes, Jasmine saw he was looking a little tired.
“Your girl needs some fun. Are you going to ink that?” Renee asked.
“Ink what?”
“Your scar. I know a great place that will give you killer ink.”
She looked at her bandaged shoulder and gave a little shrug. “I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, you know.” Could she have a tattoo? “I’m scared of needles.” She hated them and would do everything to avoid them.
Renee chuckled. “Hawk’s got plenty of tattoos. He can talk you through it.”
She stared at Hawk. “We need to talk.”
“That sounds serious,” Bear said.
Bear walked into the kitchen, pulling Renee into a hug. “How are you doing, babe?”
“I’m not talking to you.”
“You just did.”
“You mind watching Bethany for me?” Hawk asked. “It looks like I’m about to get a piece of her mind.”
Chapter Six
It was only a matter of time before Jasmine found out the truth. Hawk watched as she paced the length of his bedroom. She sucked her bottom lip in. He knew what she wanted to talk about.
The brothers had warned him there had been a lot of talk. He’d have stayed at the clubhouse today, but he wanted to check out the MC that thought they could take him out. They were ten miles out of town, in a shitty, run-down old garage. They had a metal fence, and dogs that they kept on fucking leashes. Women came and went. They looked a lot better entering the MC than they did leaving it.
He’d paid a couple of the women for information.
The setup looked sloppy, but he wasn’t willing to risk his men without knowing everything first. This was one of the reasons he was damn good at what he did. He only took the necessary risks and rarely did any of his men suffer.
Being out today meant Jasmine was alone with all the potential rumors.
“I’m not your old lady,” she said, stopping in front of him.
He didn’t say a word, watching her as she ran fingers through her hair.
“Why do they think I’m your old lady? Renee told me that some of the other … women hate me because you’ve made this declaration of some kind. I don’t understand it.”
“It’s simple. You’re my old lady.”
“No, Hawk. I’m your nanny. That’s it.”
“It’s more than that.” He wasn’t going to sit and listen to her try to make out that there was nothing going on between them.
The first day they met, he felt something.
If it hadn’t been for Bethany or the fact he was interviewing for a nanny, he’d have taken her out on a date or at least done something. Instead, what he’d done was let her go. When she entered his clubhouse, he’d known his chance was over with. The company he’d been using had told him their views on relationships between clients.