Craving Vera (The Aces' Sons 4.5)

“And that’s not our place,” I said with understanding, remembering the expression on Farrah’s face tonight. She’d been trying so hard to seem unimpressed, but she’d hung on every word of Slider and Vera’s story. “You’re right, love.”

“I usually am,” he replied.

I smiled, then huffed in frustration as another thought occurred to me. “Patrick, did you take your heart medicine?”

“Shite, I forgot.” he muttered as he pushed himself out of bed. “Don’t tell Brenna. I hate it when she’s right.”

Chapter 11

Molly

Present Day

“My head is pounding,” I whispered as Will led me down the hall toward the main area of the clubhouse. It was a good thing he was leading, because I didn’t want to open my eyes and deal with the lights. Lights were bad. Walking was bad. Bed was good. Why had I let him talk me out of bed?

“You need a little hair of the dog,” my man replied. “It’s the only thing that’s gonna help.”

“Pedialite would help,” I argued. “Copious amounts of water. Ibuprofen. Coconut milk.”

“You sound like a nurse,” he said.

“I am a nurse.”

“I think I’ve got some Tylenol back in the room,” he offered.

“Compared to ibuprofen, acetaminophen is like the younger brother that never amounted to anything,” I grumbled as he sat me down on a bar stool. “It’s a waste of a gel tab.”

“You’re cheerful this morning,” my sister in law Rose sang, sliding onto the stool next to me. “Barkeep, I want a bloody Mary. Celery, onion, no olives.”

“Shhh,” I hissed, swatting at her.

“Where are all the kids?” she asked with a laugh.

“The boys walked them over to Cam and Trix’s place to watch a movie,” I replied. “Thank God.”

“That was nice of them.”

“Trix has been waiting for hours for everyone to wake up so we could hear the rest of the story,” Will said, setting a glass of ice water down in front of me. “It was her idea.”

“I can’t believe I missed the first part,” I said, shaking my head before I realized what an awful idea it was.

“Vera got knocked up and when she went to tell Slider, she found him boning some other chick,” Rose said sourly.

“Oh my God,” I murmured, glancing at Will. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Then Vera’s dad beat the shit out of her and Slider saved her.”

“Holy shit.”

“She wouldn’t have needed saving if Slider wouldn’t have gone to her fucking house,” Rose said angrily. “This whole story is pissing me off.”

“You know it turned out okay,” I pointed out.

“All I know is that she forgave him for fucking around. It’s not exactly something to be proud of,” she said. “Let me know when the Marys are ready.”

I watched in surprise as Rose stomped off.

“What’s going on with her?” I asked Will. “She’s acting weird.”

“I have no idea,” he replied, shrugging. “I’m gonna go fry up some bacon. Wanna keep me company?”

“Dear God, no,” I said, swallowing down the bile that hit the back of my throat.

Will laughed. “Are you sure?”

“I love you,” I replied, smiling as he leaned over the bar to kiss me. “But if you come near me with food, I’ll end you.”

“Big words for such a little thing.”

“I know where you sleep,” I joked.

“I won’t be sleeping tonight,” he whispered back.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He kissed me again. “You passed out last night. Fully dressed.”

“You shouldn’t have been feeding me drinks.”

“I was hoping it would make you crazy,” he said, widening his eyes. “Not comatose.”

“You think I need booze to make me crazy in bed?” I asked.

“Hell no.” He grinned. “Best lay I’ve ever had, bar none.”

“Good answer,” I replied. “Though the verbiage could use some work.”

“I love it when you use big words,” he teased. “It makes me hot.”

I laughed, making my head pound. “Go cook your bacon.”

“I wanna cook your bacon,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh God,” I groaned. “Get out of here.”

“I love you, even when you’re hung over and act like a brat,” he replied, kissing me one last time before walking backward toward the kitchen.

“Good, because you’re stuck with me,” I said, shooing him away.

I rested my chin on my hand while I waited for everyone to show up. I knew it wouldn’t be long when I started smelling bacon wafting from the kitchen.

Farrah and Casper came out sporting matching wet hair and cat-got-the-cream grins which I forced myself not to think about. Trix and Cam came in the front door soaking wet and arguing. Callie and Brenna walked straight through the main room and into the kitchen to supervise breakfast, but not before sending me sympathetic looks as I sipped my water.

“How you feeling today?” my sister in law Heather asked as she sat down beside me. “You never could hold your liquor.”

“Like shit,” I groaned, making her laugh.

“Ah, the consequences of a fun night.”

“Why don’t you feel as bad as me?” I asked grumpily. “I know I didn’t have more than you did.”