“Well, firstly it’s just strange for the man to do the planning, but add to that fact you’re a biker…never saw that one coming, dude.”
Harlow laughed the nervous laugh she’d adopted when she was around Cassie and me. Her friend never hesitated to challenge me, and Harlow seemed hesitant about that. She needn’t have been. While I may not have always agreed with everything Cassie said, I respected the hell out of her honesty.
I took a swig of beer and sat at the table on the back deck with them. “So bikers can’t organise shit for their women?”
Cassie drank some of the wine I’d just poured her. “You’ve gotta admit it’s strange. When I think of bikers, I think of men who do manly things while their women run around after them.”
I raised my brows. “When the fuck do you see Harlow running around after me?”
Cassie laughed and nodded. “True. She doesn’t. The fact remains, though, that I think it’s weird for a club president to be taking charge of a wedding.”
I drank some more beer as I contemplated what she’d said. “I’ll concede that it’s not the norm, but I’m not about the norm. From the very beginning, I knew I’d make Harlow my wife. Watching her go through what she has over the last few months, has been hard, but as dark as some of those days were, they only reinforced to me how much I loved her. She gives me so much, the least I can do is give her a wedding she’ll always remember.”
Cassie stared at me like I had two heads. She then turned to Harlow and said, “Jeez, I need me a Scott Cole. You are one lucky bitch.”
Harlow’s eyes had misted over, but she smiled as she said, “I know. And I can help you find your Mr Perfect. I have lots of ideas of where we could look.”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Please, I’ve searched high and low, there aren’t any good men out there who aren’t already taken.”
Harlow shook her head. “I don’t believe that. I’ll find you one.”
“Okay, girl, you find me a man while I find you an art gallery to show your paintings. Where are you at with those paintings I saw in your art room?”
“They’re finished,” Harlow replied, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t hear any fear in her voice. Her standard response when it came to her art over the last six months had been a reluctance to even consider pursuing an art exhibition.
Excitement flared on Cassie’s face. “Awesome! And you still want to do this?”
Harlow took a deep breath and then nodded. “Yes. I’m scared, but if it doesn’t make you sweat, it’s not worth doing, right?”
Cassie burst into laughter. “Well, fuck me, you do listen to me!” Cassie had been saying those exact words to Harlow for a long time now, and Harlow had done her best to ignore her. I was fucking ecstatic to hear her change of heart.
Harlow grinned. “Sign me up before I change my mind.”
“Oh no, girl, you never get to change your mind now. This is happening!”
“Harlow!” Scarlett’s voice sounded from the front door.
“Shit,” Harlow muttered as she stood. “She’s probably been knocking on the door and we couldn’t hear her.”
I groaned as she left us. Scarlett had a way of irritating the fuck out of me, and I thought we had tied up all our loose ends with her, and sent her on her way.
“What’s wrong?” Cassie asked. “Don’t you like her?”
“I don’t dislike her, but she has the ability to frustrate me in a matter of seconds.”
Cassie scoffed. “Doesn’t everyone have that ability with you?”
“I’ll admit I have a temper, but I’ve been working on it. Scarlett messes with my concentration where that’s concerned.”
The back door opened and Scarlett appeared. “Oh hey, there’s the resident moody biker.”
I stood. “And to what do we owe this pleasure?” I asked, not even attempting to hide my sarcasm.
“I left a pair of my shoes here. And I also wanted to say thank you to you.”
“Really?”
She huffed out a breath. “Yes, really. Don’t be a prick, Scott. I’m trying to do the right thing here. As much as you and I have had run-ins and said cross words to each other, you came through for me when most don’t, and I appreciate what you did. So, thank you.”
Scarlett was unlike most women I’d met in my life. She said it like it was, didn’t put up with bullshit, and as far as I could work out, she had balls the size of most men’s. “I appreciate that, but let’s get one thing straight – you kicking me in the balls is not classified as a run-in in my book, it’s a lot worse than a run-in, and it won’t ever happen again.”
A grin teased her lips, but didn’t quite form. “It will if you act like an ass.”
“Jesus,” I muttered with a shake of my head. Eyeing Harlow, I said, “I’m gonna leave you girls to it, but don’t take too long, baby. We’ve got shit to do, if you recall.”