“What the fuck, Mick!”
Ice recognized the man yelling out as one of The Last Riders.
“Chill, Moon. It’ll only be for two hours. I’ll give a free beer to anyone who comes back when I reopen. Lily wants to give Shade his Valentine’s Day present without you yahoos around.”
Moon’s beer bottle toppled over when he set it back on the bar top too hard. “Motherfucker. How does that fucker get so motherfucking lucky?” Moon snarled, righting his beer. “He scored the best-looking woman in town, and she’s closing down the bar for him?”
Ice felt for the brother when he looked like he was going to cry.
“There is no fucking justice!”
“Tell me about it,” Ice muttered beneath his breath. After the argument he and Grace had this morning, he would be lucky to get laid tonight, even if it wasn’t Valentine’s Day.
Picking up his cell phone, he was about to send a text to her when the bar door opened. As if his thoughts had put her there, his wife walked inside.
Grace had changed from her dress, which she had looked hot as hell in, to a pair of skin-tight jeans and a baby blue and dark blue tie-dye top that fit her tits like a glove. Wearing a fuzzy, baby blue coat, she looked around the room before spotting him at the bar.
Where in the fuck had his wife gotten that outfit? He had never seen her wear it in Queen City.
Feeling his tongue get dry in his mouth, he lifted a shaky hand to his beer to take a drink as his wife sat down next to him.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“I was on my way back. I needed a break.”
Grace nodded as if she understood. “I did, too. Can I have a beer?” she asked the bartender when he approached.
“Sure, but the bar’s closing in fifteen minutes.”
When Grace gave Mick a curious frown. Ice explained, “Lily rented out the bar for the next two hours.”
She poured the beer into the glass that Mick set down in front of her. “Of course she did.”
“What does that mean?” Ice turned on his stool to see his wife bushing at the fact that he had heard her comment.
“She has the perfect marriage. It just makes sense that she’s the perfect wife, too.”
“How much champagne have you had?”
“Too much.”
Ice tensed at the danger she had put herself in by driving after consuming too much alcohol. “And you drove here?”
“Relax. Beth and Razer dropped me off on their way home.”
“How’d you know I was here?”
Grace slid her hand inside the fuck-me coat, taking out her phone and laying it next to his on the bar. “You’re the one that put find a friend app on my phone.”
“I put it on yours, not mine.”
“You’re not the only one that knows how to install apps.”
He started to get angry, then remembered he had done the same. Biting his tongue, he decided to play fair this time, even though it galled him that she had gotten one over on him.
“Dad and T.A. left for Florida.”
“Sorry, I was….”
She waved off his apology. “I don’t blame you. I’ve been such a bitch lately that I don’t want to be around myself.”
She had been a bitch, but he couldn’t stand the defeated expression that was on her face.
“Grace….”
She waved off his apology. “I have been a raving bitch to you, and I know that.”
Ice saw that her bottom lip had gone white with her biting down on it.
“I hate myself every time I open my mouth to you, but I can’t seem to stop myself, no matter how hard I try.”
Her admission had him feeling as if she just ground her high-heeled boot down on his heart, then picked up what was left to squish in her hand like silly putty.
“Grace, I think it’s time to—”
“Don’t… Please. Just give me a minute to say my peace before you tell me you want a divorce. I want to tell you that—”
“Ten minutes!” Mick’s voice boomed, startling them both, her hand going to his thigh.
“I need to use the restroom. All the champagne I drank has my bladder going on overdrive.”
“It’s in the back on the left. Hurry up. I told Lily I’d have everyone out before she got here,” Mick broke in after hearing the last part of their conversation.
Standing up, she squeezed his thigh tighter. “Please don’t leave. I’ll be right back.” Releasing the grip on his leg, she unsteadily went in the direction of the bathroom.
“Brother, I hate to kick a man when he’s down, but I need you and your woman to get the fuck out.”
Ice paid for the beer, expecting Grace to come right back as the others in the bar left.
When Mick went to stand at the window, he gave him an exasperated look. “Lily’s here. If she sees you, she’ll call it off.”
“I’ll go see what’s taking so long,” he said, rising from his stool.
“I’m going outside. Get your woman and use the back door. It’s on the other side of the bathroom.”
“Will do.”
Ice strode toward the restroom, wondering why Grace was taking so long to take a piss. He didn’t bother knocking on the door, going inside to see his wife leaning against the wall, crying.
“What’s fucking wrong?” he asked, taking a quick look around the room to make sure nothing could have hurt her.
“I’m such a bitch!”
Dumbfounded, Ice let the stall door that he had opened swing close. “Quit saying that. You’re not a bitch.”
“I am.” Shuddering, she went to the sink to grab a handful of paper towels then wetted them under the faucet. Dabbing her eyes, she stared at him in the mirror. “I can’t even blame you for leaving me. I’ve been such a witch to you.”
“Grace, you’re not a bitch or a witch,” he said, trying to calm her down so he could get her out of the bathroom.
“Who starts a fight with her husband on Valentine’s Day?” she muttered, talking more to herself than to him from the reflection in the mirror. “I should have made you your favorite meal and a cake.”
“I’m sure there’s a fuck-load of cake left over from the reception.”
Grace shook her head dismally. “Rider packed most of it up to take back to the club, said he was working tonight and needed it as a snack. It doesn’t matter anyway. It wasn’t your favorite flavor that I always bake for you on Valentine’s Day.” Grace gasped out, taking a deep breath before continuing on with her tirade. “While Lily rented out a bar for Shade. Lily’s the perfect wife, and I suck!”
“We can talk when we get out of here.” Ice started to open the door but stopped when Grace started dabbing her eyes again.
“Look at me. I look ridiculous.”
“You look hot as fuck.”
She dropped her hand to the sink. “T.A. said you would like it when she talked me into buying it. Even T.A. knows what you like, and she isn’t married to you.”
Ice moved to stand behind her. “There isn’t a man alive that wouldn’t want to fuck you in that get-up.”
“Then, why do I feel as undesirable as a dishrag?”
He was unaware his wife felt that way.
“If you’re feeling like that, it isn’t on you. That’s on me.”
CHAPTER 4
“How is that your fault?”
He trailed a line from her beating pulse to the curve of her breast. “If you’re feeling neglected and not sexy, then I’m in the wrong. That’s not being a good husband. Was that why you were staring a hole in Shade at the reception? Does he do it for you instead of me?”
“Huh?”