“What the fuck,” Colt barked. “You can’t just walk in unannounced.”
“Then why did you give me a key?”
I reached for the red and white checkered tablecloth on the kitchen table, one ear listening to Colt lay into Zip. The bowl of fruit rested in the center, but I managed to grab the edge of the cloth and pull it toward me. Unfortunately, the fruit spilled onto the floor, an orange rolling past Colt.
“Fruit suicide,” I said and then let out a laugh as I dragged the tablecloth around me.
“Is she drunk?” Zip asked.
“Nope,” I voiced. “Just trying to ease the tension before Colt levels you to the ground.”
Zip suddenly smiled. “I don’t think it’s working. He still looks like he wants to smash my face in.”
“My woman is naked,” Colt stated. “Good thing she’s small and can hide behind me out of sight. Now get the fuck out onto the porch. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Zip laughed but left. A moment later the front door slammed shut.
Colt looked over his shoulder at me and I gave him a cheeky grin, but he wasn’t amused. “No one else gets to see you like this. Do you hear me?”
I hugged him from behind. “I don’t want anyone else to see me like this. Okay? Go talk to Zip about whatever it is he needs.”
“What makes you think he needs anything except destroying my post orgasm serenity?” he asked, though he sounded mollified.
“Intuition.” I stood up on my tiptoes. “I’ll head upstairs. Shower. Finish packing. I need to call Shelly anyway.”
Colt’s arms enclosed my waist. “Holler if you need help.”
“Help? Help with what?”
He grinned. “Cleaning those hard to reach dirty places.” Colt lightly smacked me on the butt and I left the kitchen before he had a chance to get me naked again.
“You. Did. What?” Shelly screeched.
I held the phone away from my ear and winced, letting her get out all her emotion.
“Are you done?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t know,” she admitted. “I can’t believe you—well—you got a tattoo? And you’re like, Colt’s woman? His Old Lady?”
“You’ve got Mark’s ring on your finger. What’s the difference?” I demanded, suddenly losing my patience.
She fell silent and I instantly felt terrible. “Listen,” I said. “You’re my best friend in the entire world. You’re my soul sister. I want you to be happy for me and celebrate this.”
Shelly paused on the other end of the line. “I am happy for you. I really am. But I can’t help but worry about you. You’re not the girl that makes these kind of decisions at the drop of a hat.”
“Richie’s dead,” I blurted out. “The Iron Horsemen dumped his mutilated body in front of the Blue Angels’ clubhouse.”
“He’s dead?”
“Yep. I saw his body, Shelly. I saw what they did to him.”
“Jesus, Mia. Seriously?” She exhaled slowly. “Is this why you jumped into a relationship with Colt? Because you’re scared of the Iron Horsemen?”
“I jumped into a relationship with Colt because I love him.”
“You admit that you jumped. And how the hell can you be in love with him? You barely know him.”
“I know him.”