Harlow
She needed some time and space to think about Ryker’s proposal, but he wasn’t going to easily let her out of his sight. She loved that he wanted to protect her, but she was craving some alone time with her mom to talk through all of the changes in her life. Her mom would know what she should do—or not do when it came to her sexy biker.
Harlow found him in the kitchen and took the mug of coffee that he had made for her. “How would you feel about watching Iris while I run over to my mom’s?” she asked.
He looked ready to tell her, no, but she’d let him actually get the words out before jumping into a full-blown argument with him. “Everything all right?” he asked.
“Yep,” she lied. Nothing was right since he’d asked her to marry him. All she wanted to do was to tell him, yes, but she wasn’t going to foolishly jump into something that she might not be ready for. Her world went from zero to sixty in just weeks, and she was scared out of her mind, but telling him that everything was fine was easier to do.
“I just haven’t been able to spend any time with her since starting at the bar and well, everything that’s happened with you. I just want to make sure that she’s okay. And before you tell me no, she lives just steps away and I’ll be completely safe over there,” Harlow promised.
“For the record,” he said. “I wasn’t going to tell you no. I’d love to watch Iris,” he said.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yep,” he said. “I think we need to spend a little bit of time getting to know each other.” She knew what he meant by that. If he was going to be Iris’ stepfather, she’d need to get to know him better. That worked for Harlow since it would give her some free time to talk to her mother.
“Thanks, Ryker,” she said. “I have to warn you, she might cry, and the pay is lousy.”
He laughed and pulled her in for a quick kiss. “I’m betting that we can work something out for payment. As for the crying, I’ve learned a little secret about which shows Iris likes. If I turn on the right one, she won’t even know that you’ve left the two of us alone together.”
Harlow giggled, “That is very true,” she said. “My daughter does love her shows.”
“How about you go on over to your mom's and when you get back, I’ll make us some brunch?” he asked.
“You have a deal,” she agreed. “I’ll be about an hour or so. Just call me if you need to be bailed out.”
“I won’t, but thanks for the vote of confidence, honey,” he grumbled.
“No problem,” she sassed. “Thanks again.” She took a peek into the family room where Iris was lost in her favorite cartoon and she took her chance to sneak out of the house, grabbing her shoes on the way out the door.
Harlow didn’t even have to knock on her mom’s front door. The woman seriously had a sixth sense when it came to her daughter. She was standing at the door waiting for Harlow to come over.
“Mama,” she said, opening the door to let herself in. Her mother sipped her coffee, smiled, and nodded.
“You know how early it is Harlow?” she asked.
“I’m aware. My daughter also doesn’t have an internal clock and she gets up at the butt crack of dawn, just like you say I used to.”
“Well, you know what they say about paybacks, right?” her mother asked.
“I believe the phrase is, ‘Paybacks are a bitch,’” Harlow said.
“I was thinking that they are hell, but to each their own. What brings you by so early?” her mother asked. She held up her hand as if stopping Harlow from answering. “Wait, don’t tell me, it’s that sexy boss biker of yours.”
“More like a bossy biker, but yeah,” Harlow said. “Can we sit? I have a lot that I need to get off my chest and you’ll tell it to me straight.”
“Always have,” her mother said. She walked back to the kitchen and poured Harlow a mug of coffee and handed it to her. Harlow helped herself to the flavored creamer her mother kept in her fridge just for her. She sat down at the table and her mother seemed to be waiting her out.
“Okay, spill it,” her mother ordered.
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Ryker has asked me to marry him,” Harlow said.
“Marry him?” her mother almost shouted. “You just met the man. Plus, he’s your boss.”
“Come on, Mama,” Harlow said. “You have to know that we’re sleeping together. I mean, we really don’t hide that fact. Him being my boss isn’t a big deal for either of us. I’m falling for him, and he says that he’s falling for me, but I’m worried that he asked me to marry him to protect me.”
“Well, that is a possibility,” her mother said. “With that Billows’ fella coming for you, he might be trying to keep you close. What happens when he’s not a threat?”