Rebel Heart (17 page)

“Not even a goodnight kiss.”

He held out his hand.

“Scouts honor.”

Stella snickered.

Why did he have to be so damn endearing?”

“Alright,” she finally agreed, shaking Patrick’s hand.

“I’ll go out with you. But just one date.”

Patrick nodded, flashing Stella a toothy grin.

“Absolutely. No obligations.”

It was then that an idea popped into Stella’s head. She would bring Patrick to the Sons weekly Sunday dinner. Trig had invited her and she knew Kade would be there too. What better way was there to show him that she had moved on than to attend the dinner with a date?

“Forget a fancy dinner,” Stella spoke up as Patrick started to walk away.

“My father is a founder of a Motorcycle Club here in town,” she explained.

“The Sons of War...maybe you’ve heard of them. Anyway, they are doing this dinner tonight and I just remembered that I was invited. It’s kind of a tradition, a weekly thing. Maybe we could go to it instead.”

Patrick mulled the idea over.

“It could be fun,” Stella added.

“I haven’t really been to any club events since I returned home.”

Patrick nodded.

“Sure,” he said with a smile.”

“Anywhere you want.”

Stella gave Patrick her address details and they parted ways. The rest of the workday dragged by. Stella dealt with a child with a sprained ankle, a woman experiencing rare complications to her arthritis medication, and a mother who saw it fit to bring her child to the ER for a run of the mill bug bite. By the time 5 P.M. approached, Stella found herself completely exhausted. She almost felt compelled to cancel with Patrick, but the idea of having a few beers and loosening up while also putting Kade in his place was too enticing of a notion.

After picking Beth up from daycare, Stella brought her home and gave her a light dinner, turning on her favorite cartoon to distract her while she showered and got ready for her date. On her lunch break, Stella had called a babysitter, a teenage girl from her apartment building who agreed to come sit with Beth for a few hours that evening.

By the time 6 P.M. rolled around, Stella was dressed and ready to go. She gave herself a second look in her wardrobe mirror after applying her make-up and smiled at her reflection. She didn’t look half bad. Her hair was curled, her cat-eye eyeliner was perfectly applied, and for once—her lipstick hadn’t bled onto her teeth.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts.

“Mommy!” Beth called.

“Someone’s here!”

Stella sucked in a deep breath and approached the door, looking through the peephole.

“It’s just Mira sweetie. She’s here to watch you while mommy goes out for a few hours.”

Stella opened the door and greeted the teenager, who smiled at Beth.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

Stella entered her kitchen and Mira followed.

“I’ve already given her dinner but a snack would be fine before bed. She’s allowed to watch another hour of television. Don’t let her manipulate you.”

Mira laughed. She had only been babysitting for Beth for two weeks but she was already quite familiar with the routine.

Stella jumped at the sound of another knock on the door.

“Ok. That’s my cue.”

She waved goodbye to Mira and bent down to kiss Beth on the cheek.

“Be a good girl for Mira sweetie. I’ll come in to say goodnight to you when I get home.”

Beth nodded and practically rushed her mother out the door. Stella stepped out into the hallway of her apartment complex. Patrick was standing in front of her, polished yet relaxed. He wore a pair of loose fitting jeans and a plain black t-shirt, offset by an expensive jacket and a pair of leather shoes. His dark hair was gelled back and perfectly styled, and the cologne he was wearing was intoxicating.

Stella felt light headed in his presence.”

“You look amazing,” Patrick spoke up.

He lifted Stella’s hand to his mouth and, before she could register what he was doing, he pressed his lips against her palm.

Stella blushed. It wasn’t the sort of gesture she was used to, but it was only the beginning.

Patrick was a gentleman.

He held doors open for Stella, walked on the outside of the sidewalk, and he never once interrupted her when she spoke. He was perfect in the way that most men didn’t find necessary, and yet, there was a certain cockiness and air of confidence to him that couldn’t go unnoticed.

When they arrived at the Sons clubhouse, Stella climbed out of Patrick’s sports car and eyed the small building, sucking in a deep breath.

Music was booming, food was cooking, and beer was pouring from the tap. Landon was the first to spot Stella when she entered the dimly lit building and he was quick to give Kade a nudge in the side when he noticed Patrick.

Kade turned around and met eyes with Stella. He looked from her to Patrick and there was a flash of hurt in his expression, which was quick to be replaced by anger.

Stella swallowed hard.

She wasn’t going to allow Kade Colton to make her feel guilty for anything.

Especially moving on.

“Come on,” she said to Patrick, reaching for his hand as she averted her gaze from Kade’s.

“I’ll introduce you.”

Chapter Fifteen

T
he clubhouse activities were in full swing. For the first time in weeks, Kade was in attendance at a club dinner. Alcohol was flowing from a keg, heavy rock music was playing from a sound system behind the bar, and Grace, Maria and the rest of the old ladies were packed inside the clubs small kitchen, each of them wearing aprons and busying themselves with preparing the food. Mel was the only one of them not in attendance, but then again, Kade had expected as much.

Hell...

He was beginning to think that the only thing he was really good at was hurting women. Not that it was a “talent” that garnered very much effort.

With a sigh, Kade took a long drink of his beer and surveyed his surroundings. Nash sat down beside him and nursed a drink of his own.

“Lan!” Grace called out to her husband from the kitchen.

Landon looked up from his game of pool.

“Would you mind bringing me some Bourbon?” Grace questioned.

“We need it to marinate this rib eye.”

Landon nodded and did as he was told, slapping Kade and Nash on the back of their cuts in passing. He handed Grace the bourbon, pressing a wet kiss against her cheek.

Kade sighed. Grace was a sweet enough girl and she and Landon were damn good together, but seeing couples only made him bitter. It was one of the sole reasons he had made such a point of avoiding club dinners. His brothers were hitching up left and right and here he was, as miserable as ever.

Not that it was anyone’s fault except his own.

Kade finished off his beer and reached across the bar for another, popping the seal and taking a drink. Grace and Maria appeared from the kitchen with plates, napkins and utensils in their arms. Maria instructed the rest of the ladies to bring the food out and they did as they were told.

Ten minutes later, the two tables that had been set up in the center of the clubhouse were packed full of food. Everything was there. Steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes. The whole nine. It looked and smelled delicious but Kade couldn’t find it in himself to eat.

He eyed Trig from across the room. For the first time in months, he had showed face at a club event. Maybe it was Stella’s return that had drew him out of seclusion, or maybe it was just the promise of a good meal. Either way, he was here.

For one brief moment, Kade wondered if Stella would show up too. But it seemed ridiculous.

Why would she?

She had made it pretty clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. And she was a doctor now. She made good money. Kade figured she had better things to do than hang around a bunch of degenerate bikers.

A plate of food was set down in front of Kade before he could object. He thanked Grace and picked up his fork, taking a bite of mac and cheese as he tried to distract himself from his thoughts.

He shot the shit with Nash and Landon and finished off his meal. He drank another beer, and then another. He turned down a line of coke offered to him by a prospect (but only because Nash was eyeing him intently), and he won a couple bucks in a game of pool.

Landon nudged Kade in the side and nodded at the door. Kade looked up and inhaled a deep breath.

At first he thought he was just seeing things. But he wasn’t. It was her and she wasn’t alone.

Kade lit a smoke and quietly seethed. He clenched his teeth, watching as Stella and her boy toy entered the clubhouse hand in hand. She shot Kade a self-assured glare, which only made him all the more pissed.

What the hell was she thinking?

Stella was a lot of things but vindictive wasn’t one of them. At least not until now.

Kade scowled and tried to calm himself down. He told himself that Stella was a big girl. That she could do whatever, or whoever, she wanted. But that didn’t soften the blow.

Landon nodded at Stella.

“You good bro?” he asked Kade.

Kade shrugged and turned back around.

“Yup,” he lied, ashing the end of his smoke.

“We’re not together. What she does ain’t my business.”

Landon snickered and raised an eyebrow.

“You sure about that?”

Kade nodded.

He wasn’t about to make a scene. Not after the discussion he had with Nash. No...as hard as it was, he had to keep his cool.

Landon stood up and made his way over to Grace, leaving Kade and Nash alone at the bar. Kade turned around and met eyes with Stella. She looked beautiful, but the guy she was with was a pretty boy type. The kind of pompous asshole that wouldn’t have been allowed to step foot on Sons soil on his own accord.

He was damn lucky that he hadn’t come alone.

Kade watched as the man pushed a loose curl behind Stella’s ear. She blushed, giggling at the gesture. Kade’s chest felt tight. He clenched his fists and willed himself not to react.

She wasn’t his. She hadn’t been in a long time. But seeing her with someone else felt like taking a knife to the heart.

“Kade,” Nash spoke up firmly, gripping Kade by the shoulder.

Kade averted his eyes from Stella and looked over at his brother.

“Don’t do anything you might regret,” Nash warned, standing up.

“Just let me handle this alright?”

Kade nodded and finished off his smoke. He clenched his jaw and watched as Nash approached Stella and her date. A silence fell over the clubhouse. Kade’s heart panged as he vividly remembered one of his last good moments with her.

It had been a relatively normal day shortly before their final altercation and her departure. They were lying with each other in bed, sweaty and breathless after having sex, and somehow the topic of marriage had come up.

“Do you think you’d ever want to?” Stella questioned, caressing a hand down Kade’s chest.

“Get married, I mean...”

Kade shrugged and reached for his smokes on his bedside table, lighting one and taking a long drag.

“Maybe,” he answered.

“I guess it depends on the girl.”

Stella scoffed and hit Kade playfully.

“Hey!”

Kade chuckled.

“I’m just kidding,” he retorted as his eyes sparkled in amusement.

“Jerk,” Stella pouted.

“I’m being serious though. Can you see yourself getting married one day?”

Kade hesitated. These kinds of topics never seemed to sit well with him. The truth was, his future just wasn’t something he thought about often. He glanced at Stella, who stared up at him expectantly.

“Someday,” he whispered, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Stella smiled.

“That’s good enough for me,” she whispered, pressing her lips against Kade’s as she trailed her hands down his body and cupped his manhood. He groaned into her mouth, welcoming the embrace.

The thought of another man making Stella happy made Kade sick to his stomach. He couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t lose her a second time. He took a drink of his beer and silently began to craft a plan to get her back.

Chapter Sixteen

N
ash was the first to break the silence.

“Well if it isn’t Stella Waters!”

He stood up and crossed the room, pulling her into a hug.

“All grown up and in the flesh!”

Stella laughed awkwardly.

“Good to see you Nash. I just figured I’d drop by...”

Nash nodded at Patrick and shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you brother, I’m Nash. Club Prez. And you’re?”