Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Rosalie frowned. “You have never turned down girls’ night before.”
Petal forced a smile. “I know, but you have also never been, you know, happily married, and let’s face it, Colt will turn up, and then I’ll feel bad for taking you away from him.”
Her friend shrugged. “He won’t mind. He could go to the clubhouse, be around his buddies. They’re already complaining that I am taking him away from the boys.”
She reached out and stroked Rosalie’s arm. “Don’t worry about it, okay? I am good, and you and Colt should have this time with each other. It was a crazy start at the beginning, but now it’s better. You know, for the two of you.”
There was a sweet smile on Rosalie’s lips. The kind that said she was in a memory where it was just her and Colt. She was so happy her friend found happiness. The last thing she wanted to do was destroy it or in any way put a damper on it.
This was why she would never tell Rosalie that while she’d been fighting with Colt and doing everything in her power to protect her mother, Petal had been falling in love with Dirty. From the moment she saw him, she knew he was there for a reason. She knew without any doubt he’d been put on her detail to keep her busy, to stop her from talking with her best friend. Dirty had succeeded, and while she knew she was just a job to him, she had fallen in love.
She did not want her best friend to know that he’d been the father of her child. Rosalie didn’t even know she’d been pregnant. There was a lot she kept from her friend, and would continue to do so. The truth was, the fact she’d fallen in love with that … biker, was already shame enough. She didn’t want to add to it with her friend knowing more.
Even worse, when she went to Dirty to tell him the good news, he’d not been happy. She’d been a virgin with Dirty, yet he questioned if he was the father. Just the memory of it felt like a blow to the gut, but she didn’t say anything. He didn’t believe he was the father, and she wasn’t going to fight him. She had every intention of raising her child alone. Then, she’d gone to that damn garage because Gabrielle wanted everything to be perfect for her daughter’s arrival.
That gunshot had changed everything. She nearly died.
Her baby, which had been nothing more than a little dot within her, was gone. Tears filled her eyes, because she felt a mixture of grief and relief. She didn’t know how or if she could raise a child alone. Then the guilt hit at even feeling a smidge relieved.
At the sound of the diner’s door opening, she turned to see several of the Satan’s Death Riders MC, including Dirty himself.
She picked up the menu and made her way into the kitchen where Burto held up a fish slice, inspecting it, before using it to flip the burgers on the grill.
“You know, this Al guy was a genius,” he said.
Petal looked over toward him. “Those are two words I never thought I would hear in a sentence about Al.”
“Truly?”
“Yeah, truly.”
She was not about to tell Burto that Al was very much dead as he was the one responsible for allowing her best friend to be beaten up. He’d decided to side with the Evil Fuckers MC, rather than with Colt and the Satan’s Death Riders MC. Either way, it ended with Al dead and the diner now belonging to her and Rosalie. Petal never thought about owning this place, but now that she did, she wanted to make it an even bigger success.
Al hadn’t been a genius. All he did was serve good food. Thankfully, all those recipes were in a special book she and Rosalie discovered while cleaning out his office. They also discovered that their previous boss had made a fortune through the years of running the diner.
Thankfully, with the help of Rosalie’s new family, they were able to make the place their own. They no longer had to worry about a handsy kind of boss. They were free.
Putting the menu down on the clean counter far away from the food, she continued to write the week’s menu. They decided to keep things fresh and exciting week by week. Not only would they have a few favorites from the previous week, they’d mix it up with some new ideas.
She had gotten to Saturday when the kitchen door opened. Petal didn’t even need to turn to know who had entered.
“You’re not allowed back here while he’s cooking,” Petal said.
“I want to talk to you,” Dirty said.
“It’s good to want things.” She refused to even look at him. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.” She finished the menu and made her escape, by heading back the way she’d entered and going straight out the front door. Placing the menu on the ground, she used a few weights to keep it in place.