Time Will Tell (Maybe #3)(41)

Zach throws a tea towel at him. “You two make me nauseous.”

I lick my lips, my eyes still on Xander. Then, making sure he’s watching, I put my hands on the bottom of my top and move as if I’m going to pull it off.

“What the f*ck,” he grits out, quickly moving to me and hiding me from Zach’s view.

“What?” I ask innocently. “I was just going to give you something to look at, too.”

Zach groans. “I’m leaving. I can’t take all this foreplay. I’m going to get laid.”

We don’t look away from each other as Zach leaves, slamming the door behind him.

“Okay, now you can pull that top off,” he murmurs, flashing me a lopsided grin, “and those jeans, too.”

I take two steps back from him, smiling playfully before I run to the bedroom, squealing as he chases me.

He catches me and throws me on the bed.

How I love this man.





Chapter Twenty-One


Trillian


Walking down the street, I stop to give some money to a homeless person.

“Thank you, miss,” the man says gratefully as he takes the ten-dollar note from my hand.

I smile at him then continue walking along the busy shopping street. My mother wants to meet me for lunch. She called my mobile number, which I have no idea how she got in the first place. I didn’t want to go at first, but then I realised I just want her to leave, and this is the only way for that to happen. Stepping into the restaurant, I look around until I see her sitting at a booth in the back. Exhaling slowly, I step in her direction, sitting down opposite when I reach her.

“Trillian,” she says, her expression blank.

We order drinks before I get to the point of this lunch.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

She purses her lips and glances around the restaurant. “I was paid a visit by your friends. How you have a motorcycle club behind you, I have no idea. Looks like Ian raised you to be trash.”

My hands clench. “Don’t you dare say anything bad about Dad. He was my hero and a million times the person you will ever be. I’m sure you don’t want to upset me. It would be a shame if it reached Wind Dragons MC.”

She swallows. “Keep the stupid house.”

“Why did you want it anyway?” I ask, staring at her.

She seems to consider whether to tell me or not, but then shrugs and speaks. “My boyfriend left me and cut me off. He was filthy rich but didn’t leave me with a cent. I was living with him, and now I have to find somewhere else to stay.”

“If you were a nice person and needed a place to stay, of course, I would have offered the house to you,” I say. “But you’re not. I’m sure you can find some other man to mooch from.”

She scoffs. “Listen to you, acting all high and mighty, but trust me, if you were in my shoes, you wouldn’t have wanted to stick around, either. Your father was always working and I was stuck in the house with you twenty-four-seven. It would drive any woman crazy.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever you have to tell yourself. Dad and I managed just fine without you.”

The drinks arrive, and I’m thankful for the interruption.

“Thank you,” I say to the waitress, who bobs her head at me then leaves.

“What about his insurance money? Surely, you could give me a little of that.”

My jaw drops. “Are you f*cking serious right now? Is that why you really came here? Hoping to get a chunk of money?”

She narrows her eyes. “I know for a fact he had a large insurance policy. I know he took my name off it and gave you everything. I’m your mother at the end of the day, and I deserve some of that money. I was still his wife in name.”

I stare at her for a few seconds and realise that she’s dead serious. I finish my drink in three huge gulps, put some money down on the table, and walk out. She isn’t getting a cent from me. She doesn’t deserve it. She isn’t my mother. She’s a woman who gave birth to me. There’s a difference in my eyes. If my dad wanted her to have something, he would have put her name in his will.

He didn’t.

The fact that she didn’t even come to my dad’s funeral, but decided to come when she needs money, says everything I need to know about her. She isn’t someone I want in my life.

She’s toxic.

And I’m better off without her.

*****

“You should have let me come with you,” Xander says for the second time.

“It was something I needed to do alone, you know? I faced her and now it’s over.”

He makes a sound in his throat and kisses the side of my neck. “I hope she leaves town now.”

“Me, too,” I reply, trying to ignore the pain over the person my mother turned out to be. A shit one.

“So, I was thinking,” Xander murmurs, “I could do two weeks with you and two weeks back home. I could start working on cars too, to keep me busy while I’m here. What do you think?”

I don’t like the sound of him leaving for two weeks every month, but the idea seems logical and reasonable. “I’m going to miss you.”

He gently plays with my hair, resting his arm on the headboard of my bed. We’re both naked and wrapped up in each other’s arms. “I know. We could try it out and see how it goes. Nothing is set in stone. We can make it work for us.”