Smoke and Steel (Wild West MC #2)(56)

This sounded impossible, but it was true.

Core was way hotter than Jax Teller.

“We had dinner at Wendy’s.”

Bree and Kyra both looked sick, and Marcy made a noise like she was in pain.

I started laughing.

Then I gave them the details.

When I was done, no one looked sick anymore.

“I am never going to be able to drive by a Wendy’s again without my heart beating a little faster,” Kyra declared. “I mean, it takes some chops to make Wendy’s romantic, but Lord, that man did it.”

He sure did.

“I get it, with all that talk about the Baconator, now I need one,” Marcy said.

I started chuckling, such was the power of the Baconator.

I stopped laughing when I saw how Bree was looking at me.

“What?” I asked.

“This isn’t a rebound,” she remarked.

No, it was not.

Or, at least I hoped it wasn’t.

“No,” I confirmed.

“You know, B,” Marcy cut in, her tone mildly peeved. “You can start drifting out of a relationship while you’re in said relationship. It wasn’t like everything was going perfectly, they had a big blowup, Hell ended it, and now she’s just moving on. Bryan wasn’t right from the start, it just took her a while to get to that understanding.”

“I called him and thanked him for calling me,” I put in, just in case Bree was worried I hadn’t done the right thing by Bryan and that was why she looked so weird.

“That’s nice,” she said before sipping, though it sounded like she didn’t mean it.

“What’s your deal?” Kyra asked.

Yes, I wasn’t the only person who read she didn’t mean it.

“Okay, don’t get all mad at me,”—she visibly braced in her seat—“but I mean, this sounds like it’s the start of something. Not just some fun you’re having after a long-term relationship ended. That means you’re trading an attorney for a biker. I know that sounds bad, but Marcy,”—she turned to Marcy—“you told me his club makes their money by selling marijuana. I mean, am I the only one who thinks this might not be a great idea?”

The air in the room had turned chilly, and it wasn’t only coming from me.

“You know,” I began, “my brother-in-law is a biker, and he’s a really great guy. He loves Archie like crazy. He’s a blast during family dinners because he’s hilarious. He puts up with Elijah.” Elijah was my stepbrother, and although, after a big blow up a few years ago, things had improved, I still held a mild grudge because he’d treated my mom like shit for a long time. “All of his biker brothers and their women are cool. You’ve been to one of their hog roasts. You know they’re awesome.”

“It’s just…”

She didn’t finish that.

“It’s just what?” Marcy snapped.

Bree’s face got hard. “I can see you’re all pissed at me, but someone has to say it.”

She took a big breath.

Then she said it.

“It’s a step down.”

Right.

Someone didn’t have to say it, though after she did, we were all silent because we all didn’t know how to respond in the face of her bullshit.

Unsurprisingly, it was Marcy who broke the silence.

“I really can’t have you in my house right now.”

“Marce!” Bree exclaimed. “Be real. Bryan’s going to make partner in a few years and he’s going to be rich as shit.” She shifted her attention to me. “That’s who you are. That’s what you want. You told me you were going to live the five-star life. Do you think this biker is going to give that to you?”

Another reason why women kept getting typecast in this role?

There were too many other women who did their best to keep them there.

“Core gave me a Baconator,” I reminded her.

She made a scoffing noise.

“Since I haven’t made things clear in the years I’ve known you, I’ll do it now,” I began, openly impatient because I was tired of having this fucking conversation. “I am going to have the five-star life. But I’m going to get it for myself.”

“How’s it going to look, you strolling into a Waldorf Astoria with Core?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I retorted. “I also don’t give a fuck. I’ll be paying a whack to stay there, so they can keep their opinions to themselves. Then again, I don’t care where I am or who I’m around, someone has one, they can keep their unwanted opinions to themselves.”

She didn’t miss my point and her head moved like I’d smacked her.

But…

Seriously?

“As for Core,” I continued, “he’s probably rolling in money. Marijuana sales are huge. But even if they weren’t, my point about the Baconator was, early indications are that he’s happy if I’m happy. So if the Waldorf isn’t his thing, I think he’ll be able to suck it up. Then again, not many people have an issue with enjoying the amenities at a Waldorf Astoria property. Even, and this is just a guess, bikers.”

“I can’t believe I’m sitting in my own house, listening to someone I love defend the person she’s attracted to and wants to spend time with,” Marcy butted in.