Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Anthony knew nothing in this life was granted, and some things had to be earned. He didn’t mind having to do whatever it took to earn the respect of his father, and one day, that of the club. His place was to be by his father’s side.
For a long time, he assumed Miles would be the one to take the lead of the Skulls. Miles was Tiny’s son, who had been the leader of the Skulls before Lash, until he handed over the reins.
They opted to have dinner at a small restaurant, one that served vegan food and then of course meat. Anthony refused to join in her vegan diet, but he had no problem with it.
The restaurant wasn’t too fancy. There was no concierge to park his car, but a small parking lot around the back. He parked, climbed out, and since Daisy was already out, he took her hand.
“You really are going to be the perfect gentleman, aren’t you?”
“You deserve it.” And with that, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Have I told you tonight that you look beautiful?”
“I don’t think you have.”
“Well, you do, and that dress looks stunning on you.” It was a deep blue that hugged her body, but also wasn’t too tight. She looked so soft and feminine. He wanted to hold her in his arms and never let her go. He felt an overwhelming need to protect her.
“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself. You clean up nicely.” She giggled.
They walked into the restaurant and he already had made reservations. The man at the front desk looked over his book, then nodded and asked him to follow.
He’d booked a nice, quiet table where there was no chance of them being spied upon. He had a horrible feeling one or more of their parents were going to try and join their party, and he didn’t want that. Anthony had heard his mother talking about how cute it was for the two of them to be dating, and he didn’t need that kind of embarrassment.
He pulled out the chair for Daisy, and she sat down. He thanked the man for showing them their table, and then they were finally alone.
Daisy leaned forward. “This is nice.”
“Yes, it is.” He glanced down and saw her hands were on the table, so he reached out and took them. The smile on her face was intoxicating.
“You know, Tabitha’s going to ask me about today.”
“I know.”
“I hate that I’ve lied to her. About us.”
“There wasn’t much to tell. We wanted our privacy, and she didn’t exactly help us with that.”
“True.” She took a deep breath. “I think she misses Simon.”
He shook his head. “We’ve got all the time in the world to talk about Tabitha and her problems. You and I both know she is going to choose to be a Chaos.”
“So?”
“That means she’s not a Skull, and she won’t stay one forever. Her heart lies elsewhere.”
“It doesn’t stop her loyalty to us.”
“Right now, but in time it is going to mean exactly that.” He didn’t want to talk about Tabitha. Anthony had known for some time that their friend was going to choose Simon. Tabitha was obsessed with Simon. He also knew their parents had done this as an experiment to help her make up her mind. Yes, she loved them all, she was a Skull, but her heart and her love were with another.
Simon was going to take over from his father as leader of the Chaos Bleeds MC. Now, the Skulls and Chaos Bleeds may have been aligned for a long time, but they were not the same club. Anthony was not going to willingly join with Chaos Bleeds, and he knew his father never would. They were two independent clubs with similar desires. They wanted peace. They had each other’s back in war, but other than that, they were different.
Daisy sighed and for the first time that night, the smile dropped from her lips.
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t be sad.”
“How could I not? Everything is changing and there is nothing I can do to stop it.” She sighed. “Tabitha will be gone. What about us? What about college? What about the future?”
“You’re scared?”
“I don’t know if I’m scared, or I don’t know what to think.”
“Are you planning to go away to college?”
Daisy shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
This did surprise him.
“I thought you wanted to go?” he asked.
“Things change, and I don’t want to go to another state and live with a bunch of other people. I don’t want to ... leave you.” She pressed her lips together.
“Daisy, you can’t ... I want you to do what you want to do.”
“And I’ve been thinking about it. There are online options for me to study. There are night classes. There is so much I can do, I don’t have to leave Fort Wills, and you, to do what I’m not even sure I want to do anymore. I don’t know if I want to be a social worker, a writer, or some business thing.” She blew out a breath. “I don’t know what I want to be.”