Lucky's Choice (4 page)

Chapter 2

Lucky ignored King’s amused look when he entered the restaurant on Wednesday, seeing Rider already seated at one of the bar tables that faced the door. He walked to the table and slid into the seat across from him.

“What are you doing here?” Rider asked.

“Thought I would try out the lunch special that has you here every Wednesday,” Lucky stated, taking the menu from the bleach-blonde bargirl who gave him a flirtatious smile as she waited for his order. Lucky stared at her long legs before meeting her eyes with a blatantly sexual grin of his own.

“Give me a burger, fries, and a beer,” he ordered.

“That’s all?” Her teasing reply and the huge display of flesh overflowing her top drew his deepening interest.

“For now.” Lucky gave her a wink, ignoring Rider’s apparent aggravation.

When the waitress moved away, he glanced around the busy restaurant.

“So what has you eating here? I thought the diner was your favorite place.”

Rider shrugged. “Obviously, you already know Willa brings her desserts in today. If you don’t get them the day she brings them in, they’re gone by Friday. Why do you give a fuck where I eat?” He looked across the table at him quizzically.

“I don’t,” Lucky stated matter-of-factly, gazing at the waitress’s cleavage when she bent over to place his beer down in front of him then left with a seductive swish of her hips.

“Doesn’t sound like it to me,” Rider contradicted.

This time, it was Lucky who shrugged, taking a drink of his beer. “So her desserts are the only reason you’re chasing after Willa?”

“Fuck no. Are you blind? Her tits and ass are why I’m sitting here. The desserts are merely a bonus.” Rider gave him a cocky grin.

Lucky’s hand tightened on the beer bottle, tempted to smash it over Rider’s head.

“Willa’s not a slut you can fuck and walk away from. She’s not that kind of woman.”

“How do you know? Maybe she is. Maybe I won’t want to walk away from her. Razer settled down,” he pointed out.

“You’re thinking of settling down with one woman?” Lucky asked in astonishment.

“Are you motherfuckin’ crazy? Hell no, I’m not ready to settle down.” Rider stared at him as if he had stepped in dog shit. “I’m too young to settle down with one woman. I might when I’m over sixty so I’ll have someone to take care of me when I get old, but until then, no.”

Lucky’s teeth ground together, beginning to understand Shade’s exasperation with the brother.

“So, you want Willa to use as your fuck toy and to make desserts for you at the same time?”

“Yeah.” Rider grinned in satisfaction. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Lucky lost it. He was about to reach across the table and wipe the smug grin from his face when the waitress inadvertently saved Rider by placing his food down, Rider took the opportunity to slip out of the booth before she moved away. His earlier flirtation bit him in the ass as she lingered, blocking him from following after Rider.

Lucky’s head snapped around to see Rider taking the stack of pink boxes Willa was carrying through the door King was holding open.

“I get off in twenty minutes,” the waitress commented, drawing his attention back to her.

Lucky quickly glanced at her name tag. “I’ll be outside. Don’t keep me waiting, Anna.”

Her appreciative gaze slid over his body before returning to meet his eyes. “I won’t.” She hurried away, her lush ass drawing his own appreciative gaze. It wasn’t as perfect as Willa’s, but it would do.

Lucky remained seated, eating his burger and fries as he watched Rider charm Willa. The pretty woman was becoming flustered at the brother’s attention, nearly dropping the boxes of desserts. Lucky prayed she would drop them and deny Rider the treats he was after.

Then Willa handed Rider the boxes, and he nearly choked on a french fry when the top she was wearing was revealed. She had on a peach top that was over large on her except through the breasts, which were snugly outlined, and the top button had come undone, leaving a generous portion of her breasts bare. Rider’s ravenous gaze lighted on the display, and the brother nearly dropped the boxes he was juggling. King hastily snatched them away before they ended up on his polished hardwood floor.

Lucky finished his food as he continued to watch Rider and Willa talk near the doorway while King disappeared into the kitchen. Lucky assumed she was waiting for her money since she appeared to want to bolt from Rider’s attention. Rider fucking got off making women uncomfortable, overwhelming them with his attention until they found themselves in his bed, wondering how they got there.

Willa took a step to the side when Rider stepped closer to her, her eyes inadvertently catching his. Blushing, she jerked her gaze back to Rider. Lucky wished he could read her thoughts at that moment. He was willing to bet she saw herself in the crosshairs between two wolves.

When she adjusted her stance so her back was to him, he threw some cash down on the table and stood, making up his mind to rescue her from Rider. He was doing her a favor, not because it bothered him to see her within touching distance of the lecherous biker, but because watching her about to be Rider’s next lay was like watching a cute kitten about to be devoured by a pit bull.

As he strolled nearer, he almost rolled his eyes at hearing Rider invite her to lunch, though he had to admit he was stunned Rider knew what a lunch date was. Usually, he crassly asked the women he wanted back to his room at the clubhouse.

Lucky refused to admit to himself his own recent behavior wasn’t much better. He was even more shocked by Willa’s answer.

“I’m already having lunch with someone,” she stated. Rider looked unhappy, but he didn’t have time to say anything else when the door opened and Drake Hall entered.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I had an unexpected phone call when I was about to leave the office. Have you been waiting long?”

“No.” Willa gave Drake an appealing smile, flashing those damn dimples of hers.

Drake gave Willa an affectionate kiss on her cheek that had Lucky’s eyes narrowing on the other man. Willa should know better than to trust a man that good-looking. Lucky was rapidly beginning to wonder if the shy woman was as virginal as he had assumed with the number of men in town pursuing her.

He wished Willa had her gun on her. He wouldn’t mind if she placed a bullet hole or two in the town’s most lecherous citizens.

Drake’s hand took Willa’s arm as King approached with his elegant menus in hand.

“I have your table ready, Drake.”

“Thanks, King.”

Both Lucky and Rider watched as the sophisticated man led Willa away.

“What the fuck?” Rider grunted. “Why’s she having lunch with him?”

“I don’t know. King might.”

“You think he’ll tell us?” Rider was definitely pissed off with the turn of events. Lucky could practically see the wheels spinning in his mind on how to overcome this new obstacle that was blocking his cock and stomach from what he wanted.

Anna came from the bar area with her purse in hand. “I’m off. I talked the owner into letting me leave early.”

Frustrated, Lucky saw King give him an amused smile as he handed Willa and Drake their menus. Lucky wanted to tell Anna he had changed his mind, but he gathered his senses in time.

He had no business being here, certainly not being curious about Willa’s relationship with Drake or preventing her from getting hit on by Rider. He needed to remind himself why he had stayed the fuck away from the attractive woman who had an abundance of curves that his hands and lips itched to explore.

“Let’s get out of here.” Lucky took Anna’s hand, opening the door with the other one.

“See you back at the clubhouse,” Lucky told Rider, who was staring at Anna with new interest.

“She going to be there?” Rider nodded toward Anna.

When Lucky gave Anna a questioning glance, the excitement in her sultry eyes was the only answer he needed.

“Meet me in my bedroom; it has a bigger bed,” Lucky offered graciously to the other brother. “See? I can share.”

Lucky congratulated himself for proving he had no desire for a monogamous relationship. Of course, Anna wasn’t Willa, and she didn’t raise the same feelings of protectiveness, but Lucky wasn’t going to analyze the differences between the women even further. There was no way to compare perfection against a cheap copy.

*
*
*

Willa had to force herself to listen as Drake discussed the properties that were available to rent in Treepoint. Her gaze kept straying to the mirror on the back wall that gave her a perfect view of Lucky and Rider leaving with the pretty waitress. She had blonde hair knotted smoothly on her head in a way that Willa was never able to achieve with her own messy hair, despite several spritzes of hair spray. She had even tried becoming a blonde herself during the time Lucky had been dating Beth.

Lately, Willa had given up trying to turn herself into a woman who would attract the opposite sex—Lucky in particular. It had taken a lot of soul-searching, but she had finally come to the conclusion that
The Ugly Duckling
was a work of fiction, and there was no way her size twenty body was going to miraculously become a size six.

“I think your best investment would be to purchase the small lot of land next to this building. King’s customers could get a taste of your desserts here and then stop at your shop to take more home. Several large restaurants are having their bakeries set up next door. It not only builds a customer base, but repeat business. There is also a spot opening in two months that’s close to the diner. It wouldn’t be as upscale as what you could accomplish if you built next to King’s, but I think it would be lucrative all the same.”

Willa dragged her eyes away from the window. The waitress had climbed on the back of Lucky’s bike, holding tight to his lean waist as they roared out of the parking lot.

“I can’t afford to buy the property and build new. How much is the rent for the one beside the diner?”

“Nine hundred a month,” Drake answered. “If you’re interested in buying the property, I would be willing to invest, Willa, and handle the financing.”

Willa shook her head. “I would be too afraid you would lose your money. If I go under, at least it will only be my money lost.”

Drake’s lips twisted at her words. “You’re not going to lose money. If anything, I think you’re going to have a hard time managing to keep up with the demand you’re going to have.”

“There’s already one bakery in town. Plus, the grocery store has a good selection. It’s going to be hard making a go at a new business, but I can’t keep up with the customers I have now in my kitchen. If I open a bakery, at least I can come home and not be surrounded by cakes and candy all the time. I might even manage to lose a few pounds.”

Drake tilted his head to the side, his eyes going to her breasts that were pressed against the side of the table. “God, I hope not.”

Willa gurgled with laughter. “If I didn’t know the women you dated, Drake, I would be worried, but I happen to know who you’re after.”

Drake’s affability disappeared, but his changed attitude didn’t deter her.

“Everyone in town knows you want Bliss.”

“Everyone but Bliss.” Drake’s short reply didn’t arouse sympathy for him since Drake often dated more than one woman at a time, so it wasn’t like he was sitting home, pining for the attractive woman.

They had grown up living next to each other until he had moved out of his parents’ home after graduating high school. Drake had married his high school sweetheart but they divorced when Jace was a baby. Willa didn’t know the details of his failed marriage, but she had seen a change in Drake soon after his marriage. The laughing boy she had grown up with had gradually disappeared until Willa only saw traces of him the few times she spotted his motorcycle, riding through town.

“I think she does, but from what little Rachel has told me about The Last Riders, the women aren’t allowed to see men who don’t belong to the club.”

“It doesn’t stop the men from seeing women who don’t belong to the club.”

“Since when have women ever been given equal rights?” Willa questioned sarcastically.

“Ouch! I think I’m going to change this subject while I still have a dick.” Drake laughed.

“Don’t worry, Drake; your dick isn’t the one I’d like to neuter.”

Chapter 3

Hearing the commotion from outside, Willa opened her front door hurriedly to find her house in complete disarray. The two older girls were arguing over the laptop needed to do their homework; Charlie was sitting in front of the television, playing a video game; and the two little ones were sitting on the carpet, the contents of her catering bag out onto the floor.

“Leanne and Sissy, I asked you to keep an eye on the children until I could get home.” Willa brushed her fine hair away from her face.

The mutinous look from Sissy reminded Willa so much of her mother Georgia. Willa thrust the unkind thought away, not wanting her feelings toward Georgia to affect her feelings toward Sissy. The seventeen-year-old wasn’t responsible for her mother terrorizing Willa through high school.

“I did. They’re just playing,” Sissy snapped.

Willa went to the younger children and began picking up the decorating tips.

Taking one of the tiny, metal tips in her hand, she showed it to Sissy and Leann. “This is small enough for one of them to choke on. I had this bag on the top shelf of the pantry. How did they reach it?”

Charlie took his attention away from the video game long enough to explain. “I climbed up on the stool to get it. I remembered you had markers. I thought the girls could play with them. I gave them paper to color on.”

Willa sighed. The edible markers were strewn across the floor with the papers that had been neatly stacked on the kitchen counter when she had left.

Willa stared in dismay at the ruined orders that had been arranged by the date they were expected to be prepared, many now unreadable. It was going to take hours to call her clients and retake the orders, which was going to not only take time she didn’t have to spare, but make her look unprofessional right when she was thinking about expanding her business.