6. Mel

I’m awake at 6:00 a.m. the next morning, which is my usual get up time. I like to get to the office early.

But this morning it’s birdsong that I hear outside the window rather than the sounds of the city.

I lie in bed, enjoying the feeling of not having to get up yet. My office is only a few steps away, and my first meeting isn’t until 9:00 a.m.

I grab my phone and ignore the messages from Jeff. I allowed him one phone call when I first got to Danni’s to tell him it was over. It’s a decision that has been a long time coming, and there’s nothing he can say that will convince me otherwise.

I search my heart for any regret and find none. The only thing I feel is a sense of freedom. The only regret is that it took me so long to leave him. Five years I was with Jeff, but I was unhappy for at least the last three.

I send him a quick message to say I’ll stop by at some point to get my things from the apartment. Either I’m going to stay here for a few weeks or I need to find a place in town.

My mind turns to Davis, the generous veteran with shy boyish charm.

Danni was right about the MC being like a family. He’s taken in a complete stranger and offering me his spare room. I’ll have to sort out an arrangement for paying him rent.

But first I want to speak to Danni for a reality check to make sure I’m not doing anything crazy.

There are also several messages from my mother, which I can’t deal with right now. I’ve always been the golden girl, getting a college degree, a sensible career, and getting engaged to a sensible man.

I never had the pressure that Danni felt because she didn’t fit the mold our mother expected. I fit the mold because it just so happens I enjoy my job, and at first there was something about Jeff that caught my attention.

I realize now his easy charm can turn on and off like a tap. After living with him for five years, I can safely say there is nothing charming abut Jeff Simmons. And after he went behind my back at work, I have no regrets about leaving him.

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and pull on the sweater that Davis leant me. It comes to just above my thighs.

When I was younger, I used to try to hide my thick thighs, but as I’ve gotten older I give less of a shit what anyone thinks about my body.

This is who I am, and the shape of my body is only one aspect of me. If anyone wants to judge, they’re too shallow to be worth my time.

I listen to the cabin creaking and the sounds of the winds rustling the trees outside. I’ve got no idea if Davis is an early riser or not.

Tentatively I open the door a crack and peer into the dim morning light. Down the corridor, there’s a row of closed doors and I wonder what he’s got behind them. It’s a big house for a single man.

The warm smell of coffee reaches my nose, and I follow the scent to the kitchen. When I reach the doorway, I stop dead in my tracks.

Davis is in the kitchen wearing nothing but grey sweatpants. He’s facing away from me, showing clearly defined muscles and a tattoo that runs down his spine in an elaborate interlocking design.

My mouth goes dry, and there’s a tug in my core. My knees feel like they’re about to give way, and I slam my thighs together to ease the ache that’s building between my legs.

He reaches to a high cupboard for a coffee mug, and his bicep curls as he takes the mug off the shelf. I bite my lower lip, trying not to whimper.

It’s been far too long since I was intimate with Jeff. And I don’t think he ever made me feel this way just by reaching for crockery.

A moan escapes my lips and I clamp them shut, but luckily Davis doesn’t hear me.

Instead I retreat a few steps, take a calming breath, and thump into the kitchen. He turns when I get to the kitchen island, and my breath hitches in my throat.

His bare chest shimmers with perspiration, the muscles pulled tight from a workout. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead, and he sips from a protein shake.

“Good morning,” he says cheerfully, flicking the coffee machine on.

His gaze travels down my body, which is covered by his large sweater, and stops when he gets to my thighs. His eyes turn an intense deep color, and he licks his lips before quickly bringing his gaze up to my face.

I tilt my head, enjoying his gaze on me. Davis is as attracted to me as I am to him.

The thought makes my tummy flip. It’s been a long time since a man looked at me with desire, and I like it.

I reward him with a smile and lean on the kitchen counter.

“You’re an early riser too, huh?”

He nods. “Got that from the military. I like to get up early and work out.”

Which explains the sweat covered muscles.

“I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“I didn’t hear a thing.”

His torso is perfection. Tight abs glisten with perspiration, and there’s a thin line of dark hair that disappears tantalizingly into the top of his grey sweatpants.

I have the sudden urge to lick the sweat off him just to find out what he tastes like.

“Help yourself to coffee,” he says. “I’m going to shower, then I’ll make you breakfast.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” He takes a sip of his protein drink. “But I want to.”

A little while later, I watch Davis climb onto his bike and head off to the MC headquarters. He cooked me scrambled eggs on thick toast washed down with coffee. I worried you couldn’t get a decent coffee outside of the city, but that’s not the case. Whatever beans he’s got are dark and delicious.

I open my laptop, but my mind’s distracted with thoughts of Davis’s abs and the bulging biceps that could pin a woman down.

I can barely take in what my colleagues are saying at my nine o’clock meeting, and it’s a relief when it ends.

Danni said she’d pop round sometime this morning, and I’m relieved when I see her Caddy pulling into the driveway. I need a distraction that’s not work.

Even better, she’s got the girls with her.

I meet her on the porch, holding out my arms for my little niece, Lucy. Beattie races up the stairs with all the confidence of a four-year-old wearing fairy wings.

“Are you staying in the mountains, Aunty Mel?” She hops on one foot in excitement, and I give Danni a quick glance.

“Just for a little bit.”

She skips off into the house, and I follow her in. Lucy squirms in my arms, eager to follow her big sister.

I give her one last big sloppy kiss and put her on the floor. She crawls after Beattie, who’s gone straight to the living room.

There’s a wicker trunk in the corner, and Beattie opens it and starts pulling toys out. Davis wasn’t lying when he said he has kids over. The girls seem at home here.

The thought makes me smile, and I’m struck again by how good Danni has it here with her extended club family.

I make us a fresh pot of coffee, and we sit at the table while the girls play in the living area.

“How are you feeling?” Danni asks, the concern obvious in her expression.

I take a deep breath, not sure of my answer. “I’m feeling relieved that I’ve left Jeff, I feel terrified about what happens next, I feel excited about the possibility of promotion…” I trail off, not wanting to say the last bit. And I feel attracted to the hot young biker who’s taken me in.

Danni sips her coffee and looks at me long and hard like only a sister can.

“I’m glad you’re not sad about Jeff. I never liked him.”

“I gathered.” My sister’s usually the friendliest person I know, but she was always cool around Jeff.

“Davis says I can stay in his spare room for a few weeks.” I sip my coffee, not trusting myself to meet her eye when I say his name. He’s gotten under my skin, but everything’s too jumbled up at the moment to know what that means.

But there’s no escaping my sister’s shrewd gaze.

“Good.” She smirks. “It’ll be good for you.”

“Jeez Danni, I’m staying in the spare room. Not his bed.”

She looks surprised. “I mean it will be good for you to stay on the mountain, get away from the city for a while.” She laughs. “Why sis, what did you think I meant?”

I play with my hair, trying to hide my embarrassment. “Nothing.”

She laughs again. “But if you want to stay in his bed, that could be good for you too. A little light relief might be exactly what you need.”

“Danni!” My gaze goes to the girls, but they’re playing with a doll and caught up in their own little world.

“I’m serious, Mel. Davis is a good guy, and he can’t keep his eyes off you. You should consider it.”

My cheeks blush, because I have considered it. I’ve considered it a lot since I saw his body on display this morning.

At that moment, Beattie runs over wielding the doll. “She works at a bank just like you, Aunty Mel.”

Beattie jumps onto my lap, and her little sister isn’t far behind. She whines to be picked up, and suddenly I’ve got two little girls on my lap.

The scent of milk and lavender soap fills my senses, and the smile I give them is all genuine. Beattie tells me all about the doll going off to work while Lucy bounces up and down making gurgling noises, desperate to speak like her older sister.

Danni watches us thoughtfully, and when the girls hop down, distracted by the next toy, I know what she’s going to ask.

“I never understood why you didn’t want kids, Mel. You’d be an amazing mother.”

I sip my now lukewarm coffee and watch the girls.

“It’s not that I don’t want kids. What I realized recently is that I don’t want kids with Jeff. He’d be a terrible father; he’s got no moral compass, and our values aren’t aligned.”

Danni nibbles on a cookie. She found them in the cupboard and was as comfortable as her kids in making herself at home in Davis’s cabin. “When did you realize that?”

I sigh heavily. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, wondering why every time Jeff tried to set a date for the wedding that I had an excuse. I didn’t want to be one of those women who stays with a substandard man because she’s worried her biological clock is ticking.

“I realized I’d rather take my chances having a child on my own than have one with Jeff.”

Danni’s eyes widen. “You’re having a baby?”

“No.” I chuckle. “I mean, someday I’d like to. And I can’t wait around too much longer. I guess that’s part of the terrified bit. I don’t know how my life is going to play out now.”

Danni’s lips pull up at the corners. “If you want some practice making a baby, I’m pretty sure Davis will be willing to help.”

I punch her playfully on the shoulder, and we both giggle. But I can’t help wondering if she’s right.