Page 106 of Matrix

“Uh, we’re not a gang,” Talon says.“We’re a club.”

“Whatever.” Dad shakes his head because he doesn’t care about semantics.“We love you all, and we’ll never forget what you did for our girls. If you need anything, we’ll do what we can to help you.”

“Thank you, sir.” Matrix shakes Dad’s hand again.

“I told you, you can call me Dad. Only if you want to, of course.”

“Okay, Dad.” The smile on Matrix’s face is so innocent and sincere that my heart melts. I know Matrix has never had a father before, but this is super weird. What exactly did they talk about outside? I’m dying to ask, but I’ll have to wait until my family’s gone.

“You’ll visit us soon, right?” Angie asks me.

“Of course.” I give her a big hug.“Call me anytime. I’ll always be here for you.”

“When I get older, I want a boyfriend just like Matrix,” she whispers in my ear.

“Oh, boy.” I laugh because I don’t know if we can handle having two bikers in our family. That said, when she gets old enough, I’ll support whatever choice she makes. If I don’t like the guy, I’ll just send Matrix to deal with him.

Wait?Send Matrix?Angie won’t be ready to date for at least four or five more years. Ten, if we leave it up to Dad. Will I still be with Matrix in five years? What about ten? Will I even be with him tomorrow? We haven’t talked about our relationship since I returned to the clubhouse. I’m still not feeling very good physically, so we decided I’d stay here until I was back to normal. But my recovery shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks. After that, what comes next?

“We should hit the road,” Dad says.

It takes a while for everyone to say their goodbyes. Hugs and handshakes abound until, eventually, my parents and sister leave. The rest of the club members, including Nina, return to their seats at the kitchen table. As they dig back into lunch, I glance at Matrix, who’s still standing by the front door.

“Want to go outside for a bit?” he asks.

“O-kay.” He’s up to something, but I have no idea what. I follow him outside.

After we get situated in the Adirondack chairs on the patio overlooking the river, he reaches for my hand. Together, we sit in silence, watching the water flow past. I’ve always loved it out here. Watching the water flow has a way of carrying your worries away with it. Whenever I felt troubled in the past, I’d come outside and let the river work its magic. I don’t know what he wants to tell me, but as long as we’re here, everything will end up fine.

“We’ve been through a lot of shit,” he says, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah, but we made it.”

“We did.”

“Okay, out with it. What did you and my dad talk about?” I swing my legs to the side and sit up to face him.

“I told him you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Matrix repositions himself, so he’s sitting across from me. He grasps both of my hands in his.“I love you, Daisy. When I first realized what was happening, I hated it. I tried not to notice you, but you were always around, looking so fucking hot that I’d have a constant hard-on. Blue balls for days.”

Tossing my head back, I laugh while he grimaces.

“Not funny, babe.”

“I’m sorry. When I moved in, you were so mean to me. I had no idea you wanted me. If anything, I thought you didn’t want me around.”

“You were right about that. I tried to get Scar to get rid of you, but he refused. You made me feel so many different emotions. Shit I’d never experienced before. Feeling all that stuff is hard for me, and you whipped me into a frenzy. I didn’t want to acknowledge my attraction to you to anyone, not even myself. But eventually, I couldn’t deny it anymore. You forced me to feel everything.”

“Your heart opened up.”

“You basically tore a gaping hole through it.”

“Sorry?” I grin sheepishly.

“Having you in the house, constantly shaking that tight little ass of yours, almost drove me fucking crazy. I wanted you like I’ve never wanted anyone else. I still do. If Doc hadn’t threatened to cut off my nuts, I would have joined you in bed the first night you were back.”

“Even with my sister in there too?”

“I would have moved her to your old room.”