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CHAPTER TWO

Jillian

“Are you sure I’ll like him, Mom?” Kimber asks as we head to the restaurant we’re meeting RiffRaff at for dinner.

“Positive, sweetie,” I reply.

“Is he tall like Dad was?” she questions.

I stop and think about the two men and after mentally comparing them, I shake my head. “No, RiffRaff’s taller, believe it or not. He’s also very muscular, has tattoos, shaves his head, and rides a motorcycle.”

“Oh! Like Jax Teller?”

I snicker then ask, “And what do you know about Jax Teller?”

“Katie’s mom lets her watch it and she has a poster of him on her wall.” Then she shoots me a look that has ‘bad mom’ written all over it. Some parents may be comfortable with all of the sex and violence that takes place on that show, but I’m not. I’d like to shelter her from those things for a little longer. Before I know it, she’ll be sixteen and I’ll have to face the fact that she’s interested in some of those things. Including the mutiny. But until that happens, I’d like her to live inside my blissful bubble of ignorance alongside me.

“Well, you’re too young to watch it as far as I’m concerned. But he is a biker in a club, although they’re not like the club in that show.”

“Good. She says there’s a lot of shooting in it,” Kimber advises doing a full body shiver.

I don’t know if RiffRaff carries a gun, but I suspect he probably does and since he’s told me about the businesses the club owns and operates, I highly doubt he’s in very many shootouts. Pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant, I’m happy to see that RiffRaff’s already there, standing in a space next to his motorcycle. As I pull forward into the spot, he moves to the side, a smile playing on his lips.

“Is that him, Mom?” Kimber asks, staring wide-eyed and a little starstruck through the passenger window at RiffRaff.

“Yeah, baby,” I reply as I put my SUV in park and shut it down. He immediately goes to the passenger side after motioning me to wait and opens Kimber’s door before crouching down so they’re eye-to-eye. I sit back with my purse and keys clutched in my hand and watch as he valiantly enchants my baby girl.

“Hey, Kimber, I’m RiffRaff and I’m very glad to meet you,” he says, endearing me to him forever.

Or maybe it’s his voice which is smooth yet gravely, kind of like a shot of top shelf whiskey.

“Hey,” Kimber replies. “I um, I was going to open my door.”

“A lady’s door is always opened for her if a man is around,” he says, standing up and moving back so she can get out of my car. “Now, let me go get your mom and we’ll head in and get some of the best steaks around.”

“I like chicken,” Kimber whispers, almost to herself. My pulse quickens as I fear he’ll take her words as an insult. She’s acting surly, but once she warms up to him her attitude will change. But instead of reacting with a scowl or argumentative words, because that never works with a prepubescent teenager, he shoots her a wink and then gives me a pearly white grin.

He turns from where he was coming to the driver’s side and pins her with a smile. “Sweetheart, you can order whatever you want as long as you’re not wasteful. I happen to know, though, that they have combo dishes, so if you prefer chicken but kind of want steak too, you can get one of those.”

“They do?” she asks with awe in her voice as she follows him to the driver’s side where I’ve been patiently waiting for him.

Kimber and I occasionally go out to eat, of course, but we’ve never made it to this restaurant so neither of us have a clue what is offered outside of steaks since ‘steakhouse’ is in the name. Thankfully, with Duncan’s investments, our savings, and the life insurance policy, plus my own frugal nature, we’re not hurting for money, but I was waiting for something big to celebrate, like her thirteenth birthday or even an award from school. My plan was to let her bring Katie along, of course, since they’re BFFs for life, and we’d get all dressed up.

“Absolutely,” he states before he opens my door and holds out his hand.

Taking it, I allow him to help me stand. Once the car door is closed and I’ve locked it using my key fob, he leans in and brushes a butterfly kiss across my cheek. If I were a teenager, I know I’d swoon, but instead, I have to act like this is an everyday thing and it most certainly is not!

“Katie’s gonna be so jealous, Mom,” Kimber brags as RiffRaff holds the door and ushers us inside.

“Who’s Katie?” RiffRaff asks.

She looks up at him and replies, “My best friend.”

“Always good to have close friends,” he says. “Got a few of them myself, and so does my son.”

“You have kids?” Kimber questions as we follow the hostess to the booth she’s leading us to after RiffRaff gave her his name.

“One, a son named Brick,” RiffRaff advises as he settles in across from us, his back to the wall.

I had noticed that he always did that and asked him one time when we were out why, and he told me then it was so he could see the entire establishment and be prepared for anything coming our way. Since he also walks on the outside of ‘danger’ whenever we’re in town meandering down the sidewalk, I don’t question it any longer.

Her eyes widen but before she can ask another question, a server comes by and takes our drink orders before putting rolls and cinnamon butter as well as menus down in front of us. I watch my daughter gazing around the five-star restaurant, her eyes saucer wide with wonder and am glad that RiffRaff chose this place for their initial meeting. Needless to say, she’s impressed.

“Help yourselves, ladies,” he says as he snags a roll and proceeds to slather butter all over it. At my glance, he winks and states, “Cholesterol’s fine, darlin’, I promise.”

His comment has me giggling as I take my own roll and put far less butter on mine than he did, while Kimber does the same. When I bite into mine, I moan in delight when the warm bread and butter combo hits my tastebuds. “Oh, my goodness, now I understand why you put so much on, this stuff is phenomenal!”

“Mom, these are really good,” Kimber mumbles around her stuffed face.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I chide, my mom hat fully in place. RiffRaff chuckles as he finishes his first roll then proceeds to butter another one.

“Mom,” Kimber drawls out once she’s chewed and swallowed.

“Let’s check out the menu,” I suggest, not wanting her to show her snarky, teenage side. While I know he’ll eventually see it because I’m hoping he’s gonna want to be around for a long time, I don’t want it to happen within the first thirty minutes of them meeting.

I smile in euphoric contentment at the fact that RiffRaff insisted on following us home and making sure that we made it to our destinations safely. There aren’t many chivalrous men around anymore and I’m enjoying the fact that he is. The look on Katie’s face when he pulled up behind me as we dropped Kimber off was one of amazement, and I anticipate that Kimber is going to embellish the dinner with RiffRaff.

“I think that went well,” I murmur as RiffRaff and I walk up the steps to my porch.

I did downsize from the house that Duncan and I owned, but that was more for practical purposes since I never really cared for the house itself. Instead, I found a sprawling farmhouse with a wraparound porch, a huge backyard, and established, mature trees that line the long, winding driveway. I have more bedrooms than just the two of us really need, but what sold me on it was the fact that each bedroom, except the Jack and Jill set-up that’s on the second floor, has its own ensuite bathroom and workable fireplaces in each bedroom.

Plus, there’s a vanity area in it which has given Kimber and Katie hours of enjoyment as they try out various makeup looks they’ve seen on TikTok videos. I have no qualms about them practicing their ‘look’ even though both sets of parents agree that they aren’t to wear their made-up faces outside of either of our homes. They’re also learning how to take care of their skin, which a lot of people don’t start doing until later in life. Since my skincare routine focuses on my actual skin, and I wear minimal makeup, mine isn’t as full of brushes, eyeshadow palettes, and perfumes as my daughter’s is. Actually, hers looks like Ulta exploded in an array of colors and scents, but she’s happy, so that’s all that matters.

“She seems like a good kid,” he replies as he takes my keys and unlocks the front door before opening it. I quickly disarm my alarm and see his approving nod as he closes and locks the door. Before I can go any further, he says, “Let me check it out first, Jilly.”

He turns on all of the lights then prowls through all of the rooms before being satisfied it’s safe for me to enter. Once he makes it back to me, he places his hand on my lower back and ushers me inside.

“The alarm was on, RiffRaff,” I reply in protest. “Surely, no one is here but us.”

“It eases my mind, darlin’,” he says.

I remind myself that he’s old school, and instead of arguing with him over the fact that I enter my home every day that ends with a ‘Y’ on my own and count on my system to work proficiently, I settle with telling him, “Okay, that’s fine.”

Despite the fact that we’ve been seeing each other officially for about six months now, we’ve kept things PG. Oh, he holds my hand or guides me with his hand on the small of my back, but outside of quite a few swoon worthy kisses, we haven’t gone any further and I find myself nervous all of a sudden.

Duncan was the first man I ever slept with and that had stopped about eight months before his death. Since then, there’s been no one else as I was focused on Kimber, school, and working. Not only that, but his actions beforehand have me questioning myself and my sexual prowess as far as an intimate relationship goes. I obviously wasn’t good enough to keep my husband satisfied and from straying outside of our marriage vows, how can I expect to keep RiffRaff from doing the same?

“What has your brow furrowing, Jilly?” RiffRaff asks. “If you’re not ready, we can wait.”

“It’s not that,” I slowly reply. “It’s just that… I mean… well, I’m nervous, RiffRaff. What if I’m no good?”

He throws his head back, laughter bubbling out of him, and I gaze in astonishment at how free and open he looks right now. Pulling me into his arms he leans down and kisses my forehead and says, “Babe.”

Wait, that’s it? Just ‘babe’ as a response?

“Any man worth his salt who knows what he’s doing will make it so both parties enjoy themselves,” he finally says. “I’m taking from your response that you’re feeling insecure so maybe I need to show you what you do to me. And for the record, it’s been a longass time for me, Jilly, so you’re gonna need to go easy on me.”