Page 33 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Vegas

I didn’t know what I’d expected for this party, but it sure as hell wasn’t this.

The place looked worse than a middle school dance.

It couldn’t have been the time frame. I’d seen Charlotte pull off really elaborate events with only a few days of planning, so I knew she was prepared.

And it wasn’t a money thing. I gave her cash to pay for everything when she mentioned it wouldn’t be very elaborate because it was too expensive.

I doubted she spent much of anything on this party.

So what the hell had she used all that money on?

Sierra, for her part, looked unfazed by the whole thing.

She sat in an uncomfortable looking metal folding chair, ignoring the spread of food she couldn’t eat and smiling politely at Charlotte when she came closer.

I felt bad for her. I wanted her to have a big party to celebrate how amazing she was for growing my kid.

This wasn’t at all what I’d wanted for her.

I could’ve done better myself, and I wasn’t an event planner.

The most I’d ever done was help with parties at the clubhouse.

Even those would have been better than this.

Anger boiled just under the surface as Charlotte offered me an uneasy smile. “What are you doing here? I told you no men allowed.”

Before I could respond, Sierra put her hand on my knee, squeezing gently. “I called him. I’m starting to feel a little sick and I wanted a ride home.”

“Maybe you’re hungry,” Skylar pointed out, oh so helpfully driving the knife a little deeper.

Charlotte visibly flinched, her gaze flicking to me again with a heavy amount of trepidation.

The last thing she’d expected was to get caught.

I should have known she changed her tune too damn fast. She’d been a bitch to Sierra before.

Why did I expect her to do better without any incentive?

“She said she wasn’t hungry,” one of the other women pointed out. I didn’t recognize her, and I doubted Sierra knew her. Why invite people who didn’t even know the woman having the baby, but not her family?

“Charlotte–” I began, ready to call her out. This was unacceptable and she needed to know it.

Sierra’s grip on my knee tightened and when I looked over at her, she seemed a little pale. When she rubbed her back and her face twisted up in discomfort, I decided I’d confront Charlotte later. I didn’t want Sierra uncomfortable if I could help it.

“Why don’t we get you out of here, sweetheart? Sky, I borrowed Tank’s truck. You can drive that back, right? I think he’s hanging out with Butch at the clubhouse.”

Skylar looked concerned, tipping her head to study Sierra’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just my back hurts. And I’m a little nauseous. The joys of pregnancy, I guess.”

She said that, but up until now, she’d rarely had many symptoms of her pregnancy. The most she had was heartburn. The fact that she was feeling off now was a red flag for me. I stood to help her to her feet when one of the women tried to stop us.

“Wait. What about the presents?” she asked. When the other three women whipped their heads around to glare at her, I knew I wouldn’t like whatever they’d gotten Sierra. If I didn’t want to get her out of here so bad, I’d demand to see it.

“We’ll, uh, drop those off later,” Charlotte offered with an awkward laugh.

“No, that’s okay. You went to all the trouble,” Sierra said, waving me off. “I can wait a few more minutes. I’d hate to be rude.”

I wanted to argue with her but Skylar shot me a look, shaking her head. For whatever reason, neither of them was willing to leave early if they could help it.

Sitting back down, I kept my arm around the back of Sierra’s chair. “Alright, sweetheart. We’ll leave right after, though. Do you want me to call Mel? Have her meet us at the clubhouse?”

She was smart enough to give it some thought before shaking her head. “I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. I think a nap might be my first plan of action. I got up early to come to this thing and I’m tired.”

Charlotte let out an awkward laugh, waving her hand airly. “Baby showers are supposed to be in the morning. Everyone knows that.”

“Mine wasn’t,” Skylar muttered to Sierra. She wasn’t loud enough for Charlotte to hear her, but I was close enough to catch it. I remembered her shower. It was epic and in the afternoon so we didn’t interrupt Ellie’s nap time. Not a damn thing like this one.

Charlotte’s friends looked awkwardly between me and her.

They obviously didn’t want to give the presents, which made me even more suspicious.

What the hell had they been planning that they were too afraid to show me?

And why? I mean, I knew Charlotte had an issue with Sierra, but did she seriously think punishing her would do anything but piss me off?

“I’ll grab the first one,” Skylar said, standing and heading for the tiny table with a handful of presents wrapped in cow print paper.

“What’s with the cow theme?” I asked with a frown. From what I knew, Sierra didn't like or dislike cows, and I wasn’t aware of cows being related to baby showers in any way. Wasn’t that like baby chicks or something?

A look of panic flashed across Charlotte’s face and her friend practically threw herself forward with a gift for Sierra. “Here, take mine first.”

I wanted an answer, but I got the feeling I wouldn’t like it.

I decided to ask after the ‘party’. If it could even be called that.

I looked around again while she opened the gift.

I could hear the basketball game nearby and the decorations were so bad, I couldn’t even call it shabby.

I’d never seen Charlotte treat someone so poorly before.

What the hell happened that she felt this much animosity toward Sierra?

Was this all because I hired her without telling Charlotte first?

“Oh, um… Thanks?” Sierra’s voice was hesitant, and when I looked down at the outfit in her lap, I frowned at it.

It was an outfit, plain jeans and a t-shirt.

Nothing fancy, but I thought these parties were supposed to be about giving gifts to the baby, not buying clothes for Sierra. “A little small, though.”

“It’s, uh…” She cleared her throat awkwardly, shooting a wide eyed look at Charlotte. I narrowed my eyes.

“It’s what?” I demanded.

The friend whipped her head around, her smile awkward. “Uh… I thought it’d be a good goal to aspire toward. You know, to motivate you to lose the baby weight. A friend of mine did the same thing when she had her baby.”

She was rambling, trying to cover up the fact that she was basically calling Sierra fat. I scowled, taking the clothes and setting them aside.

“I don’t think–”

“Thank you,” Sierra interrupted with a serene smile. “I appreciate the thought.”

The friend looked confused and awkward, her gaze darting around to her friends for some kind of reaction. They all stayed deathly silent.

“Uh… I guess mine will go next,” another blonde offered, handing Sierra a small package. Inside was a onesie that said ‘new to the herd’ with a baby cow printed on it. Again with the damn cow shit. What the hell was I missing?

“Aw. That’s cute. Thank you,” Sierra said blandly.

The next chick’s gift was just as bad. It was a t-shirt that was probably big enough that Butch could fit in it, with a poorly drawn cow and the words ‘not in the mooood’ on the front.

I lifted my gaze to Charlotte, silently demanding answers.

She looked anywhere else but at me, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

“My gift arrives later,” Skylar said, her smile genuine unlike the other women in the room. “I got you a baby swing like mine. It was a godsend when I had Ryder. I didn’t want to give you a chore to do, so Butch is putting it together right now and we’ll deliver it to your place later.”

Finally, Sierra’s face lit up and she beamed at Skylar. “Really? Thank you! I’ve heard those are helpful, but they’re so expensive.”

“Oh, I know. Totally worth the price, though, trust me. Ryder still uses his and it’s the only way I can get anything done sometimes.”

They hugged and I was glad someone took this shit seriously.

I’d have to do something big to make up for this shitshow later.

Charlotte said guys weren’t allowed at baby showers, but obviously that was just an excuse to keep me away.

I was one hundred percent certain that the guys would throw a better party than this with their eyes closed.

The final present sat in Charlotte’s lap. My disappointment over this shitshow was written all over my face, and I knew whatever she had wasn’t good. She looked like she’d rather get her wisdom teeth pulled without drugs than hand over that gift.

“Your turn.”

Covering up the present with her hands, she shook her head. “I think I’ll give her my present later.”

Not a chance in hell was I letting her off the hook.

“Why? She’s right here. Why not give it to her now?”

Her eyes widened and her bottom lip stuck out. That look used to kill me. Now that she was showing her true colors, it had no effect.

“Why don’t you want to give her the present, Charlotte?” I growled.

A flash of stubbornness crossed her face and she lifted her chin. “Because I said not right now. You don’t get to demand presents, Justin. I went through the trouble to throw this party. That should be present enough, and–”

I scoffed, cutting her off. “You want to call this a party? Seriously?”

Charlotte looked like she was gearing up for a fight, and I was ready to call her out on her shit, but Sierra stopped me by grabbing my hand. When I turned to look at her, she shook her head slightly.

“I think I’m ready to go now. Can you drive me home?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Let’s go.” I helped her to her feet, shooting one last dirty look at Charlotte. “We’ll be discussing this later.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring right back at me, but said nothing. It was the first smart thing she did all day.