The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 148

Athena

"Well while you two were doing guy stuff," Sarah said. "We were finalizing plans for the thank you dinner next weekend, it's going to be here, Saturday evening, and we're inviting Kiara, Leah, Cara, Maya, and Derek."

I watched Orion's face carefully when Sarah mentioned Derek and saw the briefest flicker of concern before he smoothed it away.

"Sounds good," he said. "Let me know if you need help with anything."

"We will," Sarah said, then yawned. "I think I'm going to head to bed, my arm is starting to hurt and I'm exhausted."

"I'll come with you," Orion said immediately. "Kids are already asleep so we might as well call it a night."

They headed upstairs and Tristan came over to sit beside me on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his hand going to my stomach like it always did.

"Good," I said. "Talking with Sarah helped, she understands what I'm going through in a way most people don't."

"I'm glad you both are okay." Tristan said. "All of you."

"I'm glad too"

"Ready for bed?" Tristan asked.

"Hmm, don't know" Tristan raised his brow with a smile that I understood very well.

I shook my head in laughter, he wasn't serious. We couldn't do anything here, anywhere but here.

Before I could say anything he lifted me up carefully. "How about I carry my babies to the room so they don't stress each other" I yelped and giggled together enjoying the way it felt to be carried by him.

.......

The week passed in a blur of rest and recovery, my bruises slowly faded from deep purple to yellow green and my throat felt better each day.

The baby continued to grow safely inside me and Mara had given us another positive report when we visited her midweek.

Tristan stayed by my side constantly, only leaving when absolutely necessary, and even then he'd call every hour to check on me, Sarah and I spent our days planning the dinner while the men worked on securing both houses and dealing with the aftermath of the attack.

By the time Saturday arrived, I was feeling almost back to normal physically though the emotional impact of what we'd been through still lingered.

Sarah's house was filled with the smell of cooking food and she'd made enough to feed an army with roasted chicken, pasta, salads, fresh bread, and three different desserts.

"You went overboard," I told her as I watched her pull another dish from the oven.

"They saved our lives," she said simply. "This is the least I can do."

The guests started arriving around six, Cara and Maya came first bringing wine and flowers, then Leah arrived with a homemade pie, and finally Kiara showed up with a bottle of expensive champagne.

"For celebrating life," she said when she handed it to Sarah.

Derek was the last to arrive and the moment he walked in and saw Kiara in the living room his whole body went rigid, I saw his jaw clench and his hands ball into fists before he forced himself to relax.

"You didn't tell me she'd be here," he said to Orion quietly but I was close enough to hear.

"It's a thank you dinner for everyone who helped," Orion said calmly. "She helped."

Derek's nostrils flared but he nodded and moved to the opposite side of the room from where Kiara stood, she watched him go with an expression I couldn't quite read, something between hurt and anger.

Sarah caught my eye and we both suppressed smiles, this was going to be interesting.

We gathered everyone in the dining room and Sarah had set the table beautifully with candles and fresh flowers.

Orion opened the champagne Kiara had brought and poured glasses for everyone except me, I got sparkling cider in a champagne glass so I wouldn't feel left out.

"Before we eat," Orion said raising his glass. "We all want to thank all of you for what you did last week, you risked your lives to protect our family and we'll never forget that."

"Here here," Tristan added, his hand finding mine under the table.

Everyone drank and then we started passing around food, the conversation flowed easily with everyone sharing stories and laughing.

But I noticed Derek and Kiara kept shooting glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

About halfway through dinner Sarah stood up and I knew what was coming.

"Kiara, Derek, would you two mind helping me bring out the next course?" she asked innocently. "There's a lot to carry."

I saw Derek's eyes narrow slightly, clearly suspicious, but he stood anyway because refusing would be rude.

"Sure," Kiara said also standing.

They followed Sarah to the kitchen and Leah leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Think they'll kill each other in there?"

"I give it fifty fifty odds," I whispered back.

In the kitchen we could hear Sarah directing them to grab different dishes, clearly positioning them so they had to work together, there was the sound of plates clinking and low voices but no yelling so that was a good sign.

They emerged a few minutes later both carrying serving dishes and I noticed their hands had brushed when they'd both reached for the same platter, the look they'd exchanged had been electric, filled with hatred but I knew that kind of hatred.

"Everything okay?" I asked sweetly.

"Fine," Derek said shortly, setting down his dish and returning to his seat quickly.

Kiara said nothing but I saw the slight flush on her cheeks as she took her own seat, avoiding looking in Derek's direction.

The rest of dinner passed with more good food and conversation, Cara told a story about a mishap at her job that had everyone laughing.

Maya talked about a trip she was planning, Leah gave us updates on her recent marriage and how her husband was adjusting to married life.

When it came time for dessert Sarah enlisted Derek and Kiara's help again, this time to clear the dinner plates.

"You're really pushing it," Orion murmured to her.

"That's the point," Sarah whispered back with a mischievous smile.

This time when they went to the kitchen we heard raised voices and everyone in the dining room went quiet, pretending not to listen but clearly listening.

"You don't know anything about me," Kiara was saying, her voice sharp.

"I know enough," Derek shot back.

"Oh really? Enlighten me then," Kiara challenged.

"Can we not do this here?" Derek asked, his voice strained like he was trying to hold something back.

"You're the one who started it," Kiara pointed out.

There was a long pause and then we heard Derek say quietly, "I didn't start anything, you did..." He paused stopping himself but everyone knew what he wanted to say.

My eyes widened and I looked at Sarah and Leah, they definitely had history, significant history by the sound of it.

None said anything again, and I wondered what was happening in there, then they came back out both looking composed but I could see the tension in their shoulders and the way they both carefully avoided looking at each other.

"Dessert will be ready in five minutes," Sarah announced cheerfully, pretending she hadn't heard any of their conversation.

After dessert everyone moved to the living room for coffee and more casual conversation, I maneuvered it so that the only available seats were on the loveseat and Derek and Kiara both hesitated when they realized they'd either have to sit together or remain standing awkwardly.

Kiara sat first, settling on one end and leaving just enough room for one more person, Derek stood there for a moment looking like he'd rather sit on the floor but finally lowered himself onto the opposite end of the loveseat, leaving as much space between them as physically possible.

Throughout the rest of the evening I watched them, they barely spoke to each other directly but there was awareness between them that was impossible to miss.

Every time one moved the other seemed to notice, and when their eyes did meet they quickly removed it.

Around ten people started making their moves to leave, Cara and Maya were first thanking us profusely and promising to get together again soon, then Leah gave me a meaningful look and a hug before heading out.

That left just Derek and Kiara and it was painfully awkward as they both tried to leave at the same time without acknowledging each other.

"Thank you for coming," Sarah said to both of them. "It meant a lot to have everyone here."

"Thank you for hosting," Kiara said graciously, then surprised everyone by turning to Derek. "Good night."

Derek looked startled like he hadn't expected her to speak to him but he recovered quickly. "You too," he said, and there was something in his voice that suggested he might actually mean it.

After they left Sarah Leah and I were in the kitchen while the men cleaned up in the dining room.

"Did you hear what they said?" I asked excitedly. "They knew each other before?"

"I heard" Sarah said. "So, they definitely have history."

"Significant history," I added. "You don't get that angry at someone unless they meant something to you." We both look at each other and passed that understanding look.

"I wish we knew what happened," I said.

"Maybe we'll find out eventually," she said. "But at least we got them in the same room without bloodshed, that's progress."

"Yes. Baby steps," I agreed.

Tristan came into the kitchen then looking pleased about something, there was an excitement in his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

"Good dinner," he said to Sarah. "Thank you for organizing it."

"It was Athena's idea too," Sarah said generously.

"Well thank you both," he said then turned to me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," I said, following him out to the back porch.

The night air was cool and I wrapped my arms around myself, Tristan immediately pulled me close to keep me warm.

"I want to take you somewhere tomorrow," he said. "All of us actually, you, me, Orion and Sarah."

"Where?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," he said and I could hear the excitement in his voice, feel it in the way his heart was beating faster than normal under my ear.

"What kind of surprise?" I pressed.

"The kind you have to wait for," he said kissing my forehead. "Just trust me."

"I do trust you," I said. "But I don't like surprises."

"You'll like this one," he promised. "I hope."

The next morning after breakfast Tristan and Orion loaded everyone into Orion's truck since it was bigger, Sarah and I exchanged confused glances as we buckled in while Lily and Liam chattered excitedly in the back about going on an adventure.

"Are you two going to tell us where we're going?" Sarah asked.

"Soon," Orion said, exchanging a grin with Tristan.

They drove for about thirty minutes heading away from town into more rural areas where houses were spread far apart with lots of land between them, eventually Orion turned down a long private road that wound through trees and open fields.

"This is beautiful out here," I said, looking at the scenery.

"It is," Tristan agreed, his hand finding mine and squeezing.

The road opened up into a massive clearing and my breath caught at what I saw, there in the center was a stunning two story house being built, the frame was up and from what I could see it was going to be huge with a wraparound porch and large windows that would let in tons of natural light.

But what really struck me was the land, acres and acres of open space stretched out in every direction with mature trees dotting the landscape, a small stream running through one section, rolling hills in the distance, it was breathtaking.

"Whose property is this?" I asked as Orion parked near the construction site.

"Come see," Tristan said, getting out and coming around to help me out.

We all walked toward the house and I could see the construction was further along than it had looked from a distance, the exterior walls were up and the roof was on, windows were installed and I could see workers inside finishing interior work.

"Tristan," I said slowly. "What is this?"