The Biker's Fate Chapter 312

"Give us a second, yeah?" Devon asked, and I nodded, stepping back to my car.

It was then I saw it. He loved her. Why had I not noticed that before? Probably because I have always been so wrapped up in all things Maverick. But watching Devon and Poppy, I saw how he looked at her, his total devotion, his complete besotted-ness, and his warring emotions when it came to her. I'd imagine, when your uncle was the Sergeant at Arms for the same MC you're trying to earn your patch through, it makes things a little awkward when you fall in love with his stepdaughter. Especially considering Hatch loved Poppy like his own.

Devon gave Poppy a quick nod, and she turned and walked back to me. "Let's go before he changes his mind."

I grinned, and we climbed in the car.

I dropped Poppy home and waited for her to walk through the door before turning into my driveway. Maverick came jogging up from the side yard and pulled open my door. "Have fun?"

"Yes. Loads. I brought you a burger."

"Perfect." He grabbed the food bags from me and then waited for me to climb out of the car before kissing me sweetly and closing my car door. "I'm just gonna talk to Flea real quick."

"I'll go say hi to the parents and meet you downstairs, okay?"

"Sounds good."

I walked in the front door and found Mom and Dad curled up on the sofa. Rex watched me with his head on Mom's lap.

"Hi, guys," I said.

Dad craned his head as he paused the television and grinned. "Hey, baby girl. Where you been?"

"I took Cassidy's dance class, then went to dinner with Poppy and Grace."

"I'm really glad you're keeping up with that," Mom said. "How's Poppy?"

"Dealing with Devon."

Mom chuckled. "Uh-oh."

"Is there a reason they couldn't get together?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, like bylaws or Hatch's disapproval or something," I clarified. "He's totally in love with her, and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, so I don't know why they keep torturing themselves."

Mom glanced at Dad. "I think that's a question for you, honey."

"I think it's none of our business," Dad said.

"So no bylaws, then," I mused. "Just something else going on that you're being tight-lipped about."

"Again, baby girl. None of my business," he said. "None of yours either."

"Message received, Daddy-O," I retorted. "Obviously, us young'uns need to run with this."

"Lily," he warned.

"Love you guys. Gonna go hang out with my guy now."

"Leave it, baby girl," Dad ordered.

"What's that? Sorry, can't hear you. I'm all the way at the bottom of the stairs, and you guys did an amazing job of soundproofing." I unlocked the basement door and stepped inside just as I heard my mother laugh.

Maverick walked through the back door a few minutes later and grabbed a beer (after thoroughly kissing me, of course, because he had his priorities). He flopped onto the sofa and opened the box, plowing into the burger.

I smiled, grabbing a wad of napkins and setting them in front of him.

"Thanks, baby doll."

"My pleasure, pookie bear." I poured myself a glass of wine and sat beside him. "How was work?"

"Busy. But good."

"Everything okay with Flea?"

"Yeah. We just needed to coordinate schedules."

"Is yours changing?" I asked.

"A little. But nothing that affects you 'cause it's during your shifts." He took another bite of his burger.

"Should I be worried?"

"No, baby. Seriously, it's nothing."

"Did he tell you about Devon?"

"What about him?"

While Maverick continued to eat, I filled him in on the whole afternoon, and he shook his head.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't poke the bear."

"Why not? It's ridiculous that they're totally in love with each other, but he's being an ass, and she's being shy. They're wasting time."

"She's still in school, Lil. Besides, it's none of our business."

"Oh, that's crap," I snapped.

"Baby."

"He's bullying her."

"If he's bullying her, why are you so hard-pressed to get them together?"

He had a point, but I couldn't really answer the question... mostly because I couldn't really make sense of it either.

"Which is it, baby?" he continued. "They're wasting time, or he's bullying her?"

"Maybe they wouldn't be wasting time if he wasn't bullying her," I retorted.

"Pretty sure he's not."

"He totally is. You know what Poppy's like. She's shy," I argued.

Maverick took a deep breath, and I rolled my eyes. This was his "I'm gonna explain shit to you" stance.

"Have you ever actually listened to one of their conversations?" he asked.

"No. That would be rude." I raised an eyebrow. "Have you?"

He smiled. "Yep."

"Seriously?" I was a little impressed, I must admit.

"He doesn't bully her."

"Are you sure?"

"Do I bully you?" he asked.

"What? No. Why?"

"He talks to Poppy the same way I talk to you."

"He does?"

Maverick chuckled. "Yeah, baby, he does."

"He scowls at her an awful lot."

"He does not."

"Yes he does," I argued.

Maverick frowned. "Is Poppy afraid of him?"

I shook my head. "No, he irritates her."

He took a swig of beer and nodded. "So just a thought, if he bullied her, do you think she'd have the guts to even verbalize that?"

I wrinkled my nose but thought about what he said. She had never given any indication that he scared her. The opposite, actually. I sat back against the couch arm with a sigh.

"You good?" he asked.

Was I good? I mulled over everything he'd told me. Maverick was a pretty good judge of character, and he knew Devon probably better than anyone did. If he said Devon was sweet to Poppy, then he meant he was sweet to Poppy more often than not.

I relaxed. "Yes, I'm good."

He grinned and gathered up his trash, heading to the kitchen. After dumping it, he washed his hands. He settled back on the sofa and pulled me across his body, kissing me gently. "Movie?"

"Yeah, a movie would be awesome."

He grinned and grabbed the remote. The rest of the evening was spent discovering (again) that Darth Vader was Luke's father and making out on the sofa.