“Okay, Mr. Bossy Pants.” As I started walking in that direction, I told him, “I just ordered pizza, but—”
“Pizza will be fine.”
He removed his cut, then draped it over one of the chairs before following me into the living room. Once we were both seated, I settled back on the sofa and tried not to let the fact of Thatch sitting just a few inches away from me mess with my head. “So, what do you want to do? We could watch a movie or—”
“How ’bout we just talk for a bit?”
“Okay. What do you wanna talk about?”
“Well, you could tell me a little about yourself.” He studied me for a minute. “Like, how old were you when you had Cat?”
“Old enough.” I crossed my arms and gave him a scolding look. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. There are times, like tonight, when you look especially young to have a kid her age.”
“Well, I can assure you, I’d already had my nursing degree and was married long before she came along.”
“Okay, okay. I was pointing out that you look young.” His eyes skirted over me once again. “Must be the pajamas.”
“Oh, God. You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”
“Nope, not a chance.” He gave me a playful wink, then asked, “So, what about you and the ex? You never told me how you two met.”
“I never told you lots of things.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m asking.”
I cleared my throat as I shifted in my seat. “Okay, but are you sure you want to open the vault?”
“The vault?”
“Yeah, you know, the place where we lock away all our dirty little secrets and personal drama. We keep them there, so no one knows just how screwed up our lives truly are.” I gave him a slight shrug as I explained, “Because once it’s opened, you can’t lock it back up. At least, not the way it was.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Alrighty then.” I settled back in my seat as I began, “I met Trevor when I was working at the regional hospital up North. I was a critical care nurse, and he’d come in with a pretty severe back injury.”
Thatcher cocked his eyebrow with a smirk. “So, you were his nurse?”
“Yes, but don’t get any ideas. We didn’t actually start dating until after he was discharged from the hospital, and even then, it was a few months before he was able to get around.”
“How long were you married?”
“Not that long. Just five years or so.”
“I see.” He studied me for a moment, and I feared he was about to ask why we’d gotten a divorce, but he didn’t. “So now it’s just you and Cat?”
“Well, I have my folks. They help me out a lot, and there’s Celeste and Henry.”
I could tell I’d piqued his interest with the mention of Henry’s name. It was written all over his face, but he kept his tone calm and steady as he asked, “Celeste and Henry?”
“Celeste has been my best friend since nursing school. We met at a coffee shop when she made the mistake of asking me out.”
“She asked you out?” Thatch’s grin grew wide. “Like on a date?”
“She did, and I was flattered.” I giggled. “I really was. I could tell right away that she was special, so even though I wasn’t interested in dating her, I was interested in being her friend.”
“She wasn’t disappointed that you turned her down?”
“I think she was a little embarrassed that she’d read me wrong, but it didn’t last long. Celeste isn’t easily fazed.”
“Sounds like my kind of girl.”
“She is. I think you’d like her.”
“I’m sure I would.”
After the pizza arrived, I grabbed us some plates and a couple of beers, then brought them into the living room. As we ate, I continued to talk more about my friendship with Celeste and how she’d been a lifesaver after the divorce—which led me to tell him about my little old neighbor, Henry.
By the time I’d shared everything I knew about them both, I was ready to hear something about Thatcher, so I asked, “What about you? What made you decide to join the Ruthless Sinners?”
“It wasn’t something I’d planned on. I joined the military thinking I’d eventually work with a security or surveillance company or maybe become a cop. Still, after what I’d seen during a couple of tours in the Army, I’d had enough.” He took a long pull off of his beer before continuing, “I was done with the service, but I still wanted to be part of something. I missed the brotherhood I felt with my troop, and as soon as I met the Sinners, I knew I’d found what I was looking for.”
“That must’ve felt amazing.”
“It did.”
“So, how did you end up becoming the president?”
“Well, it didn’t happen overnight. It took years.” A spark of pride flashed through his eyes as he continued, “I started prospecting like everyone else, then a few years after patching in, I became the club’s enforcer. It wasn’t long before they named me their sergeant-at-arms. My loyalty and leadership continued to progress, and I was eventually voted in as the Sinners’ president.”