Page 54 of March 5

Those she loved were safe for the night. She grabbed her helmet and walked out of the clubhouse. The sun had already set.

"Tomorrow, we'll get more of your things from the apartment and move them into my place." Dio straddled the bike. "We'll use the Havlin truck. It shouldn't take too long. Maybe two trips."

Anticipation spiked her heartbeat and at the same time guilt knocked her back a step. Not once had she talked to Mariah about what they'd do if one of them wanted to move out. Neither one of them could afford the rent by themselves. That's one of the hundred reasons why they lived together.

She slid onto the back of his motorcycle. "Can we talk when we get to your place?"

He patted her leg, started the Harley, and rodeaway. She hugged his back. In a predicament she hadn't thought about before, she worried. Mariah had been her best friend since she was eight years old.

They'd shared a lot of theirfirstsat the same time. The first time they skipped school, got drunk, smoked a cigarette, got high, and came down with the flu and missed a week of school together. Skye had gone to Mariah when she started her period while in class and spilled her guts when she was sixteen years old and found out the truth about her mother and what her father had gone through in prison.

Leaving Mariah without any warning made her sad. As if distance would sever the bond they'd created.

While they'd talked about Brett and Dio and their mutual excitement over the men and the direction of their relationships, she had yet to consider when or if Dio would ask her to move in with him.

She swallowed hard. Now that she had thought about it, he hadn't asked her to move in with him. He'd assumed.

Tonight, he sprung his plans on her without even asking.

A part of her melted inside that he'd want her to live at his house. Isn't that what she wanted?

When they were together, the possibilities were endless. A life with Dio was a dream to her, and her heart was whole with him.

But every woman wanted to feel respected, as if her thoughts mattered. She wanted him to seek her opinion, listen to her ideas, and share in her dreams.

Dio would discover she had the same wishesand desires as him. For her to be happy, she had to have a voice.

He couldn't treat her as if she was still a juvenile who needed guidance. She was an adult who wanted to share her life with him.

He pulled into the driveway, made the loop, backing the Harley up against the garage door until his rear tire touched. She slid off the seat and removed her helmet.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She removed the cell, seeing a text from Aunt Brooke.

Just checking to see if you made it to Dio's house. XO

A warm burst of love filled her. She was grateful for her dad and Aunt Brooke's continual support, which followed her through life even when she wasn't living under their roof.

She texted back.Safe and sound. Love you both tons. XO

"Everything okay?" Dio looked at her while releasing the Bungee cord on his duffle bag.

"Yeah." She put the phone in her back pocket. "Actually, no."

"It wasn't a multiple-choice question, princess." He hefted his duffle over his shoulder and looped his arm around her. "You're either okay or you're not. You can't be both."

"I'm fine. That was Aunt Brooke texting me to make sure I arrived here safely."

He let go of her to open the door and waited until she stepped inside before following her. "Hungry?"

Earlier, the Havlin women ordered takeout and delivered it to the clubhouse. She walked into the kitchen. Both she and Mariah had enough pizza to overfill them because they tended to eat when anxious, and it was worse when they were together, multiplying their emotions.

"No, but I'll fix you something." She opened the fridge. "Katrina ordered food about an hour before you returned to the clubhouse, and I pigged out on pizza."

She leaned closer looking through the shelves. There was still deli meat from yesterday. There were also enough eggs if he wanted her to scramble them.

"Do you want eggs or—?"

He patted her butt. "I'll take a sandwich. Just slap some meat and cheese between the bread and leave off—"