Frustrated, Lucky saw King give him an amused smile as he handed Willa and Drake their menus. Lucky wanted to tell Anna he had changed his mind, but he gathered his senses in time.
He had no business being here, certainly not being curious about Willa’s relationship with Drake or preventing her from getting hit on by Rider. He needed to remind himself why he had stayed the fuck away from the attractive woman who had an abundance of curves that his hands and lips itched to explore.
“Let’s get out of here.” Lucky took Anna’s hand, opening the door with the other one.
“See you back at the clubhouse,” Lucky told Rider, who was staring at Anna with new interest.
“She going to be there?” Rider nodded toward Anna.
When Lucky gave Anna a questioning glance, the excitement in her sultry eyes was the only answer he needed.
“Meet me in my bedroom; it has a bigger bed,” Lucky offered graciously to the other brother. “See? I can share.”
Lucky congratulated himself for proving he had no desire for a monogamous relationship. Of course, Anna wasn’t Willa, and she didn’t raise the same feelings of protectiveness, but Lucky wasn’t going to analyze the differences between the women even further. There was no way to compare perfection against a cheap copy.
*
Willa had to force herself to listen as Drake discussed the properties that were available to rent in Treepoint. Her gaze kept straying to the mirror on the back wall that gave her a perfect view of Lucky and Rider leaving with the pretty waitress. She had blonde hair knotted smoothly on her head in a way that Willa was never able to achieve with her own messy hair, despite several spritzes of hair spray. She had even tried becoming a blonde herself during the time Lucky had been dating Beth.
Lately, Willa had given up trying to turn herself into a woman who would attract the opposite sex—Lucky in particular. It had taken a lot of soul-searching, but she had finally come to the conclusion that The Ugly Duckling was a work of fiction, and there was no way her size twenty body was going to miraculously become a size six.
“I think your best investment would be to purchase the small lot of land next to this building. King’s customers could get a taste of your desserts here and then stop at your shop to take more home. Several large restaurants are having their bakeries set up next door. It not only builds a customer base, but repeat business. There is also a spot opening in two months that’s close to the diner. It wouldn’t be as upscale as what you could accomplish if you built next to King’s, but I think it would be lucrative all the same.”
Willa dragged her eyes away from the window. The waitress had climbed on the back of Lucky’s bike, holding tight to his lean waist as they roared out of the parking lot.
“I can’t afford to buy the property and build new. How much is the rent for the one beside the diner?”
“Nine hundred a month,” Drake answered. “If you’re interested in buying the property, I would be willing to invest, Willa, and handle the financing.”
Willa shook her head. “I would be too afraid you would lose your money. If I go under, at least it will only be my money lost.”
Drake’s lips twisted at her words. “You’re not going to lose money. If anything, I think you’re going to have a hard time managing to keep up with the demand you’re going to have.”
“There’s already one bakery in town. Plus, the grocery store has a good selection. It’s going to be hard making a go at a new business, but I can’t keep up with the customers I have now in my kitchen. If I open a bakery, at least I can come home and not be surrounded by cakes and candy all the time. I might even manage to lose a few pounds.”
Drake tilted his head to the side, his eyes going to her breasts that were pressed against the side of the table. “God, I hope not.”
Willa gurgled with laughter. “If I didn’t know the women you dated, Drake, I would be worried, but I happen to know who you’re after.”
Drake’s affability disappeared, but his changed attitude didn’t deter her.
“Everyone in town knows you want Bliss.”
“Everyone but Bliss.” Drake’s short reply didn’t arouse sympathy for him since Drake often dated more than one woman at a time, so it wasn’t like he was sitting home, pining for the attractive woman.
They had grown up living next to each other until he had moved out of his parents’ home after graduating high school. Drake had married his high school sweetheart but they divorced when Jace was a baby. Willa didn’t know the details of his failed marriage, but she had seen a change in Drake soon after his marriage. The laughing boy she had grown up with had gradually disappeared until Willa only saw traces of him the few times she spotted his motorcycle, riding through town.
“I think she does, but from what little Rachel has told me about The Last Riders, the women aren’t allowed to see men who don’t belong to the club.”
“It doesn’t stop the men from seeing women who don’t belong to the club.”