“So, I was thinking we could have a peach wedding,” Cheryl said.
“No, Sasha needs a white wedding. She was a virgin until she spent the night with me,” Pussy said. He sat on the back of the sofa stroking Sasha’s hair. Glancing at Sasha, Eva saw the other woman blush.
“Most women were virgins before they were alone with you,” Prue said.
“I’m a one woman man, but I’m not going to budge on this. I know your cherry was popped a long time ago, Cheryl, but I promised Sasha a white wedding.”
A lot of the men sitting around the main clubhouse room were smiling.
Eva sat with the women in the hope of getting the arrangements for the wedding complete. It would only be a matter of time before Devil and his crew made their way back home. Gonzalez hadn’t made any appearance apart from the destruction of Patricia’s grave, and everything was returning to normal. She knew Tiny was taking out Gonzalez’s men one by one. They were doing it slowly and quietly. There was no other way to do it other than that. None of them had any hope of surviving if they went in all guns blazing.
She’d gone shopping yesterday and hadn’t spent the whole time looking over her shoulder. It was nice and gave her a chance to relax her.
“You didn’t promise me anything other than a wedding,” Sasha said.
“Baby, I want you to come to me all in white. I know you’re not a virgin anymore, but you came to me that way.”
A few chuckles echoed in the room.
“Pussy, filter,” Sasha said.
“But I don’t want to filter.” Pussy leaned down, brushing kisses along her jaw. He turned her head and claimed her lips.
Feeling like a voyeur, Eva averted her eyes. She found her gaze focused on Hardy as he held a cup of coffee in his hands, staring outside at his wife. The pain was still there.
Placing the magazines down, she got to her feet and walked over to him.
He glanced at her before returning his gaze outside. Rose was sitting on the swing staring at the kids as they played. Her full red hair was tied back, taming the strands. She wore a pair of jeans and a large shirt that covered her body from sight. Rose didn’t look anything like the woman Eva had come to know.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“We’ll be fine. We’re always fine.”
Hardy didn’t sound so sure.
“You cheated on her.”
He closed his eyes, drawing in a shaky breath.
“Yes, I cheated on her over ten years ago. We were both young, and I was a f**king idiot. I’ve lived with that mistake once every year. I thought we were getting past that. We would visit their graves outside of town together, and we were getting close to each other. I don’t know what happened this time. I usually spend the day with her, making love, and telling her how sorry I was. This year, I had to go to the club. We’ve not been the same since. She’s withdrawing from me.”
He tapped the edge of his cup, folding his arms over his chest but holding his empty cup away from him.
“Have you talked?” Eva asked.
“Not much. We’re in separate bedrooms at the moment. There’s nothing I can do or say to reach her.”
“Was she worth it?”
“Who?”
“The sweet-butt you f**ked. Was she worth it?”
“No, she wasn’t worth it at all.” He laughed even though the emotion didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m completely, absolutely in love with that woman, and yet I f**ked up. We’re never going to get past this.”
“Will you cheat on her again?”
He shook his head. “I won’t look at another woman. I’ve seen the sweet-butts trying to have a go to see if I’d go with them. It’s not going to happen. I love Rose. I made one mistake. I’m not going to make it again.”
Hardy walked away, leaving her alone.
She looked over toward the table to see the women were still laughing and giggling. Butch was typing something on his cell phone, and Tiny was watching him. Eva didn’t want to know what was going on between them. She didn’t believe what they were doing. It was too dangerous.
Leaving the clubhouse, she walked toward Rose.
“Hi,” Rose said.
“Hi,” Eva replied, sitting on the swing beside her. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing okay. I’m going to get there. It’s just going to take time.” Rose held onto the swing and started to move backward and forwards.
“Do you love Hardy?”
“Yes. I love him. I love him so much that it hurts to know what he did.” Rose stopped talking.
She watched the other woman take a few indrawn breaths.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want. I won’t hold it against you.”
“No, it’s okay. I know Hardy is worried about me. This is the longest time I’ve kept him at arms’-length. I moved into the spare bedroom.”
“You were both strong. What happened?”
Eva had admired the strong connection between the couple. Rose was completely devoted to Hardy and vice versa. Finding out it wasn’t the case, shocked Eva.
“With everything that’s been happening with the girls losing kids and the attacks, I started to think about everything that happened before. It opened up a wound I thought had healed over, the wound he created. I guess I was wrong.”
Kicking off the pavement, Eva started to swing backward and forward. Rose followed suit.
“Do you think you’re going to divorce him?”
“I don’t know. Part of me thinks it’s best, and another part of me hates the thought of leaving him. I love him. It has been ten years. I shouldn’t be holding it against him.”
Watching the children play, Eva waited for the other woman to talk.
“What do you think I should do?” Rose asked.
Glancing at her, Eva shook her head. “No, this is not my decision. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Hardy is your man. This decision is yours to make.”
“You’re not helping me.”
Eva chuckled. “This is not something to help you with. This is between you and Hardy. It may have been ten years since it happened, but it’s still raw. You’re going to have to decide what to do.”
For several moments neither of them talked.
“I’m scared,” Rose said.
“Of what?”
“Making the wrong decision and living to regret it. There are times we’re together that I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else but him. I love him, Eva.”