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One Week Later
"I can do it myself."
Happy sighed as he faced off with Gracie in her front yard. He'd been coming home for the day and saw her pulling a lawnmower out of her garage. He thought that it would be a perfect opportunity for him to show her that he was interested in her, but she wasn't cooperating. Hell, this was the first time he'd actually seen her since she shut the door in his face the week before. Instead of being grateful that he had offered to mow her lawn, she looked offended.
"I didn't say that you couldn't do it, little bit. All I said was that it was hot out here and I could mow it for you."
Gracie shrugged, looking bored with the whole conversation. "I know it's hot out here. That's why I'd like to get it done."
Happy smirked. "Why, got a hot date tonight?"
His smirk turned south when she nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. With Georgio on Ancient Aliens."
His brow lifted at that. "What the fuck is Ancient Aliens?"
"It's a show about ancient... you know what? It doesn't matter. Can I mow my lawn now?"
Happy rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air. "Fuck! Fine. I got my own shit to handle."
Without another word, he turned and strode back to his own house, muttering under his breath about stubborn women.
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Later, after being bored at home, he was sitting at a table in the clubhouse, drinking a beer and spilling his guts to Tig and Gemma.
"I'm telling you, man, I fucked up good. She's no longer sweet. Now, she's a fucking iceberg."
Tig chuckled as Gemma gave him a knowing grin. "You really like her, huh?" She shrugged when he gave her a look. "I mean, I've never seen you get this tore up over a woman not paying attention to you. You usually move on to the next."
Happy sighed and rubbed a hand over his bald head. "Yeah, I like her, okay? She's got spunk, which I wouldn't have seen if I didn't piss her off, but now I can't find the nice girl again long enough to lay on the charm."
Tig snickered and nodded. "Look, man, I think she likes you. She wouldn't have been that pissed if she didn't. Why don't we make a few trips to Lodi next week? She can't hide forever."
Happy rolled his eyes. "She's not hiding. Hell, she isn't even ghosting me, she just makes sure to not answer the door."
Gemma nodded. "Well, I think Tig is right. If you bug her enough at work, she'll have to talk to you, even if it's just to tell you to fuck off."
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A Week Later
"Can I speak to you a minute?"
Gracie looked over her shoulder to see her brother shutting her office door behind himself. "Is it about business?"
Jeremy cracked a grin and shook his head. "Nope."
Gracie shrugged. "Then, no, you can not."
Jeremy sighed. "Come on, Harley. You can't stay mad forever, especially at Happy." He grinned as her spine stiffened. "He and Tig stopped by again today. He was asking about you."
Gracie shook her head. "I don't care."
Jeremy leaned a hip against her desk. "Look, I think I was wrong about him. I think he really is interested in you."
Gracie snorted. "Nope, he was only interested in dating me to get back at you for butting in."
Jeremy shrugged. "I don't know. I think he just said that. I mean, if I have to hear 'where's little bit?' one more time this week, I might throw up." He chuckled when Gracie grinned a little at that. "Come on, why don't you cut him a break?"
Gracie sighed. "I'll think about it, okay?" She stood up from her desk with a clipboard in her hand. "Right now I have inventory and an order to take care of."
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Gracie had been in the back storeroom for about ten minutes when she heard the door shut and the slide bolt lock on the outside. She whirled around to see Happy leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. She blew a stray strand of hair from her face and shook her head.
"I'm going to kick my brother's ass when I get out of here."
Happy grinned at that. "Well, technically it's Tig standing guard at the door and he was a Marine. He might be hard for you to take down. You're a hard lady to pin down."
Gracie snorted as she turned back to the shelf of gas tanks she had been counting. "You'd think you would take that as a hint."
She jumped when she felt hot breath on the back of her neck. "Well, see, the problem with that is, the more spunky you get, the hotter you are."
Gracie cleared her throat as she turned to face him and realized that he was practically touching her. "So you're a masochist."
Happy actually laughed out loud as he shook his head. "Nah, I'm just trying to wade through the bitchiness to find the sweet girl underneath." He leaned down until his lips were almost touching hers. "Is my sweet girl in there somewhere?"
Gracie blew out a breath as she shook her head. "I'm not your anything."
Happy grinned as he winked at her. "Yeah, but you want to be, don't you?"
Gracie closed her eyes for a moment before chuckling quietly. "Wow. I mean, I know bikers are famous for their egos, but damn if yours isn't bigger than any I've seen."
Happy just shrugged. "Come for a ride with me after work."
Gracie sighed and shook her head. "Why should I?"
In a move that even she recognized as being uncharacteristic, he leaned closer and kissed her on the forehead before stepping back and turning toward the door. "Because I might want you to be my something. I'll pick you up at seven."
YOU ARE READING
The Girl Next Door
FanfictionHappy Lowman has always been the lone wolf of the MC world, preferring his own company over others most of the time. When he patches over to the Redwood Original, he finds himself facing Gemma and her pushing for him to settle down. He finally buys...