"Eighty, right?" Tiny asked, counting the rows.
"Yeah, that's what she said," he answered. He still couldn't believe his soon-to-be bride had insisted on inviting not only the brothers and their girlfriends and wives, but the whores he worked with. He liked most of the women, but he'd never have imagined Santana would want them at their wedding.
Once again, she'd surprised him by accepting the whores for the women they were. She had never once looked down on them for their profession. Instead, she'd made it a point to meet and talk with each of them. There were a few she didn't care for, but she claimed it was more personality conflicts than what they did for a living. When he'd asked her why she wanted them at the wedding, she'd told him it was to remind the girls that after today, he'd be a married man. He couldn't argue, although he'd told her repeatedly that hers was the only pussy he'd ever want. He liked the fact that despite getting to know the girls, Santana still had a jealous streak and wanted to publically stake her claim.
The low rumble of a Harley caught his attention. He glanced to the front of the house and spotted Gypsy, pulling to a stop in the driveway. Stake left Tiny to fuss over the chair placement while he greeted his best man. He'd laughed his ass off when Santana had informed him that she wanted Tiny to be her maid-of-honor. It had become even funnier once he'd told Gypsy that he'd be escorting Tiny down the aisle after the ceremony.
"All the work done?" Gypsy asked, climbing off his bike. He was dressed in black jeans, a white dress shirt and his cut, the same outfit Stake and Tiny would wear, although Stake told Tiny he'd have a pretty bouquet instead of a boutonniere. Predictably, that had earned him a fist to his jaw. It had been worth it.
"Just about," Stake answered. "I think Tiny's taking this maid-of-honor thing a little too seriously."
"Where's Santana?" Gypsy asked.
"At the salon. Rain's treating her to a bunch of beauty treatments. It's total bullshit, she's already gorgeous, but it's Rain's wedding present to her, so it's not like I could say no."
Gypsy ran his hands over his short dark hair. "That worthless husband of Rain's isn't coming, is he?"
Stake shook his head. "He's on the road." He'd only met Manny Silva once and that had been more than enough. Worthless was an apt description for the asshole. A long-haul trucker, Manny was only home one week a month, and according to Santana, Rain wasn't allowed to go anywhere or talk on the phone when he was in town. The one occasion Stake had met the fucker was right after Rain and Santana had become friends after talking at the Bikes, Blues and Barbeque rally. Manny had been in town that weekend and had made a complete ass out of himself when he'd shown up at Rain's jewelry booth soon after the altercation between Stake and Top. Stake would have sworn fear flashed through Rain's pale green eyes when Manny had demanded to know how much money she'd made.
A few days later, Santana mentioned that when she'd met Rain for lunch, she'd noticed bruises on the thin woman's wrists. It was something Stake had promised to keep an eye on. He liked Rain and was happy that Santana had found a girlfriend so easily, but putting Santana in danger wasn't an option.
A white compact car pulled into the driveway, prompting a smile from Stake. He walked over and opened the passenger door, pleased to see the hairdresser had left Santana's dark hair down.
"Hey. Hey. Hey," Tiny scolded pushing Stake back. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."
"We fucked all morning, and the day's been perfect so far," Stake growled.
Santana laughed. "Give me another hour, and I'll be all yours." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running inside the house with Rain.
"Well, fuck." Stake stared at Tiny. "I thought you were her maid-of-honor, not her goddamn bodyguard."
"I am all things," Tiny replied. "Now, I'm going to crack open a beer and take my place on the porch so I can direct traffic once people start arriving."
Stake turned away from the lunatic and noticed the rage on Gypsy's face. "What?"
Gypsy pointed to the house. "You didn't see her?"
"That gorgeous woman who'll be my wife? Yeah, I saw her."
"Not Santana. Rain." Gypsy narrowed his eyes and climbed the porch steps, disappearing into the house before explaining himself.
"I'm surrounded by a bunch of crazy people," Stake mumbled as he walked back to the site of the ceremony.
Santana shared a smile with Stake as she danced with Digger, the club's Prez. Digger was an incredibly handsome man of around forty-five with short, salt and pepper hair. She didn't know his history, but she knew he wasn't married because he'd come to the wedding alone.
"Stake told me about the baby. Congratulations," Digger said. Despite his smile, she felt sadness radiate from him.
"Thank you." She leaned close enough to speak into his ear. "And thank you for accepting us."
"Don't thank me. Stake's a godsend with the girls. I had no idea what a difference one person could make, but profits are way up." He shrugged. "They're happy." He shook his head. "Hookers are never happy."
"Despite their situation, kindness and respect go a long way in helping a person feel good about themselves." She knew firsthand. "Stake understands that."
She felt a solid body press against her back and glanced up and over her shoulder. "Hey."
Stake grinned at her before turning his attention to Digger. "You're getting a little close to my wife."
Digger chuckled. "Jealous?"
"Wouldn't you be?" Stake asked, wrapping a proprietary arm around Santana's waist.
An expression of despair crossed Digger's handsome face. "Yeah." He took a step back before lifting Santana's hand to his mouth. After placing a soft kiss on her hand, he smiled. "Thanks for the dance."
"You're welcome." She watched him go before turning to drape her arms over Stake's shoulders. "I thought you said you didn't dance."
"I don't, but it seems I'm going to have to get over it unless I want to share you with every man here," he whispered in her ear, taking a moment to suck her lobe into his mouth.
"They're just being nice," she scolded. "I like them." She scraped her teeth across his shadowed jaw before asking the question on the tip of her tongue. "Why's Digger so sad?"
Stake drew her even closer and bent to bury his face against her neck. He placed soft kisses on her heated skin before moving to her ear. "He lost his wife about eight years ago. They'd only been married for a couple years when she got pregnant."
Her stomach flipped when she realized where the conversation was headed. "He lost them both," she said.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "But that's not gonna happen with us. Got that? So I don't want you to worry."
She wouldn't, but something told her he would. She pressed her cheek against Stake's chest and watched Digger refill his cup of beer. God. Her heart broke for him.
"I need to go," Rain said, touching Santana's shoulder.
Santana stopped dancing and looked at her friend. Rain was quickly becoming the best girlfriend she'd ever had, and she didn't like the distress she saw from the pretty woman. "What's up?"
Rain opened her mouth to speak, but Gypsy barged onto the dance floor and grabbed her upper arm. "We're not done talking," Gypsy growled.
"Yes. We. Are." Rain pulled out of Gypsy grasp. She turned her attention back to Santana. "I didn't want to leave before I told you congratulations, and to remind you to call me as soon as the two of you come up for air in the next day or so."
Santana wasn't sure what had come over Gypsy. He was one of the gentlest men she'd ever known. When he started to reach for Rain again, Santana slapped his arm. "What're you doing?"
Gypsy glowered at Rain but spoke to Santana. "Did you even ask her how she got the cut on her lip?"
"Yeah," Santana answered. "She said she smacked it on the corner of the bathroom sink when she bent over to pick up her hairbrush."
"She told me she did it in the kitchen," Gypsy accused.
"Stop," Rain said, holding up her hand. "This is none of your business."
"The hell it isn't," Gypsy argued. "That sonofabitch put his hands on you, didn't he?"
"Stake, would you please walk me to my car?" Rain asked.
Stake released his hold on Santana and raked his fingers through his hair. He narrowed his eyes and darted a glance between Rain and Gypsy. "Sure." He pointed at Gypsy. "You stay here with Santana."
When Santana noticed Gypsy's hand curl into a fist, she quickly wrapped it in her hands, getting his attention. "Not today," she warned. "We'll figure it out, but this isn't the place."