Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Kendrix was waiting on me.
“That’s very nice of you. I can’t see why not—that is, if it’s good with Kendrix and Marlana.”
Pepper’s expression remained friendly, but it felt as if she knew too much. Could read my mind. That was a little unsettling.
“I’d love to. Thanks. We will be there,” he told Pepper.
“Is Marlana your wife?” she asked casually, but it didn’t feel as if she was asking for her.
Kendrix shook his head and chuckled, as if that was a ridiculous idea. “No. I’m divorced. Marlana is the administrator here.”
Pepper’s gaze flickered to my left hand so briefly that I’d have missed it if I hadn’t been looking directly at her. The smile on her face grew as she met my gaze. “I’ll see you around?”
“Six thirty at the latest,” Kendrix told her.
“I’ll reserve you my best booth,” she replied. She gave me a smirk, like we were in on a secret that I was clueless about before heading for the exit.
Glancing over at Kendrix, I fully expected to see him watching her leave, but his eyes were on me.
“I hope that’s okay with you. I didn’t mean to push.”
I managed a smile. “It’s fine. I promised her I’d stop in after work if I got the job, and I haven’t done that yet.”
“Who was here?” Marlana came walking out of the employee room with a cup of coffee.
Today, her glasses frame was a radiant blue color. So far, she’d worn four different pairs.
“A lady I met who owns Paradise Brew,” I told her.
Marlana’s eyes widened. “The cool biker bar?” she asked. “You do know that The Judgment MC frequents that place. Their bikes cover up the parking lot. I have been so tempted to go there one night.”
“Yes, but the bikers won’t be there tonight. We were invited, and it’s on the house,” I told her.
“We, as in…” she asked, looking from Kendrix to me.
“As in the three of us and Banner, too, if he is coming in this afternoon,” I told her. Although Pepper might not be expecting four.
Marlana clasped her hands together. “Yay! This is so exciting. I need time to change before we go.”
I glanced down at my pencil skirt, red heels, and blouse. “Do we need to change?”
“You look just fine the way you are,” Kendrix told me.
My eyes shot up to meet his. I knew that look, and I had been hoping I was reading him wrong. It seemed the more time we spent together, the more he looked at me that way.
Marlana was the one he needed to be giving those looks to. She wasn’t damaged.
11
Salem
Pepper hadn’t lied. There wasn’t a biker in sight. She greeted us at the door and led us over to a booth that was closest to the bar and set up on a platform so that the stage could be seen clearly. I didn’t see any entertainment on the board for tonight, but if there was, it would be later.
I slid into the first seat, thinking that Marlana would follow me. But she chose to sit across from me instead. Which left Kendrix with a choice. I knew she was hoping to have him sit beside her, but he chose to take the space beside me.
This won’t be uncomfortable at all, I thought to myself sarcastically.
Marlana’s expression fell, but she recovered quickly.
In all honesty, the way she’d talked about him before I met him, I’d assumed they were an item. I’d realized quickly that was an incorrect assumption.
The waitress took our drink orders immediately and said she’d be right back with them before leaving.
“This place is so cool,” Marlana said as she looked around. Anywhere but at either of us.
Ugh, Kendrix. Why didn’t you sit over there?
“It’s hard to believe that bikers frequent this place,” he said.
“Pepper’s brother is The Judgment’s vice president,” I explained.
Marlana looked at me, wide-eyed. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes. She could tell I was uneasy the night I was here and they all showed up, so she explained who they were.”
Marlana put her elbows on the table and leaned toward me. “Were any hot? Like Jax Teller hot?”
“Um, I don’t know who that is, but Pepper’s brother was very attractive and very taken. The others were…” I shrugged, as if that was it.
Liar. Rome was hot. He was also an asshole.
She frowned at the disappointment. “That sucks. And what do you mean, you don’t know who Jax Teller is?” she asked. “Sons of Anarchy?”
Ah. That was a television show. I’d seen things about it.
“Never watched it,” I admitted.
Marlana fell back, as if completely mind-blown. “You have no idea what you are missing in life. We are going to have to rectify this. My apartment, wine, snacks, and bingeing SOA.”
I didn’t think I wanted to watch anything that gave me a peek into the life that Rome lived. I wanted nothing to remind me of him. Thinking about him wasn’t pleasant.