Now I was just pissed off. I hated that Sabrina was engaged, wearing a ring that probably cost more than I made in a month. I hated the way that Hunter made me feel inferior without even trying. I hated the way her mom used the press to make the fund raiser about the Barnetts, ruining what we were trying to accomplish. Most of all, I hated the fake smile that Sabrina had plastered on her face when her parents arrived, the light in her eyes seeming to dim just a little. She wasn’t the same person with them around.
Overall, I was in a shitty mood. Such a shame, since the day had started so promising.
The Blue Dog was empty aside from me and bartender, a part-timer named Chels that was working here while attending college online. The entire club was at the soup kitchen, enjoying the party. They’d probably already announced the winning poker hands. I knew I wouldn’t be on that list. All I’d gotten was a pair of jacks.
Most of the tables and chairs in the place had been cleared out to go to the party. Only the booths attached to the walls and the stools lined up at the bar remained. That was where I sat, on a stool at the end of the bar, trying to drink away my woman troubles.
God, when did I become such a pussy?
Pretty much the moment Sabrina spilled her drink down my back, I realized. It was like she’d cast a damn magic spell on me as we met, making me crazy for her. I wouldn’t have minded so much if there wasn’t so much baggage attached to her.
I was halfway through my second drink when the door of the bar opened. I glanced over and saw that Sabrina was standing in the doorway, looking like a vision silhouetted against the bright sunlight. Actually, she looked like an angel.
I guess that makes me a demon by comparison.
She came straight to me at the bar, taking a seat on the stool beside me. She was nibbling on her lower lip as she stared at me timidly.
“How’d you know I’d be here?” I asked without turning to face her directly.
I kept my body angled toward the bar. Now that she was here, I could feel my frustration bubbling up, and I didn’t want to lash out at her. She’d been straight with me about her engagement and the kind of people her parents were. It wasn’t right of me to be angry that she was letting her parents control her life like this.
At least she had parents that give a damn about her. Between my dad walking out when I was just a baby and my mother losing herself to drugs, I had no idea what it meant to have parents that cared enough to meddle in my life.
“I took a wild guess,” she said, shaking her head at Chels as she headed over to get Sabrina’s drink order.
“Aren’t you missing the party?” I asked. “Or did it break up when the life of the party left?”
“You mean me.”
It wasn’t really a question, but I nodded anyway.
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. “I know it looked bad, the way my mom was talking, but don’t worry, I set the record straight.”
I arched an eyebrow and finally looked directly at her. “What’s that mean?”
“I told the reporter all about Outlaw Souls and Black Satin, that you guys sponsored the fund raiser. That it was your idea.”
I smirked. “Well, that must have pissed off Mommy Dearest.”
“You don’t know the half of it. She was angry enough to show it in public, and if you knew anything about her, you’d know that’s a big deal.”
“Appearances mean everything, right?”
I saw a flash of shame in her eyes, which made me feel like a complete asshole.
“Right,” she said in a thick voice, playing with the engagement ring on her finger, turning it around and around.
“Why did you come after me?” I asked, swivelling my stool toward her.
She opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t seem to find the words. The door of the bar opened again and a group of people I didn’t recognize came in. As they headed toward the bar, I could see that Sabrina looked uncomfortable, clearly not wanting to have this conversation in front of strangers.
“Come on,” I said, reaching out to grab her hand as I stood from the stool. “Let’s go somewhere private.”
I led her to the back room where we held our club meetings. Shutting us into the empty room and locking the door, I leaned against it with my arms crossed.
“Now, answer the question. Why did you come after me?”
“How could I not?”
