“Twenty, huh?” The bartender skated his gaze up and down Bailey, then flicked to me. “You two dating?”
I exchanged a look withBailey.
“No,” I said. “But so what if we were?”
“It’s cool,” the bartender said. “I’m just sussing out my chances here.” He grinned at Bailey. “You might not be old enough to drink, but that doesn’t mean you’re not old enough to have some fun, right?”
“He’s taken,” I said flatly. “By my brother. He’s the big guy over there who could rip you in half.”
The bartender glanced over at Flynn, who was staring our way, obviously picking up on Bailey’s body language.
He winced. “Hey, my bad. I’m new in town. Still feeling things out.”
“Well, word to the wise, be careful about who you hit on,” Bailey said. “Not everyone in Riverton is cool with the gay.”
“I’m not an idiot,” he said. “You’re all sitting with Axel, and everybody knows he’s dating the sheriff.”
“Yeah, he’s my brother,” Bailey said.
“So many brothers,” the bartender said with a grin. “This really is a fucking small town, huh?”
He grabbed seven shot glasses and lined them up on the bar, then snagged a bottle of tequila.
“So, where’s Leo?” Bailey asked. “He knows us all pretty well.”
“My uncle is retiring. Wants to sell the place. I talked him into letting me manage it instead. Name’s Pike.” He held out a hand.
Bailey shook it. “I’m Bailey. This is Aiden.”
“Wait, Bailey? You’re the kid who’s always hustling people at pool and starting fights?”
I smirked. “You’ve got a reputation, huh?”
Bailey waved a hand. “It’s not my fault those guys can’t handle losing.”
The bartender laughed, eyes sparkling. “Shit, what I’d payto have seen you stomp some of these old bikers. I bet they did not take well to that.”
Pike finished serving the drinks, and Flynn joined us to help pick up the glasses. “Everything good here?” he asked.
“Yep! We were just meeting Leo’s nephew, Pike. He’s running the place now.”
“Good to meet you,” Flynn said, extending a big hand.
Pike eyed it warily before shaking. I was pretty sure he’d never make the mistake of hitting on Bailey again.
“We need one more shot,” Flynn added. “Knight just came in.”
Oh, crap.
I turned so fast I slopped half of my margarita over my arm, but I hardly noticed as my stomach knotted up.
There he was, dressed in faded jeans and a black T-shirt, tattoos winding around his arms like vines, and a tilt to his lips as his dark eyes bored into me.
Just like that club back in Omaha, our gazes connected and there was an instant surge of electricity.
But everything else had changed.
He wasn’t just an anonymous guy who’d taken me apart in an Omaha nightclub. He was my brother’s best friend. Not a bad man, like he’d implied when we first met, but an ex-con trying to get his life back on track.
