Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons MC #4)(9)

“Can I get three screwdrivers, please?” I ask Reid’s twin.

He smiles, eyes crinkling. “Sure thing, sweetheart.”

His friendly demeanor gives off a completely different vibe than that of his brother. Reid makes you sit up straight; Ryan makes you want to relax in the chair.

“Thank you,” I tell him as he starts to make the drinks. I open my bag and pull out a fifty-dollar bill.

“It’s on the house,” he tells me, waving away the money.

“Oh, no, I can’t,” I say, feeling a little awkward, but he just winks at me.

“Anna and her friends get free drinks. It’s one of the rules,” he says in a no-nonsense tone.

“That’s a terrible business decision,” I advise him, which makes him laugh.

“It is, but sometimes life isn’t always about business, is it?” he says, eyes shining with humor.

“I guess not,” I reply. “But I’d still feel better if you let me pay.”

He just shakes his head. “Come on, I’ll help you carry the drinks.”

He takes two glasses in his hands, and I carry the third back to the table.

“What great service they have here,” Anna teases as Ryan places the drinks down. He sits down in the same place Reid did.

“Best bar in town,” he replies with a smirk. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Anna. You’ve been ditching us for Rift, haven’t you? That hurts, Anna.”

“You should be happy about that,” Anna says, bringing her glass toward her. “Less drama for you.”

Ryan shrugs his broad shoulders. “Those sound like Reid’s words. I like it when things get a little interesting around here.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Anna murmurs, lifting her glass in the air. We clink our glasses together, then take sips. “Ryan, you met Bailey, right?”

“Met her, didn’t know her name,” he says, nodding his head at me with a smile. He then looks back at Anna. “Where did you find this one? I always see you out with the same people, now all of a sudden you have a new friend?”

“Why does everyone say that? Bailey is an old friend. We went to school together, actually,” Anna replies. “And she’s Rake’s ex-girlfriend. So he doesn’t need to know she was here.”

Ryan grins. “See? Trouble. My lips are sealed. It’s not like I talk to Rake unless he comes in here anyway.”

“I’m telling you just in case,” Anna says, stirring her drink with the straw.

“Well in that case, noted. And how have you been, Lana?” he asks, turning his attention to her. “Punch any women in the face recently?”

Anna slaps his arm. “Dude, don’t speak ill of the dead.”

My eyes flare. “Wait, what?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Lana says to me, sighing, then looks to Ryan. “Thanks for bringing that up, Ry. But I’m good. Same old. Why don’t you have a drink with us?”

Ryan raises an eyebrow at Lana. “Trust me, I would, but it’s going to get busy as f*ck any minute now and it wouldn’t be the greatest idea to get comfortable.”

He kisses Anna on the cheek, then glances at me. “Hope you all have a good night. Let me know if anyone harasses you.” He smirks. “So I can send Reid.”

We all laugh at that.

He stands, then flashes us one last cheeky grin. “I expect to see you all on the microphone.”

“You won’t be able to tear it away from us,” I tell him, then check out his ass when he walks away.

Anna makes a sound of amusement. “He’s so very taken.”

“The good ones usually are,” I say with a huff. “I can still look from afar. You guys are used to seeing all these men, but I’m still wondering where they all came from, and where they’ve all been hiding.”

“The good ones are faithful,” Lana agrees, taking an ice cube out of her glass and placing it on her tongue. “All you can do is hope you can catch a man who will be the same to you—ridiculously loyal, physically and emotionally.”

“The two of you have,” I say, trying to keep the wistfulness out of my voice and failing. They’d been telling me about their men all night. Who knew bikers were the way to go? It’s probably just these bikers, which makes the women even luckier. Would Adam and I be at a different place if we had that kind of trust between us? It’s going to be hard to completely trust a man again, because in my experience all they do is let you down in the end.

“You’ll find someone worthy of you,” Lana says sincerely. “It happens when you least suspect it.”

“Then bam!” Anna pipes up, slamming her fist on the table for emphasis. “He comes into your life and nothing is the same. He takes up every thought in your mind and there’s nowhere you’d rather be than in his arms.”

Lana nods. “You’re a goner. Then you realize you never really stood a chance at all. If love is out to get you, you might as well stop trying to fight it and just go with it.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t think it’s going to happen for me, to be honest. I think I’m actually okay with that now though. But enough talk about me and my singleness, let’s have another drink and get ready to sing our asses off!”