With Every Heartbeat (Forbidden Men, #4)(65)

I felt strangely elated after that. I still had no idea what was going on with all the other-half talk, but Eva seemed to accept me, so a giddy little smile stole over my face.

I liked the Forbidden Nightclub.

Caroline must’ve felt the same because she leaned in to whisper, “I think we’ve been accepted into the inner circle.” She sounded ecstatic about that idea.

I glanced at her, hoping she was right, when Pick clapped his hands together.

“Time to open. You guys ready for this?” he asked the band. Asher sent him a thumbs-up. Pick glanced toward the waitresses and then the bar, where his brows lowered into a scowl. “Wait. We only have one bartender. Where the hell is Gamble?”

“Right here,” Noel called as he exited the back hall, one hand laced possessively with a blushing Aspen’s.

Pick sniffed. “Oh, how the tables have turned. Wasn’t it you who used to rag on me about always being late to work?”

Noel scowled back at him as he led Aspen forward. “I’m not late. I’ve been here the entire time.”

“And seeing to the extreme comfort of our customers too, it seems.” Setting his gaze on Aspen, he sent her a grin and extended a hand to her. “Hey again, beautiful. Nice to see you tonight.”

Aspen took his hand and he aptly stole her away from Noel, leading her to the bar. “You should watch the show from here. Best seat in the house.” He helped her up until she was sitting on the counter instead of on a barstool. Then he glanced around. “Tinker Bell?”

“Right here, lover.” Eva ran her hand up his back until he turned to her and grinned.

He kissed her on the mouth, lingering before he asked, “Can I help you up?”

She nuzzled her nose against his. “Please do.”

Reese popped up beside Eva and patted the open space beside her. “Caroline. Zoey. Sit with us.”

Caroline hurried over and I trailed behind. It felt like we were getting VIP treatment to sit on top of the bar. After Caroline seated herself beside Reese, I hesitated. It didn’t feel as if I belonged with these people. They were so nice and full of outgoing vivacity. I felt like a great big blah of an outsider.

Pick glanced at me and held out a hand. “Need some help up?”

“Oh!” I gulped, touched by his invitation. No matter how I felt, though, it seemed they were accepting me with a warm welcome. Unable to turn him down, I took his hand and stepped onto the bottom rung before hoisting myself up next to Caroline. “Thank you.”

“Now there’s a sight for sore eyes,” Pick said, glancing appreciatively down the counter at the five of us women. “You ladies sure know how to decorate my nightclub.” He paused in front of Eva to give her another kiss before he wandered toward Asher, who was lingering around the base of the stage and fiddling with a few wires.

One of the waitresses had unlocked the doors. A doorman had appeared somewhere and was letting a line of people in through the entrance. And the place was beginning to fill.

“Any of you ladies thirsty?” Noel asked. “I know the only one here not underage is Aspen, so…can I get you some sodas?”

Caroline groaned and rolled her eyes, while Reese said, “Mason can get my drink.”

“Mine too,” Eva was quick to add.

When Caroline opened her mouth, her brother pointed at her warningly. “No way. You’re just getting soda.”

As she scowled and narrowed her eyes, I spoke up. “I’ll take a Sprite.”

Noel grinned approvingly at me before glancing pointedly at his sister. Her shoulder slumped as she mumbled, “One for me too, I guess.”

We’d just gotten our drinks and were slurping from the straws when Caroline tensed beside me. “Oh God. Oren’s here,” she said under her breath as she leaned in close.

I turned to watch the bouncer let him into the club. A pair of guys immediately jumped on him from behind and greeted him with tackles and laughs.

“I can’t believe he came tonight since he doesn’t have to work.” Poor Caroline. She seemed so tense and on edge as she fiddled with her straw and watched every move he made.

“Maybe he wanted to see the band perform too.”

She didn’t answer, probably hadn’t even heard me.

So I watched him too as he made his way through the crowd. I was a little jealous how personable he was. He seemed to know everyone, girls and guys alike. When one girl he greeted lifted up onto her tiptoes to whisper something into his ear and make him grin, I reached out and grasped Caroline’s hand. She clutched my fingers for dear life.

He finally noticed us when he turned toward the bar, or maybe it was the row of five women sitting on the countertop that caught his attention. But his gaze lingered on Caroline before he ordered a bottled beer from Noel.

Finally, he approached us, swaggering closer. I thought Caroline was going to squeeze my fingers clean off.

“Well, if isn’t a whole row of untouchables,” he mused, glancing down at the five of us as he took a sip. He looked almost sad as his gaze slid over Caroline and kept going.

But Eva cheerfully called, “Ten-Ten, what’re you talking about untouchables? You can come over here and touch me any time you want. If you get too inappropriate, my man’ll just knock your head off.”

“Invitation accepted.” He moved to her. “Hey, Milk Tits. You still breastfeeding those kids of yours?”