Griffin had muscular dystrophy, and the disease had taken the use of his legs from him years ago. How he was still alive was beyond all rhyme and reason.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said with a wink.
He grinned. “Don’t I know it.”
At that moment, the club’s current President, Bull, walked into the club, followed by his sister, Ronnie Calley.
Bull was one of the most attractive men I’d ever seen. Tall. Broad. And with a face like a model. If it wasn’t for the leather cut, black boots, and wallet chain hanging at his hip, he could easily pass for a wealthy tycoon, or billionaire CEO.
He had the same blue eyes as his sister, Veronica. Not that you ever saw them. They were always hidden behind sunglasses, thanks to his acute color blindness, which made his eyes incredibly sensitive to sunlight. As a result, he always wore tinted glasses no matter what time of the day it was, and the presence of those dark glasses only added to his imposing power.
When he saw me, his face lit up with his amazing smile.
“Indy Parrish.” My name rolled off his tongue like sugared honey. His strong arms came around me and pulled me to his broad chest, immediately engulfing me in a scent of pure man.
“It’s good to see you, Bull,” I said, pulling back. Somewhere in his forties, he was too good looking for words.
Ronnie leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Where’s your mom?”
“Last I saw, she was in the kitchen with Red. Doing last-minute touch-ups to the cake,” I said.
Ronnie nodded. “And my son?”
“I haven’t seen Cade.”
Ronnie smiled, giving me the same knowing look that Sybil had given me the day before. “I mean, my other son, Caleb. The one you came with.”
Right.
Before I could answer, Caleb appeared and dragged his mom and uncle away to help him deal with some kind of problem they had with one of the strippers.
I looked away, hating myself for wanting to know where Cade was. He was probably ten inches deep into someone, and that wasn’t any of my concern.
I turned around and signaled to the barman.
“Give me a shot of tequila and make it a double.”
INDY
Now
“Well, will you look at this tall drink of water sitting at the end of my bar!”
The voice came from behind me.
I was still perched on my stool, counting down the minutes before I could leave. The tequila shot I’d slung back earlier had done nothing, and I was still figuring out my escape plan. I swung around, ready to throw some shade at my admirer, but stopped when I came face to face with a familiar pair of green eyes.
“Randy?” I asked with disbelief. “Randy Ronson?”
“The one and only!” He grinned, and it was the same charming grin I remembered from high school. Randy had always been a nice guy. He was the kind of boy who made everyone feel welcome. In school, his friendliness made him popular with the girls, especially the cheer squad—and I mean the entire cheer squad. Somehow, he had managed to date them all, some of them at the same time, without the other knowing. But he was so confident and persuasive, he had gotten away with it.
It didn’t hurt that he was good looking either, with his strong jaw, smiling eyes, and charismatic grin.
“You’re a King now?” I asked, surprised. Randy had never shown any interest in the club.
“Just their barman.” He looked around the bar. “I look after this for them.”
Randy was a bit rough around the edges now, but still handsome. My eyes dropped to the space where his left arm was missing.
“Bike accident,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s the nature of the beast, lil’ lady. Riding too fast, too stoned, too drunk . . . took a hard corner and high-sided straight into an oncoming car. Woke up with no arm, a missing spleen and feeling like the world had stopped.”
“That’s rough, Randy. I’m sorry.” I saw a lot of physical devastation in my job. Amputation was always a game changer.
“It was my own stupid-ass fault. But I’m in a good place now.”
“So, how did you end up here?”
“After the accident, I didn’t see much point to life anymore. It cost me my job. My home. My girl. I couldn’t ride a bike no more. I was on a bender when I ran into Cade and Isaac one night. Ran into them at about the right time, I’m figuring. They offered me this job and it saved my life.”
“And you enjoy it?”
“Honey, I’m the fucking Thor of mixology.”
I grinned. Randy was charming.
“Well then, I think you’d better show me.” I gestured to a row of glasses gleaming behind him. “You know how to make a martini?”
“Only the best damn martini you’ve ever tasted.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ll see.”