Page 35 of Lulu

Doc laughed. “Not hardly.”

Which meant there were prospects nearby. I noticed that he wasn’t sitting with anyone from the club, and he looked a little rough around the edges. For Doc, anyway. His scruff was a little longer than usual, and there was a tiredness in his eyes that revealed he wasn’t sleeping well. Doc was a real doctor. I’d heard the rumors that he was going to his clinic less and less now, and spending more time at the clubhouse. I wondered if anything was wrong.

“Don’t,” he said, obviously recognizing the concern flirting across my face. “I’m good. Just stopped in for a drink.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I decided to let it go. So many times I had wished that he would findthe oneto settle down with like some of the others had. Those men had been stubborn too, but once they’d fallen, they’d fallen hard. Doc hadn’t met anyone yet and didn’t appear to be looking. While he was a better man than most, he’d made the Desert Rebels his life and priority.

“You know what you need?”

He threw his drink back before pinning his eyes on me again. “Yeah. Only my favorite girl has left the clubhouse for a better life.”

Laughter pealed from me before I brought it under control. The truth was that we’d fucked once, and after that we’d just kind of become friends. He messed around with the other club whores, but we’d had a different relationship. I hadn’t questioned why because I liked having him for a friend. He’d been telling me for years that I needed to get out and do something with my life. Had even offered to pay once, but I’d flatly turned him down. It hadn’t been about the money. At the time, staying at the clubhouse had been about my safety.

“You were thinking with your dick, I was thinking with my heart. What you need is to find yourself someone and settle down.”

“You should take your own advice.” His tone was harsher than necessary, and I knew instantly that something was going on. You didn’t spend years around someone and not learn certain tells about them.

Had he met someone? Someone unattainable? He’d tell me if he wanted me to know, I reminded myself. I took a breath. “What makes you think I’m not looking?” I sassed back.

He shook his head with a satisfied grin spreading across his chiseled face. “Glad to hear it, sweetheart. Make it a good man.”

Brody came to my mind, but I shot that thought down instantly. “What if it’s a woman?”

His expression was comical.

“Just kidding!” I laughed, giving his shoulder a nudge. My attention was drawn away from Doc to someone who was standing and waving wildly in my direction. A bright smile lit up my face when I saw Millie. “Oh, I see my posse.” I kissed him on the cheek. “Gotta go, honey.”

“Have fun,” Doc mumbled as I took off.

Annabelle, Raven, Jolene, Holly, and JoJo were also there and crowded around the table, laughing their asses off and catching up. A night at Grinders would put a slight damper on our evening because the bar was owned by the MC. There wasn’t much of a dance floor, the music was classic rock most of the time, the drink offerings sucked, and then there were the strippers. It was a biker’s bar through and through.

The men had promised to keep away, but we all knew that there were a couple of prospects hiding out somewhere to make sure that the old ladies remained safe. Most who hung out at the bar knew who was who, which women they could approach and which ones they couldn’t, but once in a while a trucker from out of town or another biker club ambled in and made an inappropriate move on one of us.

Millie was the first to greet me as I reached the table. “Hey! About time you showed up!”

I sat down in the only vacant chair, spreading my smile around to include everyone. “You remember I’m a working girl now, right? I have regular hours, and I’m not about to come here covered in dog and cat hair and smelling even worse.”

“Thank you for that,” Annabelle smiled. “Allergies and all that.”

Annabelle wasn’t an old lady, but her brother, Demon, was president of the club. She’d married Jolene’s brother, Danny, the year before. Danny wasn’t a member of the Desert Rebels either, but he ran a family lighting business with Jolene.

“How’s married life treating you?” I asked, sure that she was going to say “great” considering the happiness glittering in her eyes.

“I love it. Danny and I have a good routine down. I handle the inside of the house and he handles everything outside.”

“God, tell me we’re not going to talk about kids and house responsibilities,” JoJo groaned. She’d just had baby number three with Oz, who was the club’s secretary. A computer tech, he handled research and surveillance.

I shot her a sympathetic smile while directing my comment toward Annabelle. “I’d heard you guys bought a house.” I began to glance around for a server.

“If you ask me, that doesn’t sound like a fifty-fifty split,” Raven quipped, picking up her glass.

“Well, if you consider keeping the vehicles washed and vacuumed out, maintaining the lawn and any landscaping, and keeping the pool and porch clean, it takes him a good day out of his weekend. I, on the other hand, do a little cleaning each day so I have my whole weekend to play around.” She sounded so proud of herself.

I laughed at her cunningness. I’d finally caught Sybil’s eye and motioned her over. She scooted over to me and lowered her head because the place was so loud. I spoke into her ear, “Bring me a beer, please.”

“I stand corrected.” Raven raised her glass in salute to Annabelle.

Raven was married to Cole, Demon’s enforcer. They had two beautiful children, and I had a feeling they weren’t going to stop there. Jolene, wife to LD, the president of the Vegas chapter, had two, and Holly, married to Demon’s VP, had two as well. Two seemed to be the magic number, but I suspected that would change.

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