Page 27 of Old Flame

“You look just fine the way you are,” Kendrix told me.

My eyes shot up to meet his. I knew that look, and I had been hoping I was reading him wrong. It seemed the more time wespent together, the more he looked at me that way.

Marlana was the one he needed to be giving those looks to. She wasn’t damaged.

11

Salem

Pepper hadn’t lied. There wasn’t a biker in sight. She greeted us at the door and led us over to a booth that was closest to the bar and set up on a platform so that the stage could be seen clearly. I didn’t see any entertainment on the board for tonight, but if there was, it would be later.

I slid into the first seat, thinking that Marlana would follow me. But she chose to sit across from me instead. Which left Kendrix with a choice. I knew she was hoping to have him sit beside her, but he chose to take the space beside me.

This won’t be uncomfortable at all, I thought to myself sarcastically.

Marlana’s expression fell, but she recovered quickly.

In all honesty, the way she’d talked about him before I met him, I’d assumed they were an item. I’d realized quickly that was an incorrect assumption.

The waitress took our drink orders immediately and said she’d be right back with them before leaving.

“This place is so cool,” Marlana said as she looked around. Anywhere but at either of us.

Ugh, Kendrix. Why didn’t you sit over there?

“It’s hard to believe that bikers frequent this place,” he said.

“Pepper’s brother is The Judgment’s vice president,” I explained.

Marlana looked at me, wide-eyed. “Really?”

I nodded. “Yes. She could tell I was uneasy the night I was here and they all showed up, so she explained who they were.”

Marlana put her elbows on the table and leaned toward me. “Were any hot? Like Jax Teller hot?”

“Um, I don’t know who that is, but Pepper’s brother was very attractive and very taken. The others were…” I shrugged, as if that was it.

Liar. Rome was hot. He was also an asshole.

She frowned at the disappointment. “That sucks. And what do you mean, you don’t know who Jax Teller is?” she asked. “Sons of Anarchy?”

Ah. That was a television show. I’d seen things about it.

“Never watched it,” I admitted.

Marlana fell back, as if completely mind-blown. “You have no idea what you are missing in life. We are going to have to rectify this. My apartment, wine, snacks, and bingeingSOA.”

I didn’t think I wanted to watch anything that gave me a peek into the life that Rome lived. I wanted nothing to remind me of him. Thinking about him wasn’t pleasant.

“Here we go, two lemon drop martinis and a Heineken,” the waitress said, placing our drink order in front of us. “I put in your food orders, and Pepper said it will be out shortly.”

We thanked her, and once she was gone, Kendrix turned to me, holding up his bottle of beer. “Cheers to an excellent first week.”

I shifted my gaze from him to Marlana, and then we picked up our glasses and tapped them before taking a drink.

Kendrix began to talk about our plans for the May exhibit and asked about the high schools I planned on contacting, the vision for the display, and ways he thought would be best to advertise it. Marlana had several good ideas, and when his attention was on her, she glowed. How could he not see that?

The food arrived, followed by Pepper.

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