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So, she took a sip of her martini and started to talk.
The best thing about talking to a bartender was that there were natural breaks as he needed to tend to other customers, which also gave her the chance to think. And drink. The alcohol definitely loosened her tongue because she found herself telling him about everything—including the fact that she hadn’t gone to Domi because she didn’t want to hear her friend’s ‘I told you so.’
Shane listened without a hint of judgment on his face, which was another thing she loved him for. The only time he gave her anything other than a kind expression was when she tried to order her second martini. Lifting one eyebrow, he gave her water a pointed look.
As soon as she’d drunk half the glass, the second martini appeared in front of her. This time, Rae did roll her eyes and got another stern look from Shane, though he didn’t say anything.
“Is it so bad to be wrong?”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t think anyone does. But you don’t have to let it make you feel bad, either. Everyone is wrong sometimes. It’s part of life.”
“Even you?” she asked.
He smiled enigmatically.
“I’ve been wrong a time or two. The important thing is that you don’t let being wrong change where you want your life to go. What’s worse—being wrong or not getting what you want because you don’t want to admit that you’re wrong?” With another little smile, he turned to go take care of another customer, leaving her there with that extremely uncomfortable thought.
While she was sitting there, Olivia appeared behind the bar, crooking her finger at Shane. The redheaded Domme was the manager for Marquis and a serious badass. Rae watched with interest as the two of them had some kind of intense conversation, then Shane shook his head. Olivia sighed and turned away, shaking her head as well.
Oh, intrigue.
“What was that about?” Rae asked when Shane returned. Hey, it didn’t hurt to ask, right?
To her surprise, he actually answered.
“Mistress Julie got another gift delivered here to the club. Olivia just wanted to check in and see if I saw anything or anyone out front.”
“Oh… well, better here at the club than at home, right?”
Shane’s lips twitched. “I believe that’s how everyone feels, yes. Olivia’s main concern is trying to figure out how the admirer knew Julie would be at the club tonight. They’ve been keeping her schedule under lockdown ever since she got the present to her home.”
“Why did Olivia think you might know something?”
“I actually delivered the first gift. It came to the front instead of to the back.” He smiled ruefully, shaking his head. “Granted, I had no idea at the time that it was going to turn into such a thing.”
There was something about his tone, the way he was acting, that was different from everyone else. Law was freaking out about the admirer, Olivia was concerned, quite a few of the Doms were on edge, and… Shane was completely blasé. Not indifferent, but unconcerned.
“You know something,” she accused, pointing her finger at him. It wavered a little in the air, and she leaned forward so she could rest her elbow on the bar to keep her arm steadier. “You know who the secret admirer is.”
“No.” He said it so firmly, so sincerely that she believed him, and her heart sank a little in disappointment. He gave her a wink. “But I have a strong suspicion.”
“What?” She managed to keep from falling over, mostly because she was already partially braced on the bar. “Who?”
“I’m not going to say. Not while it’s just a suspicion. And if I do ever get confirmation, there are other people I’ll be telling first.”
“What if things escalate?”
“If it’s who I think it is, they won’t. And if it’s not, then casting suspicion on them won’t help anything.” Clearly, he’d already thought it through.
Damn. He really wasn’t going to tell her anything. She threw her balled-up napkin at him, and he caught it, chuckling.
“You’re a tease.”
“Sadist,” he said with a wink and just a hint of that Dom gaze that was enough to make her want to hide under the bar. Just a little. “Now drink your water and eat your pretzel so you can drive home in a bit.”
Obediently, Rae tore a piece of pretzel off and dunked it in the beer cheese. Mm. So good. And she did actually feel a little better, even if she didn’t know where she was going to go from here.
