The whole bar is watching now. Some of the guys are laughing. A few of the old ladies are trying not to smile.
Hadley crosses her arms, fighting a grin. “You done?”
“No, I’m not done!” I shout, even though I’m already grinning despite myself. “I’m gonna die alone, Hadley! Alone! With nothing but my bike and my regrets and maybe a dog that doesn’t even like me!”
Wyatt calls out from the couch, “You don’t even have a dog, Tiny.”
“That’s not the point!” I roar back.
Hadley finally loses it and starts laughing, shaking her head at me like I’m the biggest idiot she’s ever met. Which, fair. She steps closer and pats my arm, still smiling.
“You’re ridiculous,” she says.
“Yeah, well…” I mutter, dropping back onto my stool and grabbing my beer. “Ridiculous and single. It’s a whole vibe.”
She studies me for a second, eyes softer now. “You’ll find someone,” she says quietly. “When it’s supposed to happen.”
I take a long drink and don’t answer. Because the truth is, I’m not sure I believe that anymore. But I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit here and admit it out loud while the whole clubhouse is watching me have a dramatic breakdown over being the last single bastard standing.
Suddenly Tessa gets this look on her face. It’s the kind of look that makes grown men nervous. Evil. Plotting. The kind of look that says she just came up with something that’s gonna make my life complicated.
She doesn’t say a word. Just pushes off Cole’s chest, grabs Hadley by the wrist, then jerks her chin at Erica and Scarlett. All four of them exchange one glance and then they’re gone, disappearing down the hallway toward the back rooms like a pack of she-wolves on a mission.
I watch them go, already suspicious.
“The fuck was that about?” I mutter.
Cole just smirks into his beer. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Two minutes later they’re back. All four of them are walking toward me in a straight line like they rehearsed this shit. Tessa’s still got that evil little smile. Hadley looks way too pleased with herself. Erica’s trying not to laugh. Scarlett’s got her arms crossed like she’s already won something.
I sit up straighter on my stool.
“What did you four do?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
They stop right in front of me. Tessa tilts her head, that wicked little grin still in place.
“We’ve got a proposition for you, Tiny.”
I don’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.
Hadley jumps in before I can even open my mouth. “You let us set you up,” she says. “Each of us picks one girl. Four different girls. Four dates. You go out with all of them.”
Scarlett picks it up from there, calm as ever. “Then you tell us which one you like the best.”
Erica’s smiling now, sweet and dangerous at the same time. “The girl whose pick you like the most… wins.”
I stare at all four of them. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
“Nope,” Tessa says, popping the ‘p’. “We’re dead serious.”
I throw my hands up again, voice getting loud. “So let me get this straight. Y’all are gonna handpick four poor, unsuspecting women, throw them at me one by one, and then sit around judging me like some fucked-up version of The Bachelor but with bikers and old ladies instead of roses?”
Hadley shrugs, completely unbothered. “Pretty much.”
I look at each of them in turn, waiting for one of them to crack and say they’re joking. None of them do.
Cole’s laughing quietly behind me. Steele’s shaking his head like he’s seen this coming from a mile away. Even Rook’s got a smirk on his face.
