Page 38 of Fallen Flame

Friends weren’t the same thing as family, though.

Friends went home.

Family was home.

I shoved the thought aside and headed toward the long bar that ran along one wall. Thorn stood behind it with a towel thrown over one shoulder, pouring drinks like he’d been born with a bottle in each hand.

“Rum and Coke, please,” I called as I slid onto an empty stool.

Thorn glanced over while filling a row of shot glasses. “You having a good time?”

“How could anyone not have a good time hanging out with the Fallen Lords?”

“That’s what we like to hear.” He pushed the shot glasses toward Slayer, then grabbed a clean glass for me.

I knew exactly where Oliver was without having to look for him.

He stood near the axe lanes with Arlo, his broad shoulders turned partly toward me while they talked. He wasn’t staring, but his gaze had swept in my direction more than once since we walked inside.

He stayed close enough to reach me without acting like he was following me.

It should’ve bothered me. Instead, I liked knowing he was there.

“There she is,” Alice called.

She came toward the bar with Karmen and Nikki beside her, all three of them laughing so hard I wondered what I’d missed.

Alice grabbed the stool next to mine while Karmen and Nikki claimed the other two.

Thorn set my rum and Coke in front of me, then braced his hands on the bar and narrowed his eyes at the three women. “I’m going to need to see some ID.”

Alice stared at him for half a second before throwing her head back and laughing.

Karmen slapped one hand against the bar. “Oh, Thorn. I always knew you were my favorite.”

“You told Nickel he was your favorite ten minutes ago,” Nikki reminded her.

“He wasn’t carding me ten minutes ago.”

I slowly turned toward Thorn and pressed one hand to my chest. “Excuse me.”

He looked at me. “What?”

“You didn’t card me.”

Thorn gave me a long once-over. “You look trustworthy.”

“That is the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

Alice reached over and patted my hand. “Don’t worry, honey. Give it a few years.”

“A few years?” I gasped.

Karmen leaned closer to me. “He means decades.”

“Now you’re both making it worse.”

Nikki pulled her wallet from her back pocket and slapped it onto the bar. “I have my ID, but you better make sure you get the birth year right when you tell everyone how young I am.”