Page 26 of Cole

I walked in and paused in the doorway. Damn it. I’d been hoping to see Ronnie behind the bar again, but to my disappointment, I recognized Asher Martino, Eve’s brother.

He raised a dark eyebrow at me as I approached the bar, ignoring the fan club of women sitting at the far end of the bar and watching him dreamily. Sure, Asher was hot. He was a tall hockey player, with dark good looks courtesy of his South American heritage, and the confidence of a man who knows he’s already met the love of his life and wants for nothing. Luckily, the women were keeping their distance, as his girlfriend, Winter, wasn’t someone to mess with.

“Isabelle, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, getting me a beer. “You meeting someone?”

“Maybe, if I get lucky,” I quipped and slid onto the barstool.

Asher frowned. “You’re not here on a date, or something?”

I shook my head.

Asher narrowed his eyes at me. “Then why here? There are plenty of bars in town that are more your speed.”

“You don’t know my speed. Maybe I felt like a walk on the wild side.” I attempted a smile, but I felt like Ash could see right through me. Damn it. Why did he have to be here? He would tell Eve, who’d tell Lily, and she’d tell her boyfriend, and it would get back to Marcus. As far as I could tell, Marcus had absolutely nothing to do with MC business. He was too busy being a hotshot hockey goalie and punching above his weight in the fiancée league.

Still, he wouldn’t like me sniffing around his brother’s bar. He wouldn’t like it one bit—he’d told me so himself in the past.

“Honestly, I just felt like going out, and didn’t want to see anyone I knew,” I told Ash, hoping my tone hinted at drama with a guy at HHU.

Ash stared at me a long moment and then shrugged. “Ok, whatever floats your boat, but be careful around here, ok? This isn’t a frat party. These guys aren’t drunk twenty-one-year-olds.”

“I know, dad, don’t worry about me,” I sighed, and nodded to another patron along the bar who was trying to get Ash’s attention.

“Did Eve tell you about Marcus’ surprise party next week?”

“What?” I was looking around and trying to see if I recognized anyone. “Oh, yeah, I’ll be there.”

Ash nodded. “Good, now, try not to get in trouble until I get back.”

He shot me another warning look and then ambled down the bar, taking his sweet time to get to the next customer.

I took a pull of my beer and tried to pry my shoulders from under my ears. Ronnie not working meant I had no one to chat with, either. I knew Asher well, but I was better friends with his sister than him. Besides, he wasn’t really a small-talk kind of guy.

I finished my beer quickly, figuring I needed the courage. I was determined to get some intel tonight, and for that, I was going to have to do more than just sit at the bar.

Asher reappeared as I set down my empty bottle. “Another?”

“Um, yeah, I’ll take a rum and Coke actually,” I replied, knowing beer wasn’t going to make enough of a dent in my nerves.

“I can get that for her,” a man said, sliding onto the stool beside me.

Asher looked at me for confirmation, and I shook my head. The last thing I needed tonight was some guy acting like I owed him something because he’d bought me a drink.

“Thanks, but I don’t let strangers buy me drinks—no offense,” I added.

“Maybe that’s why you looked lonely,” the guy said, running his hand through his slicked-back hair.

“I’m not,” I replied, not even looking at him.

He laughed like I had just said something cute. “That can always change. I’m Ryan, by the way. We’re not strangers now.”

I sighed and turned to face him. He was wearing a worn leather jacket over a stained tank. He had a patchy goatee and dark wandering eyes. I was getting hit on here at The Clutch in two nights more than I’d been hit on in my entire life.

“I’m not interested in meeting anyone tonight, I’m just here for a drink,” I said.

“You can’t tell me that you came here to drink alone,” he continued, not taking the hint.

“She’s not alone, Ryan,” Ash said, appearing back in front of me and placing my drink on the bar. “She’s my sister’s friend.” Nothing more was said, but it felt like a line was drawn at that moment. Ash stood in front of me and stared Ryan down across the bar.