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He stopped pretending and looked around as though this development had only just occurred to him.

“Huh.”

I stared.

“That wasn’t intentional.”

“That does not make it better.”

Asa spotted me. His entire face lit up. “Piper!”

Several heads turned. Then more.

I closed my eyes for one second.

When I opened them, Ruckus was looking at Clayton as though he’d just watched his brother swallow a live grenade.

“Riot and Buck are gonna kill you,” he told him, voice pitched loud over the noise.

“Forget them,” Rook added calmly. “He won’t make it home to find out. Chief’s closer.” Then Rook looked at Clayton. “And you’re an idiot, by the way.”

Clayton spread his hands. “She’s having fun.”

“I just walked in,” I pointed out.

“See?” he said to his brothers. “No complaints.”

“He tricked me,” I added.

Micah leaned back in his chair and looked at me. “I want it formally entered into the record that I did not know he was bringing you.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Clayton said.

“I knew he was bringing somebody. He didn’t say Piper.”

Ruckus nodded solemnly. “Important legal distinction.”

“You’re all cowards,” Clayton told them.

“Alive cowards,” Rook corrected.

Asa was laughing. I looked around the table again.

A few of the other guys were very obviously trying not to stare at me. One was failing spectacularly.

I decided immediately that I was not going to spend the night making myself uncomfortable because Clayton had surprised me.

He would enjoy that far too much.

I dropped into the empty chair beside Micah.

“Buy me a drink,” I told Clayton.

His brows went up.

“Two.”

“Now she’s having fun,” he announced.