“Hi,” I say, waving to all of them as my belly flips again. It’s intimidating as hell to have everyone’s attention on me and I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a real friend to hang out with but maybe I could here. My mind drifts back to how nervous I was to make this move but the further away I get from Alaska, the more I’m reassured that I made the right choice.
“I know you don’t really know any of us yet,” Ali says. “But I promise, you’re going to fit right in.”
“We’re really just a big, rowdy family,” Kady adds and I smile through the ache in my chest as I think about the family I’ve already lost and how alone I’ve felt these past four weeks. Lincoln walks into the room and I glance over at him as he carries the urn of Mom’s ashes in his arms down a hallway in the back where I assume is my room as my chest aches. It would be so easy to lose myself in the pain of her loss but I can’t go down that rabbit hole right now. I push the thoughts away before scanning the rest of the room.
It’s fairly large with a bar at one end and several pool tables at the other. There are several round tables scattered in the middle of the room and a couple of couches against the back wall. It’s actually a pretty comfortable space which is the opposite of what I was expecting but after meeting the girls, it fits. As my gaze sweeps past the bar again, I notice one of the guys off by himself, drinking, and when he looks up and our eyes meet, my belly does a flip for a whole other reason. Even all the way across the room, I can see that he is easily the hottest man I’ve ever laid eyes on and a tingle races across my skin. He turns toward me, so subtly that if I hadn’t been staring at him, I would have missed it and he cocks his head to the side. I’m unable to pull my gaze away for a few heavy seconds but when I finally do, I swear I can still feel his gaze burning into me.
Jesus Christ.
“Tatum, are you going to introduce the rest of us?” an older man asks as he approaches us. He is a big guy and with his medium length gray hair and the beard covering half of his weathered face, I get the feeling that people might feel intimidated by him at first but there is something about his clear blue eyes, shining with kindness and humor, that instantly puts me at ease.
“I don’t know…” Tate muses, cocking her head to the side as she shoots him a look full of attitude. “Y’all are not exactly house trained and I don’t want to overwhelm the poor girl.”
He smirks, shaking his head as he turns his gaze to me. “Something tells me she can take care of herself.”
“Well, if she can’t now, I’ll get her set up in no time.”
“Dear God,” he whispers, shaking his head in mock horror. “Please don’t. The last thing I need is another taser wielding woman running around my club.”
I laugh, remembering the phone call with Lincoln where he informed me of Tate’s fondness for tasers. She shoots him a grin.
“You forgot about my gun.”
“Oh, I haven’t forgotten. In fact, I specifically remember you promising to not pull it on anymore of my boys,” he says and she shrugs.
“I would say it was more of something I would take into consideration before I pulled a gun on any more members.”
“Tate,” he warns, arching a brow at her and she holds her hands up in front of her like she’s completely innocent.
“Hey, just tell your boys to stop being dumb assholes and then we can avoid this whole situation in the future.”
“Kodiak is a fucking saint,” he mutters before shaking his head and turning to me. “I’m Blaze, by the way, president of this club.”
I nod, shaking his hand. “Ah, yes. I’ve heard all about you.”
“What have you told her?” he accuses, leveling a mock glare at Tate and she takes a step back.
“Don’t look at me. I would never speak ill of my favorite member of this club.”
“What was that?” Lincoln growls, sneaking up behind Tate and scooping her up in his arms as she squeals. Blaze chuckles, watching them, before turning to me.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to all of this soon enough.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “If you say so.”
“The truth is, Rowan, this club and everyone in this room is family and there isn’t a single person here who wouldn’t drop everything to be there for you at a moment’s notice. And, yeah, we can be overwhelming at first but we really do mean well.”
“I believe that,” I tell him with a nod. “Besides, there is no way in hell my brother would have ever brought me here if he didn’t trust you all whole heartedly.”
Lincoln nods as he sets Tate back on her feet and pulls her into his body, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re damn right I wouldn’t.”
“Come on. Let me introduce you to everyone else,” he says, motioning for me to follow him. He leads me to a group of men before introducing me to each of them before turning to a man who flashes him a scowl as he introduces him as his son, Nix, before pointing to the woman at his side. “And this is my daughter-in-law, Emma.
I nod to them and paste what I hope is a friendly smile on my face. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”
“You too, sweetie,” Emma says, her smile way more sincere than mine feels. Blaze and Nix hold each other’s gazes for a moment before Blaze sighs and turns back to me, pointing toward the bar.
“And that’s Streak. He’s also good people but he’s in a shitty mood tonight so maybe just wait until tomorrow to say hi.”
My gaze meets Streak’s across the room and I nod as a wave of warmth washes through me. It feels like his green eyes can see right through all my defenses. After all of the shit I’ve been through lately, I shouldn’t be thinking about what it would feel like to kiss him but I am. In fact, when I’m not staring at his intense eyes, I’m looking at his full lips and wondering how they would feel against mine. There is a strange fluttering feeling in my chest and my cheeks heat as I meet his eyes again and the hint of a smile shines back at me.
God, can he tell what I’m thinking?
Can he see that every time he looks at me, all I can think about is getting closer to him?
Blowing out a breath, I force myself to look away from him and turn back to the group.
“Man, I’m just saying,” Chance says, a mischievous smirk on his face as Lincoln glares at him. “Imagine if both those babies are girls. Not only are you going to have to deal with twice the amount of boys trying to get at your daughters but I have a sneaking suspicion that they’ll both be just like their mama.”
Blaze rolls his eyes. “Lord help us all.”
I join in their laughter as I look over at my brother and his wife. When he called me a couple of months ago to tell me the news that Tate was pregnant with twins, I was so excited for them but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. I couldn’t see Lincoln as a dad until I realized that he’s been a dad for most of his life, ever since ours died and he stepped up to do whatever it took to take care of Nora, Mom, and me. If anyone deserves the happiness he’s found now, it’s my brother.
“What about you, Rowan?”
I blink and glance over at Smith, who is looking at me expectantly. “Huh?”