She squeezed my hand once before letting go.
I headed for church.
And whatever the hell was waiting inside.
Chapter Thirty
Clove
I sat at the bar, elbows resting on the worn wood, watching Alice play bartender like she’d been born behind it instead of just being aggressively confident.
She slid another drink across the bar, the liquid inside a violent shade of blue with something red bleeding through it like a warning sign.
“Pirate drink,” she announced proudly.“Because apparently, we’re all emotionally unstable and need rum.”
Raven chuckled beside me as she took her seat, the barstool scraping softly against the floor.Ender’s mom had always carried herself with an easy kind of strength.Leather jacket, dark hair pulled back, and eyes sharp but kind.She fit the club like she’d helped build it, not just married into it and was Wrecker’s sister.
“How goes it?”she asked, lifting her glass.
“Oh, you know,” I said, staring into my drink like it might give me answers.“Just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Raven laughed, a warm, knowing sound.“Yeah.That tracks.”
I’d always liked Raven.She was tough in the way ol’ ladies had to be, but she wasn’t cold.She laughed easily, spoke her mind, and didn’t waste time pretending the club life was anything other than what it was.
She took a sip of her drink and studied me over the rim of the glass.“I always hoped it would be you.”
I blinked.“Um… what?”
“You and Ender,” she said simply.“I hoped it would be you.”
I let out a surprised laugh.“Oh.Well.Um.Thank you, I think?”
She bumped my shoulder with hers, casual and affectionate.“You’re welcome.I never thought I was all woo-woo and fate-y and whatnot, but something just always told me.”
I shook my head, smiling despite myself.“That’s wild.”
“I know he won’t make you cry,” she continued, voice quieter now.“Just like I know you won’t hurt him.”
Something warm settled in my chest.“You’re right.”
Enderwasspecial.And I knew, deep down, that he felt the same about me.
“I know it probably feels sudden,” I added.
She laughed.“Girl, you’ve known each other since you were born and he was one.That’s not sudden.That’s the longest courtship I’ve ever seen.You even beat Adley and Mason.”
I laughed, tension easing just a little.“Yeah.When you put it like that…”
Mom slid onto the stool on my other side.Alice immediately appeared in front of her like a summoned demon, pouring a drink that looked even more questionable than mine.
Mom eyed it suspiciously.“Do I even want to know what’s in this?”
“Nope,” Alice said cheerfully.“You sure the hell don’t.”
She pushed mine toward me again.“Just drink it.”
We all took a sip at the same time.