at a high-top table up on an elevated section against the wall we have a good view. The place is not as obnoxiously loud as I expected, and I’m pleasantly surprised, though there is a packed dance floor.
We’ve already danced to quite a few songs. Men keep coming around, but we’ve managed to politely tell them no. Kara’s flashes her sparkly ring at them, and it works like a charm.
Another guy approaches to ask Kara if she’d like to dance. Again she holds up her hand with the sparkling diamond. He nods and walks away.
I smile at her. “That thing’s like flashing a cross at a vampire.” We both giggle.
“It’s my personal kryptonite against men,” she adds. “I really appreciate you coming out with me tonight. I needed this.”
“I’m glad you’re having a good time.”
“Aren’t you having a good time?”
“Sure. So, tell me, how did you and Reno meet?”
“Oh, God, that’s a long story. You wouldn’t even believe it.”
I chuckle and lean forward, dying to know. “Tell me.”
“Let’s just say it involved him doing some crap the old club ordered him to do, back before he and Rusty took over.”
I frown. “When was that?”
“Not long ago.”
“So, tell me about the first time you laid eyes on him.” I put an elbow on the table and my chin in my hand, eager to hear some romance.
She runs her fingertip down the stem of her glass, smiling dreamily. “I bumped into him in a bar, literally. I’d never met someone like him, and when he looked at me I felt it clear down to my bones. We had an instant connection, that’s for sure.”
“And he snapped you up quick enough, huh?”
“It was quite the whirlwind with a lot of drama that I won’t go into, but we made it to the other side, and I’m so grateful to have him. I know I can trust him with my life, and maybe more importantly, with my happiness.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Oh, I know he plays the gruff badass, and he is one, definitely. But he’s also got a sensitivity about him, ya know? It’s like he picks up on my feelings and can read me like a book. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.” She pauses to laugh. “But I’ve never felt more connected to anyone in my life.”
“You seem very happy.”
“I am.” She tilts her head to the side. “What about you and Rusty?”
I pull back a little. I’m completely comfortable probing her private life, but not so open when it comes to my own. “Um, he’s a really nice guy.”
“A nice guy?” She giggles. “Don’t let the president of the Devil Kings MC hear you refer to him as that.”
I grin. “Right. But I mean, the side I’ve seen so far is that of a good guy. I’m sure that’s not all he’s been in his life. I’m not naïve. But he’s been really good to me. I feel like…” My voice drifts off as I wonder if I’m revealing too much.
“Like what?” she prods.
“I know its silly, but I really feel like I hit the jackpot when I met him.”
She searches my eyes. “You two seem really right for each other. You’re really similar in a lot of ways.”
My eyes widen, and I huff out a laugh. “Really? How so?”
“Well, you’re both social; you’re both good at talking to people and making them feel comfortable around you.”
“I guess that’s true.”
She studies me a moment, like she’s reconsidering. “But you’ll probably bump heads on things, because he’s a take-charge kind of guy, and you seem really independent. Hard for you both to win in a situation like that.”
There’s definitely some truth to her analysis. I can’t help but take exception to some of it, though. “It’s not that I don’t like a guy that takes charge, I do, but—”
“Wait. You do?”
I shrug. “I mean in some situations.” I smile.
She grins big behind her glass and murmurs. “The bedroom?”
I turn pink. “Yes, and other times. I like a man who acts like a man. I just don’t want one who’s going to tell me what I can and can’t do and how to live my life.”
Her brows knit together. “You think Rusty would tell you how to live your life?”
“Maybe I’m not saying it right. I just haven’t had someone in my life for a while, and I’m not sure if we’re going to mesh that way. Compromises and concessions and giving up things…that’s not easy for me. Besides, I never seem to