Grace handed the maligned slice of cake to Snake before cutting Max a much larger slice.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to get fat,” Casey teased.
“I have to get it when I can. Ice doesn’t let Grace make cakes for anyone but him.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a stingy bastard,” Max said before taking a large bite of cake.
“That’s not why, and you know it,” Grace butted in. “He’s still mad you all ate his birthday cake and didn’t save him any.”
“It was his own fault. Brother went off and left it alone with a group of men who hadn’t had anything homemade in years.”
“You didn’t even save him a slice of his own cake?” Casey asked, watching as Ice placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“I tried to. Cut him a real nice piece, too. Left it sitting on the counter. Never could find the bastard that stole the last piece,” Max said, finishing the last of his cake, then going back for another slice.
“He stole it, didn’t he?” Grace looked at Ice for confirmation.
“Fucker couldn’t buckle his belt for two days.”
Casey laughed, surprised to find she was actually having a good time. When Max came back, she couldn’t help teasing him.
“You better be careful, or you won’t be able to buckle your belt in the morning.” Her eyes went to his big, shiny belt buckle.
As Max paused with his forkful of cake halfway to his mouth, Casey felt the heat of her blush as everyone within hearing stared at her.
She cleared her throat. “Ice said, the last time you ate too much cake, you couldn’t buckle your belt,” she tried to explain amid the laughter. She wanted to slide to the floor in embarrassment.
“Leave her alone,” Grace said. “Come on, Casey. I’ll teach you how to play pool.”
Casey followed her gratefully. Grace showed her how to play, and she studiously avoided Max’s eyes as she tried to hit the balls the way Grace was. The felt on the table was becoming gouged from her attempts.
“It’s your turn.” Grace tried to sound encouraging, but Casey knew she was terrible.
She leaned over the pool table, lining the pool stick up with the ball she wanted to hit.
“Here, let me show you,” Max said from behind her. His hand slid down her arm, moving the pool stick a few inches, showing her how to hold it.
Casey could feel his breath against her ear as he told her how to make the shot. She shivered at the closeness of his body as he leaned over her. The ball sank into the corner pocket.
“I did it!’ Casey yelled, looking over her shoulder at him.
“You were holding the pool cue wrong,” he told her, straightening up and taking a step back.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” he said, moving away.
Casey frowned at his abrupt departure.
Once she turned back to Grace, they finished the game, which she lost dismally.
“You’ll get better.”
“No, I won’t, but it’s okay. It’s not like I’m going to be playing it again anytime soon,” Casey told her, seeing Max dancing with an attractive woman.
What had she done wrong? The whole reason she had come tonight was to become friendlier with Max, who now had a sensuous brunette wrapped around him.
With time running out, Casey couldn’t wait for Max to show an interest in her. She thought seriously about ditching her plan and using Grace to find the information she wanted, but she wouldn’t be able to gain the access to the clubhouse she needed. Casey seriously doubted Ice would leave any incriminating evidence where Grace would find it. The way everyone was acting in her presence exhibited how carefully the members behaved around her. The club whores and the men weren’t acting as raunchily as they did when she wasn’t present.
When Renee had been with Mason, she’d had several parties which the Predators had attended. She had never been a club whore, but they had partied hard, and no one could say her mother was overprotective. It was a miracle she hadn’t grown up to be like her mother; instead, it had the opposite effect, making her as withdrawn as Renee was flamboyant. She had hidden out in her room, studying, trying to ignore the sounds coming from the rest of the tiny house they had lived in. As soon as she had graduated high school, she had moved out and hadn’t stepped a foot back inside since.
“Something wrong?” Grace asked, seeing Casey’s troubled gaze was directed at Renee who was obviously intoxicated and talking too loudly. Mugg seemed the more sober of the two, though not by much. He was standing unsteadily at the bar, bragging about his new bike.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” Casey answered in a disgusted voice. “It’s time I leave. It was nice talking to you tonight. I appreciate you trying to teach me to play pool despite me being hopeless at it.”