He’d done the same again the last three times I’d gone to lunch with them, but today I was putting my foot down. “Is it really necessary to shut down the entire place while we’re there?”
Sebastian’s thumbs hovered over his cell phone screen as he paused his rapid-fire texting to look up at me. “They’ll still be open to anyone from the club who wants to stop by for lunch.”
“You know what I meant,” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
His gaze dropped to my chest, his clear blue eyes heating. But he wasn’t going to allow desire to sway his decision. “The restaurant isn’t hurting for business. And even if they were, I wouldn’t give a shit. Your safety is nonnegotiable, Ireland.”
“But you’ve let up on some of the restrictions.” I walked over and straddled his lap, jerking my chin toward the piano in the corner of the room. “My students have been coming to the clubhouse for lessons for the past two weeks.”
His fingers dug into my hips. “You teach kids how to play the piano. The oldest one is twelve and weighs maybe a hundred pounds. They aren’t a threat.”
“Just yesterday, when you and Hack were talking about Scott, you said that he’s probably skipped town to avoid getting arrested,” I pointed out as I twined my arms around his neck.
“Probably isn’t good enough when it comes to your safety.” He nipped at my bottom lip, which was puffed out in a little pout.
“But what if he’s gone forever?” I asked. “At some point, I need to start performing with the girls again. If you give me a normal lunch out with the girls today, I promise to put Sally off for another week.”
My bandmate had been patient in the beginning, but she’d been a pain in the butt for the past ten days, pestering Sebastian and me for when I’d be ready to get back into the swing of things. The girls had totally understood why I’d needed to step back after what went down with Scott when he was fired, but their patience was running thin now that there hadn’t been a sign of him for weeks, and there was an active warrant out for his arrest.
“Which of the old ladies are going?”
“Cat, Bridget, Rylee, Paisley, and Harlowe,” I rattled off the list. “Wendy is joining us, too. She called yesterday because she misses seeing me around at McClaren’s, so I invited her along.”
He heaved a deep sigh. “Fine, but you still need to take two prospects with you, plus I’m going to ask Rider to meet up with me there for lunch, and you have to sit between Harlowe and Wendy. They both have concealed carry licenses, so if any shit goes down, they’ll cover you.”
“Thank you!” I brushed my lips against his in what was meant to be a quick kiss, but he took control, deepening it until I was squirming on his lap. “I thought you had a meeting?”
“Hack and I need to talk to Mac about a few things, but it shouldn’t take too long.”
He was pulling me close for another kiss when Cat strode into the huge open room where the club members hung out together. “Enough of that, you two. It’s time to go, and I’m starving.”
Sebastian captured my mouth in a long, passionate kiss before he lifted me off his lap. “Make sure she stays safe.”
Cat patted the back of the vest Sebastian had given me when we’d finally come up for air, and I’d gone out with the girls the first time. “Only an idiot would try something when she’s wearing your property patch, Breaker.”
“And there are plenty of those out there.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Cat waved off his concern and dragged me out to the SUV waiting outside. One of the prospects was in the driver's seat, with another sitting next to him. The trip to the restaurant was quick, and a little thrill went through me when I walked through the doors and saw most of the tables were filled with diners. It was a silly reaction, but this was my most normal outing in weeks.
I grinned at everyone when we made it to the table, sighing in relief when I was able to sit between Harlowe and Wendy without having to make everyone move around. The waiter hurried over with the usual drinks Cat and I ordered before mumbling something about being back with a basket of bread.
“Do you think they’d let me order something from the kid’s menu?” I asked.
A wrinkle popped up in the middle of Rylee’s forehead. “How come?”
I took a quick sip of my sweet tea before answering. “It’s so strange because I normally don’t like them, but I could really go for a hot dog right now, and they don’t have them on the regular menu.”