“No.” She followed him to a back booth large enough to hold their party. “ I’m going to sing.”
Gabe seated her then followed her in, placing himself at the edge of the booth. One brow rose in disbelief. “You are?” The others quickly took seats, Chloe somehow managing to finagle a seat next to Jim.
“Mm-hmm.”
“She’s got a great voice.” Belle winked at Sarah, her smile huge. “She’s going to knock your socks off.”
Sarah poked Gabe in the side hoping to get him to move. “Speaking of which, let me go sign up for my turn. Belle, you in?”
“Sure!”
Belle was practically bouncing, much to Rick’s obvious amazement. “Oh, this I have got to see.”
Belle put her hands on her waist. “Hey, I can sing!”
“Sweetheart, I was there for the infamous mojito night. Trust me, what you do in no way resembles singing.”
Everyone laughed as Belle glared at Rick. “I am so going to enjoy proving you wrong, Fido.”
The big man just shook his head and smiled, the love he held for his Luna written all over his face. Sarah sighed, wondering if she’d ever see a look like that on Gabe’s face. “I’m going to enjoy watching you try .”
“Five bucks says I get up there and leave you begging for more.” Belle’s chin lifted, her haughty stare challenging Rick.
Rick’s answer was a simple lift of one brow and a five-dollar bill slapped on the tabletop. Two seconds later Belle’s five was plunked down on top of it.
“Sucker,” Sarah snickered. The Wolf didn’t know it but that five was as good as lost.
“Why do I have the feeling you know something Rick doesn’t?”
Gabe’s whisper in her ear sent shivers down her spine. Ruthlessly she squashed them. She was nowhere near ready to forgive him yet. “You’ll see.”
Fingers tangled gently in her hair, a slight tug at the nape of her neck reminding her of who she was dealing with. “I guess I will,” was all he said, but his hand gave one more tug before landing on her shoulder. His fingers caressed the mark he’d left on her neck.
She could feel him studying her, watching the emotions that crossed her face. She lowered her lashes, not wanting him to see into her soul. That was a right he needed to earn.
Gabe stood, holding back a frustrated sigh, and held out his hand. “Let’s get you and Belle signed up for your songs.” He held out his other hand for Belle, helping her from her seat. “I’ll bring your mate right back, Rick.”
Rick shook his head at Belle and fingered one of the five-dollar bills still sitting on the table.
Sarah was smiling, but it looked forced. Maybe he’d pushed a bit, tugging on her hair that way, but he couldn’t seem to get her to focus on him, and he needed her to concentrate on him more than he needed to breathe. The only thing he could think of to do was be himself and just hope she would let him make everything up to her. He took Sarah’s hand, wanting the feel of her near him, hiding a wince when she tried to pull her fingers away. A little telltale glance at Chloe told him what the problem was. Apparently he had a lot of making up to do. Her reaction to his walking out of the club with Chloe hadn’t even occurred to him until he’d seen the look on her face. Maybe if she knew what they’d been talking about it would help ease the sting of his own stupidity.
He was so damn tired of seeing that bleak, hurt expression. He’d pulled away from Chloe the moment he saw it but by then she’d turned away. Turned to Jim. The fucker. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Sarah wouldn’t appreciate Jim’s blood on her pretty dress.
“Anyone else?” Sarah’s voice dragged him away from his thoughts.
“Sorry, I couldn’t carry a tune if you put it in a bucket and painted the handle with crazy glue.” Everyone stared at Sheri. “What?”
Sarah shrugged. “Okay, anyone else?”
Surprisingly, Rick stood. He stared down at his openmouthed mate. “What are we waiting for?” He took her arm and led her over to the sign-in sheet.
Gabe shook his head and followed, Sarah’s hand clasped in his. He didn’t miss the wink Jim sent her, either. The little minx. That’s eight. He began cataloging ways to hide the vet’s body. It was all he could do not to snarl at the other man. “Do you know what song you want to sing?”
She flipped through the selection, studying each one carefully. Belle had already made her selection, as had Rick. “That one.”
Her selection shouldn’t have surprised him but it did. He grinned as she wrote her name and selection down and handed them to the DJ. “Sunshine Superman?”
“Mm-hmm.”
He led her back to the booth to wait for her turn to sing, hoping he’d be able to get her to relax and let him in, even a little bit. His first step was pulling her into his arms as soon as they were seated, refusing to allow her to move. The flush that stole over her cheeks was worth the amused, knowing looks his Pridemates sent their way. Now to set the record straight. “Chloe and I were talking about her mate.”
He felt her muscles jump under his hands. “Her mate?”
He nodded, his lips set against her neck. “Mm-hmm. She knows who he is but he doesn’t seem interested.” The music started back up. Unless he wanted to scream in her ear, he’d have to wait to give her any more information.
Having Sarah in his arms made everything worth it. He nuzzled her hair, ignoring the screeching of the half-drunk man on stage. He allowed the quiet peace of having his mate’s scent and warmth beside him to lull him, feeling serene for the first time in months.
I’m going to throw up. Sarah rubbed at her stomach and swallowed hard. She stared out into the audience as the first strains of her song started up, the knowledge that Gabe was there making everything ten times worse. Why, oh why, did I decide to do this? And how did I wind up singing before both Belle and Rick? They signed up before me! She took a deep breath, almost ready to bolt.
A pair of midnight blue eyes stared up at her from the edge of the stage. Gabe smiled, laughter lighting up his face. She could feel the rueful amusement coming off him and knew he expected her to suck almost as bad as the last person who had been up on the stage. The woman had missed every single note of her song, but she’d had so much fun that Sarah had clapped almost as loud as the girl’s boyfriend.