Luke couldn’t hide his smile. He’d been warned the whole group was gossip central. Which was why Michael and Patrick had been so insistent on not telling anyone about Luke enrolling in the submissives’ class until after they were able to surprise Olivia. Apparently they hadn’t been kidding about how fast news got around. He also appreciated the implied air quotes she put around ‘worked with.’ Cute.

“She did,” he said, as casually as he could. It was pretty obvious everyone knew he was into Olivia, and just as obvious they all knew she was giving him a run for his money. “I’m pretty sure she’s trying to find someone else to take over for her though.”

“Mistress Lisa,” Jake said, pointing at a stunning blonde standing behind the bar, dressed in all leather. She had the same confident air as Olivia... but somehow she just didn’t make his body jump with the same kind of excitement. Everyone looked at Jake curiously, and he shrugged with a smirk. “She had to check in with Patrick to make sure it was okay.”

Kate looked a little disgruntled. “He must not have told Lexie,” she murmured.

“Doesn’t Mistress Lisa have a sub?” Sharon asked. “I thought she was with Karen.”

“She is,” Liam confirmed, a wide grin making him look even more boyish. “In fact, I do believe she is the only mistress in the club who currently has a submissive.”

“I wouldn’t read too much into that,” Luke said ruefully as everyone lit up with interest, even though a tiny spark of hope jumped up in his chest. Even though Olivia hadn’t actually told him to leave her alone, she wasn’t exactly encouraging him either. “Maybe she was the only one available.”

“Or maybe she was the first one Olivia asked,” Hilary said slyly. “That would be sooooo like Olivia.”

“Assuming she’s interested in me,” Luke said dryly.

“Brian told me she’s calling you ‘cupcake’,” Sharon said, leaning forward on the table.

Jake scowled at her. “I thought you two broke up.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “So we’re not allowed to talk?”

“Why is calling me ‘cupcake’ important?” Luke asked the table at large, ignoring the backasswards flirting Jake and Sharon liked to engage in.

Hilary grinned even wider as she answered his question.

“What do you think her favorite dessert is?”