Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
He kissed me for a moment longer, then pulled back, breaking our embrace. His eyes danced with mischief as they locked on mine. He lifted his hand up to my mouth, gently brushing the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip, and asked, “You good?”
“Um-hmm. More than good.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Realizing I’d left it behind, Quinton grabbed my casserole from the truck, then led me up to the front door of the clubhouse. As soon as we stepped inside, we were engulfed by a crowd of Quinton’s brothers. They all took a moment to greet us, and I found it endearing that they all paid special mind to speak to me.
By the time we made it to the family room, I was feeling much more at ease. We’d barely made it through the doorway when Cass, Cotton’s wife, came over to me and asked, “Do you want me to take that for you?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” I handed her my casserole as I added, “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Cass gave me a warm smile as she said, “We’re all really glad you decided to come today.”
“Me, too.”
“Now, don’t be shy.” Cass motioned her hand over to the line at the food table. “You guys go over and make yourselves a plate.”
Quinton rubbed his hands together as he chuckled, “Don’t mind if we do.”
I followed Quinton over to the back of the family room, where everyone had gathered to make their plates. I was waiting for my turn when I noticed that several of Quinton’s brothers were in the room but weren’t joining in the festivities. Instead, they were positioned at each entrance like they were standing guard. I was curious about what was up with them, so I leaned over to Quinton and asked, “Is something going on?”
“Hmm?”
“The guys at the door.” I gave my head a slight nod in their direction as I asked, “They aren’t eating.”
“Yeah, they’re keeping an eye on things.”
“Do they always do that or is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” He grabbed a plate from the table, then handed it to me. “Now, dive in. There’s plenty to eat.”
“That’s an understatement.”
I looked down at the spread of food, and I didn’t see a single item that didn’t look positively scrumptious. I wanted to try a bite of everything, but at the same time, I didn’t want to blow all the hard work I’d done on my diet. I was far from where I wanted to be, but I was doing okay. My clothes fit better, and I felt more confident. It was hard not to when Quinton looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the room.
I was contemplating where I wanted to splurge when Quinton leaned over to me and whispered, “Forget the stupid diet and eat what ya want. I’ll help you burn it off later tonight anyway."
“Ah.. well, oo-kay."
"You're fucking hot, babe. Eat the potatoes."
I didn’t argue. I knew doing so would only prompt him to prove a point, and considering how many people were around, that was the last thing I wanted. So, I got the potatoes, the rolls, and everything in between. Once our plates were full, we went over to find an empty seat.
We hadn’t gotten far when Smokey called out, “Hey, Q! You and Jules come over and sit with me and MJ.”
“Or you could come over and sit with Henley and me.”
“Why would they wanna do that when they could sit with Liv and me?” Clutch scoffed.
“Ah, look at that. The children are fightin’ over me.”
“Not over you.” Maverick motioned his hand toward me. “Over her.”
“Yeah, we need to have a chat with her.”
“The fuck you do,” Quinton huffed.
“Oh, come on, brother,” Clutch snickered. “We’ll play nice.”
“Um-hmm. Sure you will. I think I’d rather sit at the kids' table.”
“Yeah, go ahead and sit with the kids. Hell, you’d fit right in.” Smokey motioned me over to their table as he told him, “But something tells me she’d rather sit with us.”
I wasn’t sure what to do, so I looked up at Quinton and whispered, “I’ll sit anywhere you want, but I’m not sure I can survive the kiddie table today.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We don’t even have a fucking kids' table, and even if we did, I wouldn’t sit with ‘em. The guys are just giving me a hard time because you’re here.”
Quinton shook his head with a grumble, then guided me over to the table where MJ and Smokey were sitting. He pulled a chair back and waited for me to sit. Once I was settled, he took the empty spot next to me, and it wasn’t long before Smokey chuckled and asked, “So, about that chat...”
“Don’t start, Smoke.”
Before Smokey could counter, Cotton stood and greeted everyone, then bowed his head and blessed our food. Once he was done, he sat back down, and a soft hush fell across the room as everyone started eating. I expected there to be a lot of bantering back and forth between the brothers, but everyone was too focused on their plates of food to speak.