by Lucy Score
They placed an order with the kitchen for an astronomical amount of bar food.
“I’m texting Vulkov and Cardona,” Beckett suggested. “The wives are all out together working on some fundraiser or something, and the kids are spread out with an army of babysitters. It’s Man Night.”
Davis started to stopper his bottles. “Hang on. We’ll double fist to celebrate,” Carter insisted, pulling down wine glasses from above the bar. They were in the private bar area on the second floor of the brewery. Used mainly for special occasions or Pierce family meals, it was a generous space with its own bar and restrooms and a dozen tables spread out. There was a steel cabled railing overlooking the main bar area below.
Davis poured himself a merlot and accepted the lager Jax poured for him. He planted himself on a bar stool and wondered when he’d last watched a game with friends. The winery had kept him busy, had basically consumed his life. And the fire had been a major setback. And then there was Eden picking up all of his spare time and confusing him with a fake relationship that felt way too real.
It was nice to be normal for a little while.
The sheriff and Nikolai Vulkov arrived together minutes later. Niko shrugged out of his leather jacket and made a mad dash for alcohol.
“Emma can’t drink,” he said by way of an explanation as he reverently picked up a beer.
“Meaning?” Davis asked, watching him swallow two-thirds of the glass’s contents.
“Meaning I can’t drink either,” Niko said, pausing for a breath and then polishing off the rest of the beer. “Ahhh, I’ve missed you,” he crooned.
Carter smirked. “Why don’t you just tell Emma the truth? That you’re cheating on her with a frosty blonde.”
“It’s called being supportive,” Niko said dryly. “I’d think a father of twins would know what that was.”
Jax held up a piece of popcorn chicken, and Beckett nodded and rose. Jax gave the chicken a toss, and Beckett caught it in his mouth, shooting his arms up victoriously.
“A father of twins knows what support looks like,” Carter shot back, amused.
“What? A vasectomy?” Niko teased.
“If that will make Summer’s life better, I’m not afraid of getting snipped.”
“My buddy back in L.A. went with a bunch of his friends. They all got them done together. Like a really painful spa day,” Jax told them, chucking another piece of chicken at Beckett.
“Are you guys done with two?” Niko asked Carter.
Carter shrugged. “I think so, but every time one of you jackasses has a baby, Summer sniffs them and starts talking about how much she misses the baby stage.”
Beckett rolled his eyes. “I’m currently in the baby stage, and I’m very much looking forward to Lydia going off to college. She’s getting molars or growing a tail and isn’t sleeping.”
“Not making me look forward to next year, guys,” Niko confessed. “I’m already terrified that I’ll screw this kid up somehow.”
“Oh, you will,” Carter told him cheerfully.
“Should have just adopted a couple of older ones,” Jax said smugly. “Ours came potty-trained and with all their teeth.”
Jax, the youngest of the Pierces, had just over ten years on the daughter he and Joey were adopting.
“What about you two?” Beckett asked Donovan and Davis. “Now that you’re settled down, has the f word come up?”
“Family,” Jax explained.
“Ah. Well, Eden and I just started dating,” Davis hedged. “We’ve got time to figure that out.”
“How about you, Cardona?” Jax asked. “You working on a pack of baby sheriffs?”
Donovan sucked his beer down the wrong pipe and choked. But it was the stupid grin on his face that alerted everyone to the real issue.
“Are you kidding?” Niko asked. “You guys are having a baby?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Donovan said, looking over both shoulders as if worried that his tiny wife would appear and murder him for spilling their secret.
“Holy shit! I can’t believe Emma didn’t tell me,” Niko said, reaching for a glass of wine.
“Emma doesn’t know. No one knows. We found out after the wedding. Like ten minutes after the wedding,” Donovan confessed.
“That’s what you were doing in there?” Carter asked. “We all thought you were having sex.”
“That, too,” Donovan grinned. “But seriously. None of you can say a word to anyone, especially your wives. And when Eva does decide to tell you, you have to pretend to be surprised.”
Each of the men traced their fingers over their hearts in an X, Blue Moon code for “I promise.” It was legally binding.
“It’s crazy to think that three years ago, you were all single,” Davis pointed out. So much had changed in their lives, and he had to admit he’d never seen them happier. He felt… a pang. Just that little hint that maybe there was something great out there that he was missing out on.
Jax reached out with his arms and rolled his eyes back in his head. “Join us. Join us.”
“We literally just started dating,” Davis pointed out. He left out the part where they were only pretending to date. He also didn’t feel inclined to reveal that the more time he spent with Eden, the less fake it all felt. She was challenging. Exciting. Interesting. All of that on top of the fact that he’d always found her irresistible.
“You’ve got a lot going on, man,” Beckett said, slapping him on the shoulder.
Davis reached for another hot wing from the tray.
“Any luck with the insurance company?” Donovan asked him.
Davis shook his head. “Until investigators can prove it wasn’t me setting the fire to perpetrate insurance fraud, they aren’t paying up.”
“Man, that sucks. And you have no idea who did it?” Beckett asked.
Davis stared into the eyes of the man whose wife had played a role in burning down his kitchen and lied to his face. “No idea.”
Donovan promised to check in with the fire chief and the inspector the next day. But Davis wasn’t holding on to any hopes there. He’d talked to his financial advisor earlier in the day, and she had confirmed that he could borrow against his retirement savings. It would hurt. A lot. But at least his house wouldn’t rot and fall down waiting for the cash to fix it.
And as angry as he was with his irresponsible town, charging the Beautification Committee with arson wouldn’t make life better for anyone.
No, he’d stick with the plan. Borrow against his savings and be back in his own house in a few weeks. They could blow up the Beautification Committee together. And then Eden would have her guest room to herself again.
They’d be back to where they started: virtual strangers sharing a property line.
That part didn’t sit well with Davis.
“Hey, that doesn’t look like a fundraiser meeting,” Carter said. He was peering over the railing into the bar below.
Beckett and Davis joined him and spied a table full of beautiful women.
“Yes!” Jax pumped his fist in the area. “Joey’s drinking Long Islands. They always make her frisky.”
Davis watched as Eden leaned in and shared a laugh with Eva. Her dark, loose curls fell over her forehead, obscuring one wide, blue eye before she brushed it back. She had always been not just attractive but fascinating. He’d spent the last fifteen years watching her from a distance, and now that he had the opportunity to be up close and personal with her, God was he was enjoying himself.
“Gentlemen,” Carter said, slinging his arms around Donovan and Niko’s shoulders. “We have excellent taste in women.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Beckett said, his gaze warm on his wife.
“What are the odds that they’ll be pissed at us for cutting loose tonight?” Jax asked warily.
Beckett cuffed him on the back of the head. “We just busted them lying about organizing a fundraiser, genius. We’re covered.”
“That’s because your wife’s log
ic outweighs her desire to win a fight.” Jax didn’t sound like he was complaining. It was rumored that he and Joey argued just so they could make up.
“Let’s go test the waters, gentlemen,” Donovan said, heading for the stairs. “And remember, if one of you says the word ‘baby’ down there, I’m going to tase you.”
27
“Well, well, well. Look what’s coming our way,” Summer announced to the table, staring in female satisfaction as the crowd in the bar parted for a half-dozen gorgeous men.
“Mmm,” Emma sighed. “We sure are lucky, aren’t we?”
It should be illegal to have that many good-looking men in one confined space, Eden decided. And leading the way was her man. Her temporary man, she corrected silently. Davis was getting his fair share of rapt attention from the estrogen-carrying bar customers.
He was dressed for business in slate gray slacks and a light blue button-down. He’d forgone the tie and rolled up his sleeves. His hair was thick and attractively mussed. And his brown eyes were firmly on Eden. God, there was something in that gaze. Something possessive, primal. And why did she think that maybe it wasn’t just for show?
“Ladies, my friends and I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful you are,” Niko said suavely. He trailed a finger down Emma’s neck, and she grinned up at him. “Can we buy you a round of drinks?”
“How’s your meeting, Jax?” Joey demanded with a glare.
Jax strolled around the table and gathered his wife’s hair in his fist, tugging her head back to kiss her. “Objective achieved early. How’s your fundraiser, Jojo?”
“Fundraiser?” Summer snorted. “Ow!”
Joey gave her a swift kick under the table.
“Maybe we should just call a draw on this one, Joey,” Gia suggested, hopping up to press a quick kiss to Beckett’s cheek.
Davis made eye contact with Eden, telegraphing a question. How should we play this?
Eden gave a small shrug and a nod. Play along.
He leaned down, closing the distance carefully, and Eden felt like she’d spontaneously combust from the anticipation. She felt it every time a kiss was called for. Hell, she’d even instigated one or two lip locks when they weren’t absolutely necessary just to have his mouth on hers again.
Finally, his lips met hers, firmly, sweetly. It was a chaste kiss, but he shoved his fingers into her hair, holding her lightly at the top of her neck, and Eden’s pulse started to hammer.
He pulled back slowly, keeping his hand where it was, and she opened her eyes.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi,” she blushed.
“Awh, you two are so damn cute,” Gia sighed across the table. She rested her head on Beckett’s shoulder. “Isn’t new love cute?”
“Adorable,” Beckett agreed dryly. “The Beautification Committee is a genius.”
Eden tensed, and Davis tightened his fingers on her neck.
“I’m sensing sarcasm,” Gia said, hands on hips. “They matched us. And look at Eden and Davis! Eden’s trusting our expertise enough to throw herself into this relationship to give them a real chance at happiness.”
What was that feeling settling in the pit of her stomach? Guilt? That was ridiculous. Those people basically firebombed a residence in the name of matchmaking. They had to be stopped. She felt Davis give her neck another squeeze as if he were reading her mind.
“According to my watch,” Summer interrupted. “We have forty-five minutes before we need to relieve babysitters. Are we going to spend it arguing, or has ladies’ night become date night?”
There weren’t enough chairs. So, Eden sat on Davis’s lap. She tried to perch at first, her back military straight. But her thighs soon began to cry foul holding her entire weight. Davis solved the problem for her, by slinging his arm around her waist and pulling her back against his chest.
He rubbed lazy circles with his thumb on the back of her neck while they talked. The conversation buzzed around them, but Eden had trouble concentrating on anything but Davis’s fingers.
He’d asked her how she liked to be touched. Was he using that information against her? Was he just playing the game? Or was this something more? She couldn’t figure out his game. All she wanted to do was curl up like a cat in his lap.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. His lips brushed the delicate skin of her ear lobe, and Eden shivered.
She looked down at the gauzy white blouse she’d donned over slim, black biker pants. “Thank you,” she said, her cheeks turning scarlet. Her voice sounded robotic. Davis Gates was seducing her, and she was falling for it.
He stroked his hand down her back and she felt the warmth of his palm scorching her skin under the thin layer of clothing.
“I’ve been thinking about our arrangement,” Davis said softly.
Eden stiffened. Nothing he said next could be good. Either he’d decided he didn’t want revenge and she’d have another reason to go back to despising him, or he wanted more… and that was… something she wasn’t prepared to think about. “You have?” she said evenly.
“Look around us. Would it be so wrong if we had what they have?”
She couldn’t help herself. Eden looked around the table at the happy couples. The love, the intimacy, the connection was palpable. It was beautiful, this sharing, this building a life together. And for one shining second she could see them, walking the vines, sharing a bottle of wine on the porch, watching dogs and kids play in the yard…
“Eden Moody! You get off that horrible man’s lap right this minute!”
“Mom?”
Lilly Ann in her date night caftan peered over Ned’s shoulder in horror. They were wedged between two high-top tables, the occupants of which were rearranging themselves for better views of the impending fight. Eden’s ashen-faced father looked as though he’d just walked in on his own parents in the middle of a swingers’ party. Her mother didn’t condone physical violence, but with the murderous expression on her face right now, Eden wondered if she was willing to make an exception.
“How could you?” Lilly Ann howled flinging both arms out wide, tangling pint glasses in her bell sleeves. “How could she, Ned?”
Eden’s father shook his head slowly, morosely. “Where did we go wrong, Lilly Ann?”
Eden could have given them a list of all their wrong turns, but she didn’t feel that now was the appropriate time.
She jumped out of Davis’s lap, conscious of the stares directed their way. Just another weeknight in Blue Moon with a family feud spilling out into a public restaurant.
“You are a bad, bad man,” Lilly Ann announced, wielding her finger like a wand at Davis. “And I hope you are rendered impotent and your children are redheads.”
“Hey!” The trio of redheads piped up from the table.
“No offense,” Lilly Ann said. “You three are simply stunning.”
“How can I be impotent and have children?” Davis whispered. Eden elbowed him in his very solid abs.
“Mom, Dad, I can explain,” Eden began.
They stared at her expectantly, hurt and disappointment radiating off of them.
“Well?” Ned prodded.
“How about we step outside?” Davis suggested. He rose, dropped some bills on the table, and grabbed their coats.
“I’m not stepping anywhere with you!” Lilly Ann shrieked. “You’ll probably shove me in front of a moving car!”
“Enough! Mother. Outside, now!” Eden grabbed her mother’s arm and started dragging. She didn’t stop until they made it outside the brewery.
Ned stomped along behind them with Davis on his heels. “I got this,” Eden told him.
But Davis shook his head. “Not leaving.”
Lilly Ann blew a raspberry in Davis's direction.
“Oh, real mature, Mom.” Eden’s breath puffed out into the night air on a silvery cloud.
“After everything his family put us through, you’re just willing to forgive and forget? His second cousin
Wooster stole my hamster!” If Ned’s voice got any higher, the dog population of Blue Moon and its surrounding areas would be arriving at any moment.
As it was, Eden could hear Joey’s dog, Waffles, howling from the horse barn just down the road.
“I’m not even going to point out the irony of you two growing up in the hippie-est damn town on the entire east coast and complaining about forgiveness,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “For the record, Davis and I are not dating!”
“Oh, so you’re just having sex then?” The rage had gone out of Lilly Ann. Apparently having sex with one’s enemies was fine.
“Oh my God, Mom! We’re not even doing that,” Eden hissed out. “We are nothing. There is nothing between us but a plan to get revenge on the Beautification Committee for trying to match us and for burning down Davis’s house in the process.”
That shut them up, Eden thought triumphantly.
Davis was looking at her. His face was in shadows, but she could feel something radiating off of him. Disappointment? She couldn’t tell.
“The Beautification Committee tried to match the two of you?” Lilly Ann pointed at them both.
“Yes,” Davis answered.
Eden’s mother threw her head back and cackled. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Okay, Hilarious Hilda. It’s not that funny,” Eden said.
“You two would be a horrible couple,” Lilly Ann pressed. “I mean come on. You dress like you’re in a motorcycle gang, and he’s all Mr. Suits over there. You’re a beautiful, sweet, kind soul, and Davis—no offense—is the demon spawn of those Gates monsters.”
“None taken,” Davis said amicably. He draped Eden’s coat over her shoulders.
“They thought it would put an end to your stupid feud that has apparently tortured your friends and neighbors for fifty years,” Eden explained.
Ned waved a hand dismissively. “That’s ridiculous. Everyone loves our feud.”
“Dad,” Eden rubbed her temples in exasperation. “No, they don’t. The whole town wishes we’d all just bury the hatchet.”
“Oh, I know exactly where I’d bury the hatchet,” Lilly Ann said looking at Davis darkly. “Right between your mother’s—”