He slapped Gyth—who was sitting next to him—on the arm. “Look at the poor bloke, mooning over his girl.”
Gyth shook his head in exasperation. “You all of a sudden British now, man? Because I have to say, that was the worst fake accent I’ve ever heard.”
Kace had tried to play it up, and Gyth was right—it was awful.
Everyone was watching us now, their conversations coming to a halt. Gyth slugged Kace back. “And don’t tell me that you haven’t thought about Teal at least ten times since we got here.”
“You got me there,” Kace said. “But it’s only fair to give the newbie shit.”
The guys all laughed, and the big dude pointed at them. “You dipshits are doing the same thing, so stop laughing. I’m man enough and still head-over-heels in love with my wife toadmit that I’d rather be home with her on a Friday night instead of here with you fools.”
Gyth turned to look at Harland. “No offense, man.”
Harland chuckled. “None taken.”
I was a hundred percent in agreement with Gyth on that one.
Braxton jumped on that subject, addressing Harland. “There anyone back home you're thinking of bringing with you if you take the job?”
“Nope,” he answered without elaborating. “But if you guys are sure you want me, I’d like to accept the offer to work with you all.”
Braxton beamed a smile at the guy. “That’s awesome, man. Of course we do.” Then he looked around the table and everyone’s heads were nodding.
Landon and Lance hadn’t made it; they were working on a big case together. That made me think of the custody case Landon was overseeing for Patience, and I was curious when we would hear any news. It had been a week since the mediation, and I knew my wife was going out of her mind.
Bodie also had to dip out because Gemma and his kids were all sick at home, and he was taking care of them. With Gemma being a teacher, I swear that poor woman was lucky she didn’t catch cooties every day of the week all year long after always being around kids.
The rest of the guys were all shaking Harland’s hand, welcoming him into the fold, and I followed suit. After just starting work atNo Surrender,I’d seen how much work they turned down because of how busy they were. They’d really created something successful, and I was proud to be a part of it.
“Seriously.” I turned my head to see Gyth talking to Kace. “You give Jett shit, and now you’re texting your woman?”
Kace scowled at him. “Stop looking over my shoulder and reading my texts, jackass.”
Those two were worse than a bunch of girls with their bickering, and it was hilarious. Patience had always kept me updated on what was happening at home when I got to call. I swear there were always stories about these two going at it, the ladies’ shenanigans, which usually included Alley’s bats, and how much money Embry managed to collect for her swear jar.
I’d missed home and everyone, which is why I’d already declined to reenlist after that last deployment. I didn’t want to think about that right then, so I focused on the two idiots in front of me still bickering.
Then I glanced around the table at everyone else who was there. Braxton was talking to Harland about the job. Lyric, Rowan, and Paxton were in the middle of a conversation about a job they had just finished. Bronson, who helped us sometimes, and Huntley, who was a firefighter contemplating taking on some jobs since Brax wouldn’t stop hounding him, were actually up at the bar grabbing more beers.
It looked like we were staying for a while, so I settled in—a bit reluctantly.
I sensed her before I saw her.
The scent of daisies drifted to my nose, and my skin prickled with awareness.
How is she here?
Kace was smiling like a loon, and Gyth had a dreamy look on his face. That could only mean one thing: he had eyes on his wife.
“You’re welcome,” Kace said smugly.
I snapped my head around to look over my shoulder.There she was, dressed in a pair of black leggings and a peach, short-sleeved, oversized hoodie dress, paired with black Converse shoes, walking toward our table with Ruby, Teal, Brinley, and Summer in tow.
Patience erupted so many feelings inside of me whenever she was close, and even when she wasn’t, my mind was always on her. She was the most beautiful woman in the room, and she didn’t even realize it, which made her even more so. Okay, on the whole planet. It was easy to see that my friends felt the same about their significant others by the way their eyes lit up as the women approached.
Before she reached me, I was up out of my seat, closing the last few feet between us. Wrapping my arms around her, I lifted her off her feet and gave her a spin.
“Wow, excited to see me?” she asked breathlessly.
