Dominic raised an eyebrow, tilting his glass at me. “You look… satisfied. Smug. Like a man who’s just eaten and wants to start a fight.”
Kennedy choked on her drink, blushing.
“Can’t help it,” I said, brushing my knuckles over her thigh. “Marriage suits me.”
Drew leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Just tell me you didn’t forget how to flirt. Or sin. Or lie. We’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
“I flirted last night,” I said casually. “Right before I made her scream my name.”
“Jesus,” Luke muttered, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “He’s gone.”
Wyatt didn’t say anything—just stared at Kennedy like he was measuring her in some quiet, strategic way. Typical.
Rhys hadn’t moved from his spot, arms crossed, eyes on the dancers like he was silently judging the entire human race. “You’ve been married five minutes and I already need a nap.”
“You always need a nap,” I shot back.
He shrugged. “You’re just loud about your feelings.”
“You should try having some,” Kennedy said sweetly. The entire table blinked at her.
Axel barked out a laugh. “I like her.”
“Careful,” I said. “She’s violent when provoked.”
She leaned in, kissing the edge of my jaw. “Only when someone calls our marriage a side quest.”
I grinned as the guys erupted in another round of laughter, insults, and toasts to our win.
But under it all, I felt it—that quiet hum under my skin. She was here, on my lap, in my life, and I wasn’t letting go.
Not now. Not ever.
The guys were still ribbing me, tossing out digs about domestic bliss and whipped husbands like they weren’t secretly jealous. I let them talk. Let them have their fun. They’d figure it out eventually—how good it felt to have someone who looked at you like Kennedy looked at me.
I glanced across the booth just in time to catch Greyson slipping a bill into Luke’s hand under the table.
“Don’t even try to be subtle,” I said. “What the hell was that?”
Greyson shrugged, that smug smirk practically trademarked at this point. “Just paying off a friendly bet.”
Kennedy raised an eyebrow. “What kind of bet?”
Luke sighed like I’d just exposed state secrets. “We made a deal. First one to land a girl that makes him cancel his rotation schedule wins.”
I snorted. “So you lost.”
Greyson looked unbothered. “Technically, we both lost. Unless you count that nightmare brunch I survived last week as a romantic milestone. Spoiler alert—it ended with a bloody Mary in my lap and an ex-girlfriend keying my car.”
“Sounds like true love,” Kennedy said dryly.
Luke leaned back, arms stretched across the booth, watching the dance floor like he was hunting something… or someone. “Mine wasn’t much better. She tried to move in after the second night.”
“She brought a toothbrush,” Rhys added without looking up from his drink. “Then a cat.”
“An emotional support cat,” Luke corrected, deadpan. “I woke up to whiskers in my face and vomit on my leather couch. I’ve been traumatized ever since.”
Axel cackled. “Maybe the cat just knew you were emotionally unavailable.”
