Every woman looks at someone else.
Mac looks at Kya.
Kya looks at Brooke.
Brooke looks at Emma.
Raven raises one eyebrow.
Bella bites her lip.
Brynn blinks.
Shaina looks everywhere but me.
Allison lets out a quiet laugh.
I lower my mug. “Seriously?”
Kya points vaguely around the room. “Define married.”
I laugh. “Legally.” More silence. Then the entire table breaks. Mac starts laughing first, then Kya, then Bella, and within seconds, everyone is laughing like I’ve asked the most ridiculous question in the world.
My mouth falls open. “Wait. None of you?”
“None,” Emma says, still smiling.
“Are you kidding me?” I look around. “You all act married.”
Raven shrugs. “That’s because the men act like they own the oxygen within three feet of us.”
“Carter would absolutely argue paperwork is irrelevant,” Brooke says dryly.
“Logan too,” Mac adds. “With a whole speech about club law and old ladies and protection.”
Kya snorts. “Dom would probably say something romantic like, ‘the government doesn’t need to know who I sleep next to.’”
“That sounds like Dom,” Brynn says.
Bella grins. “Blaze would make a joke, then somehow end up serious in the middle of it and ruin my ability to stay mad.”
Shaina’s smile is small. “Shadow would say marriage changes nothing because I’m already his.”
Raven lifts her mug. “Joker would probably ask if we can do vows with knives.”Everyone looks at her. She shrugs. “Am I wrong?”
“No,” Mac says. “That’s the problem.”
The laughter settles into something warm and easy.
Then Mac goes quiet. Not sad. Thoughtful. Her gaze moves around the table, touching each woman in turn. Emma. Kya. Brooke. Shaina. Raven. Bella. Brynn. Allison. Ana. Me. Slowly, a smile curves her mouth. Not innocent. Not casual. A little dangerous. “Maybe that should change.”
The room shifts.
I feel it instantly. Interest. Awareness. A spark.
Kya lowers her mug. “Mac.”
“What?” Mac asks, too innocent.
