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“I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Me, too.”
She hooks her arm through mine and pulls me away from the boys. Lincoln lets out a small noise of protest but I peek over my shoulder and flash him a smile.
“Are you hungry?” Ali asks. “We’ve got hot dogs and hamburgers.”
“Yeah, I’ll grab some food here in a minute.”
She nods. “Oh, let me go around and introduce you to the guys. First up, we have Blaze; he’s in charge of all these toddlers.”
I laugh and extend my hand. “Hi, it’s really nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” he mumbles, shaking my hand as his gaze bores into me like he’s just seen a ghost but Ali either doesn’t notice or chooses not to acknowledge it.
“And this here is Smith.”
Smith stands and grabs my hand before kissing it, making me giggle. “My lady.”
“Dude,” Storm groans from his chair and all the other guys laugh.
“Keep your lips off my woman!” Lincoln yells and I beam at him as my cheeks heat. It’s the first time he’s ever said something like that and it does crazy things to my hammering heart.
“This is Moose,” Ali says, pointing to another handsome man with a beard. Jesus, are all these guys ridiculously good looking? Is that a requirement for this club?
“Nice to meet you,” Moose says from his seat with a kind smile and I nod.
“And that is Fuzz and Streak,” she says, pointing to two men sitting on top of a picnic table.
“Hey,” one calls while the other nods in my direction and I hold up a hand to wave.
“Uh, hey, y’all. Thanks for inviting me.”
Lincoln grabs my hand and pulls me into his lap before handing me a beer.
“Tate, you’ve got to settle a bet for us,” Smith says and I nod as I take a sip of my drink.
“Okay, what is it?”
Lincoln starts laughing and I flash him a confused expression before turning back to Smith.
“Last night, Kodiak bet us that you would have no less than three weapons on you when you came tonight. I said one, at the most.”
Beer shoots through my nose as I laugh and start to cough as Lincoln rubs my back.
“Uh,” I hum, wiping at my nose. “Going anywhere with only one weapon is as bad as going with none.”
“Aw, shit,” he whines. “Did I just lose fifty bucks?”
“Wait,” Moose interjects. “We’ve got to see proof.”
Lincoln’s body shakes underneath me as he loses it and I fight back a smile as I set my beer down on the arm of the chair and open my purse. First, I pull out the Taser and show it to them before digging out the can of pepper spray. Smith lets out a low whistle when the knife comes out next.
“That’s only three,” Storm points out and I nod, lifting up my pants leg to show them the pistol in my ankle holster.
“Jesus,” someone whispers and I laugh.
“You just made me a whole lot of money, baby,” Lincoln whispers in my ear and I grin at him.
