As long as she didn’t hurt Mac, I thought she was a good addition to our crew.
“I was thinking… down by the lake would be a great place to move Suzanna’s business. Maybe build a house too.”
“Move? The actual house?”
He nodded.
“Seems like that cottage could be an office, and there’s plenty of fresh air and sunshine for her to grow her plants.”
“It was her grandmother’s house, right?”
“Yeah. She loves that place. But it’s going to be in the middle of construction for five to seven years. Maybe longer.”
“Right. That sucks. And it’s small enough to get on a truck.” I scratched my chin. “It does seem like the ideal solution.”
Mac was sweating a little bit as he stared at me. If I were cruel, I would have let him hang. I did, but only for a hot minute.
“I’ll sell you the land. I’d love to have you as a neighbor,” I said, slapping his back. “But are you sure you want to live next to Lucky?”
Mac couldn’t hide his grin as he shrugged.
“It’s a big lake.”
I laughed hard at that.
“That it is! We can go pick out a spot and decide on a price tomorrow, if you want.” He nodded eagerly and I shook his hand. “Can I tell Kaylie? You know she’ll want to congratulate Suzanna.”
“Maybe hold off on that,” Mac said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I haven’t asked her yet.”
I gave him a stern look. I wasn’t that much older than Mac, but I had the advantage of experience. In fact, I was younger than most of the guys who had been around a while. But as club Prez, I felt the need to look out for my people.
“Don’t be a dumbass. I’m all for sweeping a girl off her feet, but just make sure you know she’s okay with it first.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Good!” I said, maybe a little too loudly. I worried about Mac. We all did. He was quiet, especially since he came back from his last tour. He hadn’t shown any interest in a woman since . . . well, ever. And now he was going whole hog, jumping in with both feet. Hell, he was jumping in with his whole damn body.
It was good. It was time. But I was worried. I wanted him to be happy, dammit.
“Just go easy. No need to rush.”
He nodded, and I watched him walk back to the house.
“They grow up so fast,” I said as my wife walked up to me with a fresh, cold beer. She handed it to me and I popped off the top. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
I pulled her in for a kiss and then kept my arm around her as we leaned against our car.
“Tired? We can go home early.”
She shook her head and slid her arms around me.
“Not tired. Just happy. I want so much for all the guys. I want everyone to be settled and happy like we are. It looks like it might finally be happening for Mac.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead. I might be everybody’s big brother, but she was the den mother. She might be a gorgeous little sex kitten, but she was also a fierce mama bear. I loved that about her.
Hell, I loved everything about her.
Just then, Nick, Kyle, and Drake rolled up. I was about to bitch about them missing all the sweat work when I saw they had food and more beer with them.
“Everybody’s out back,” I said as they trooped back there with grocery bags. “Now those three…”
Kaylie laughed as we followed them to the back yard.
“I believe in miracles, but there are limits.”
“You never know. Maybe a set of triplets will move to town.”
She punched my side and I pretended to groan.
“Only a man would think like that!”
I couldn’t help but note the thoughtful look in her eyes as she watched as Whiskey quickly put them to work.
“Triplets, huh?”
I shrugged and winked at my wife before pulling her into my lap.
“What could go wrong?”
“Only about a thousand things!”
“Sure.” I squeezed her and nibbled her neck. “But a lot could go right, too.”
“Like what?” she asked breathlessly. “Are you being a perv?”
“I’ll show you when we get home,” I promised and started thinking of ways to leave the barbecue early. There were still new things to try with my pretty, young wife. Not that there was anything wrong with good old sex. In the end, we stayed, but I kept my gorgeous wife’s sweet fanny on my lap the whole time.
And when we finally got home a few hours later, I made sure to make good on my promise.
Chapter 32
Suzanna
“Your friends really love you.” I smiled at Mac as I carried in another handful of empty beer bottles. “Either that or they just love to barbecue.”
He laughed, looking absurdly handsome in his worn-in jeans and leather. He shrugged out of his jacket and started washing up in the kitchen sink. I sighed dreamily.