“Really?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged, feeling embarrassed.
“Didn’t Josh say not to bring anything?”
She rolled her eyes. Men. “We can’t turn up with nothing.”
“I brought something. Beer.”
She snorted. “It’s polite to bring some food, even I know that.” She tapped her fingers against the bowl.
Hunter reached over and grasped her hand, pulling it onto his thigh. “Relax. You know most of the people there and everyone else is nice, you’ll see.”
He pulled up outside a small house. The front yard was tidy. It was obvious someone cared about this house a lot. Hunter came around and opened her door, taking the potato salad from her before helping her out. She took the salad back so he could carry the beer and followed him around the side of the house.
“You’re not going to knock on the front door?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “No one will be inside. Josh and Mila bought this house for the backyard.”
As she turned the corner, she could see why. There was a huge deck leading off the back of the house down to a glistening swimming pool. They were high enough to get a magnificent view of the city.
“Nice, isn’t it? That’s why we come here for barbeques. It definitely isn’t for Josh’s grilling skills.” He said that last bit in a louder voice.
“Hey, I heard that,” Josh complained from where he stood on the deck in front of a large grill. He had a smile on his face. “Come on up.”
They climbed the few steps. Cady grinned as she saw Josh’s apron. There was an image of a man with a flaming sausage and the words, ‘Grilling, it’s all fun and games until someone burns their wiener.’
“We bought him that apron after he almost had an accident,” Hunter told her with a grin. Jaron and Tiny leaned back on the railing. Jaron smiled at her while Tiny just nodded. She saw a man she didn’t recognize sitting at the large outdoor table talking to Connor, Curt and Gray.
“Glad you guys could make it. Cady, you know everyone except Simon.” He gestured over at the large, dark-haired man sitting at the table. He nodded over at her. She nodded back, feeling slightly intimidated by his cool, dark gaze and confident demeanor. This wasn’t a man to be messed with.
“Mila, Hunter and Cady are here,” Josh called out, before turning back to the grill.
Hunter handed Josh a beer and studied the meat Josh was currently charring.
“Think they’re burnt enough already,” Hunter commented.
“Nah, I think he’s missed a corner,” Jaron said.
“Fuck you,” Josh said good-naturedly.
A woman that Cady assumed was Josh’s wife, Mila approached them with a smile.
“Hello.” She smiled warmly at Cady. She was tall, nearly as tall as Josh, with long, straight dark red hair and a pale complexion.
“Mila, this is Cady. Cady, my wife, Mila.”
Surprising her, Mila stepped forward and embraced her. Cady stood stiffly for a moment before relaxing and returning the hug.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Mila said. “I’ve been dying to thank you for saving Josh.”
“Hey, I was perfectly capable of saving myself. Although, Cady made things easier,” he acknowledged.
Mila wrapped an arm around her husband’s waist. “I don’t know what I’d do without this guy.”
“Find a man who could grill without killing you,” Jaron joked.
“They giving you a hard time about your grilling skills, honey?” she asked.