The Men with the Golden Cuffs (Masters and Mercenaries #2)(103)

“So, you’re just sleeping with them now?” Bridget asked, pulling out pens and laying them on the table.

Serena could smell the hors d’oeuvres as the caterer began sending out staff to make the rounds. Any minute now the doors would open, and she would see if anyone had shown up. But all Bridget seemed to be able to think about was Serena’s sex life.

Love life. It was a damn love life because she was in love.

“I don’t know. I think I’m falling for them,” she admitted, playing with her water bottle. She wasn’t about to tell her best friend the full truth. That would mean admitting she’d already fallen for them both and wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“Think? Really? You have to think about it?” Chris put down a big stack of the new book on the table. “There’s more where this came from. Lara brought three cases. And a box of the last book, just in case. I’m going to go and get that and then I’m done being their errand boy. Don’t they know I’m here as the eye candy for many lonely women? I thought it was in my job description. Gay best friend, also does male modeling and writes books. Nowhere in there are the words ‘pack mule.’ Nope. Uh uh. And Serena, you need to think about this. Those men give a damn, otherwise they wouldn’t put up with the two of us.”

Serena watched as Jake and Adam talked. “What do you mean?”

Bridget smiled. “We’ve been putting them through the besties test. Adam was dumb enough to give me his phone number and then he was annoyed enough to give me Jake’s.”

“We’ve been calling every day demanding updates and making a general nuisance of ourselves. It’s just a little test. Men like those two will put up with very little crap from people, and yet they’ve been perfectly pleasant with the two of us,” Chris confided.

“Jake did hang up on me when I asked him if he could help give my cat an enema.” Bridget shrugged. “I might have overplayed my hand. But before that, he came over and installed a new security system. And he was nice enough to take his shirt off. Well, I was smart enough to turn off the air conditioning and get the place to like a hundred degrees before he came over. Damn girl, that man is fine.”

They hadn’t said a word to her. Neither man had said anything about helping out her friends. “Maybe they’re just really nice.”

Jake turned, his face in a deep scowl. Nope. He didn’t look nice in the least. And she realized she was being stupidly stubborn. They did care. She just wasn’t sure it would last. Jake’s fists clenched, and he started talking through his earpiece. The doors had opened, and a flood of people came through.

“Maybe you’re just dumb,” Bridget said with a frown. “I say that because of the hot ménage men who seem to really care about you and also because I’ve listened for weeks about how no one will show up. Look, it’s a mob, Little Miss Pessimism.”

“Wow.” She sat down and put on her author face as the first fan showed up.

Chris winked her way. “I’ll be back in a bit, darling. Come on, Bridge, help me haul the books up. Our girl looks like she’s going to need them.”

Bridget and Chris walked off, and Serena began talking to her readers, sinking into one of the most rewarding parts of her job. Grace Taggart took the chair beside her and started making sure the books she signed had all the promo materials in them. Her handsome husband hovered close. Serena was pretty sure she’d caught a glimpse of a gun under his suit coat. She’d heard he was an aspiring chef now, but once he’d been Jake and Adam’s CO in the Green Berets, so that made him a badass who could cook. Yeah. There was a hero in there somewhere.

But first she would have to write a story about Jake and Adam. She just prayed it had a happy ending.





The party went on all around Adam. Soft music played, and Serena laughed and talked to a crowd of women who obviously adored her. She was oddly in her element, smiling and laughing, her shy nature fading away.

His girl was going places, and he meant to be by her side when she did. There was an optimism inside Adam that hadn’t been there before. He and Jake were finally, completely on the same page at the same time. Now they just had to bring Serena along. But they would do it. They had been a great team for a really long time.

There was a little buzzing in his ear as Ian relayed a message that had Adam fuming. Adam touched the device in his right ear. “Are you f*cking kidding me? I’ll be right there. Guess who’s standing outside, waiting to get in? Master Storm.”

And the hits just kept coming. Any minute now, Serena’s ex would show up and then the whole gang would be here.

“Are you kidding me?” Jake asked, his face becoming a stony mask.

“I’ll handle it. You keep watch on our girl.” Adam looked over where Serena was laughing at something a reader had said. Sean was across the room watching her as well.

“If you kill him, you better call me out to help,” Jake said as Adam stepped outside. Ian was right by the door, vetting anyone who walked in.

Adam looked at Master Storm standing outside the building and felt a cold rage nearly split him in two. “You want to explain why you’re here?”

The man gave him a slight smile. “It’s a public signing, Mr. Miles. Yes, I can do research, too. I know all about you and…your partner. Tell me, does Serena have the whole story on you? Does she know how you were thrown out of the Army? Bad business, that. I thought she should have all the information before she made a decision.”