Close Cover (Masters and Mercenaries #16)(35)

The look on Laurel’s face didn’t make a lick of sense. “Stop. First of all, is Lila about to drop down from the ceiling to put her two cents in, too? And second, since when do we treat my dating life like it’s highly classified and we’ll all get in trouble if the guys know?”

Remy looked up from where he’d been sitting at the bar and she damn near melted at the look on his face. His eyes were like lasers focused in on her. He stood up, his big body encased in leathers and his cowboy boots. She could see the wide swath of his chest where the vest didn’t cover. He was all muscle, all man, and it didn’t matter that she’d already had him ten times. She wasn’t ever going to get tired of the way it felt when he looked at her like he couldn’t get enough.

“Whoa,” Bridget said. “I know that look. That look is bad. That look is something you don’t come back from.”

She was going to ask her suddenly insane sister-in-law what she meant by that, but Remy had closed the space between them.

He reached out and took her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips. “Tu es la plus belle femme du club, ma crevette. Et je suis l’homme plus chanceux.”

She had no idea what he was saying, but it made her girl parts pulse.

Laurel and Bridget were watching him, too, their eyes wide like neither could think of what to say after that.

“If you’re done speaking douchebag, perhaps we should talk about what the hell you’re doing sleeping with my sister,” a dark voice said. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice that?”

She turned, putting her body in front of Remy’s and saw Will wince. Probably because her boobs looked good in a corset. Her brother stood there with Mitch, both in leathers similar to Remy’s, though neither man could fill them out the way hers could. And it was weird. He was right. It was creepy and weird to see her brother dressed for sex because she wasn’t sure she was ready to accept that he had sex. Even though he was working on baby number two and Bridget freely talked about their sex life. It was easier to pretend like Bridge was talking about one of her crazy characters instead of her brother when he wasn’t standing there in front of her.

“It was French and not douchebag,” Remy said. “That’s what Tag speaks when he starts talking about brogrammers and getting his manties in a wad. French is a perfectly civilized language.”

“So is the law, buddy, and you’re going to understand that when I sue your ass,” Mitch said.

“Mitchell.” Laurel managed to make her husband’s name an admonition.

“Why would you sue Remy for sleeping with me? I’m going to tell you I’ll be a very bad witness because I’ll go into ridiculously explicit detail on how good he is at it,” Lisa swore.

Everyone was watching them. Big Tag had Charlotte on his lap across the lounge. It looked like he’d been talking to Alex McKay and Liam O’Donnell, but now all eyes were on the Daley family as they hashed out their issues in public. They weren’t alone. Simon Weston and his wife, Chelsea, had been sitting with Jesse and Phoebe Murdoch, and there was no way to miss how the two couples were now avidly watching the scene in front of them. Jesse even asked Simon to pass him the bowl of mixed nuts on their table.

Damn it. They couldn’t have done this at home like normal people?

“Really? You think you know him?” Her brother had his best judgey face on. It had been the one he’d used on her when she’d come home late from a date or gotten a B on a test. “I don’t think you know all the facts, Lisa.”

Remy’s hands came down on her shoulders. “I don’t think you know the facts, Will. First of all, your sister is a beautiful, highly competent woman who is capable of taking care of herself, but she’s been struggling and everyone needs help now and then.”

“Yeah, not the kind you’re offering her,” Will shot back.

“Exactly how is your dick helping her?” Mitch asked, which promptly got him an elbowing from his wife.

Remy continued like Will and Mitch hadn’t said a thing. “I’m going to admit that I didn’t think I had anything to offer her until we met up again a few days ago. As many people in this club know, I’ve stayed away despite my attraction to her for that exact reason. But things changed recently. I moved into her building while my house is getting ready to go on the market. Some of my friends helped me move and we… Well, I took them out for drinks at Cherry Pies. Not the best establishment, but you know my boys will be boys. I was surprised to find Lisa working there.”

She went completely still. Had he meant to mention that?

Will’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Cherry Pies?” Bridget asked with a look that let Lisa know she understood exactly what the business was about.

Yeah, she hadn’t planned on mentioning her one-day job at a strip club to her overprotective family. She’d been planning on hiding it altogether. “It was an experiment. The guy who manages the place lives in my building and he offered me a shot at a job. It didn’t work out. No biggie.”

“What is Cherry Pies?” Laurel asked, looking from Lisa to Mitch to Will. “Is it a pie shop?”

Bridget sent Laurel a sympathetic look. “Oh, sweetie, you’re lucky you’re gorgeous. I do believe Cherry Pies refers to a woman’s virginity. You know, I got me some of that sweet, sweet cherry pie.”