LOL: Laugh Out Loud (After Oscar, #2)(40)

“Why are you here, Trevor?” Roman growled.

Trevor lifted a bushy brow. “Someone reported a stolen vehicle?”

Now it was my turn to bark out a laugh. It seemed we’d both completely forgotten about Marigold’s boyfriend taking off in Roman’s SUV.

“Touché,” Roman mumbled, nudging me toward one of the stools at the counter. “You want a beer, Scotty?”

“Sure, but I can grab it.” I started toward the fridge, but he shooed me away. “Sit.”

I slid onto the stool, admiring Roman’s ass as he bent to look in the fridge. It was a nice view. “I think I saw some clementines in there earlier way in the back,” I said, “You want to grab them? After all that junk, I feel like I have scurvy.” Roman bent further and I sighed at the way his pants hugged the muscles of his legs. The man really did have an amazing ass.

As Roman foraged, Trevor took another swig of his beer and looked me up and down like a tasty treat. “Scotty, hm? Where’re you from, sweet Scotty?”

“Nunya,” Roman grumbled over his shoulder. “Nunya beeswax.”

“He’s practicing for a role in the remake of The Godfather,” I said with a laugh. “And I’m from Queens. What about you?”

“Burlington.”

“The coat factory?”

“Yes,” he said with a straight face. “All my friends were jealous growing up since I always had the latest in winter wear.”

“Is that where you met Oscar?” I asked, subtly—or not so subtly—trying to shift the conversation toward the man who was beginning to take on a larger-than-life vibe.

Trevor’s laughter was like a storm—deep rumbles that vibrated the air around him. “If I told you where Oscar and I met, it might be considered contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”

I leaned my elbow on the counter and cupped my chin in my palm. “Oh? Tell me more.”

He reached out like he was about to fluff my hair, but Roman intercepted, shoving a clementine into the cop’s open hand. “Paws to yourself, Officer Bad Touch.”

There was something that sounded almost like jealousy in his voice. Not that he had any reason to be—Trevor wasn’t my type. He was a little too large and… bearded… for my preference. Plus, I’d had enough interaction with the law in my life that I didn’t need to invite it into my bed.

I found it interesting that Roman might be jealous of Trevor’s obvious flirting with me, but seemed to have no problem with the fact they’d both dated the same man. Maybe it was because both their relationships were in the past?

“If you won’t tell me how you met, what about why things didn’t work out between you two?” I asked him.

“Christ, where do I even begin?” Trevor said, rolling his eyes. “The man is insane, god love him.”

As Trevor answered, Roman pulled a stool closer to mine and sat, fingers tearing into the rind of a clementine. When he had it peeled, he held it out to me before starting work on another.

“Aw, thank you,” I murmured to him.

He gave me a grin and shrugged like it was nothing.

“Jesus, you two are going to send me into sugar shock,” Trevor grumbled, sliding off his stool and moving to toss his empty bottle in the recycling.

“You were saying about Oscar?” I prodded around a mouthful of clementine.

“It was his family more than anything that scared me off.”

“Mm-hm,” Roman echoed. “Preach.”

I remembered the story about his first date with Oscar and snorted. “Did they offer you welcome frogs as well?”

Trevor’s eyes went wide. “No. Though that’s both weird and not at all surprising.”

“It’s kind of an eccentric family,” Roman added.

“Oh?” I asked sarcastically. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“So you’ve met them?” Trevor asked, helping himself to another beer.

“One of his sisters and his parents dropped by this morning.” I caught myself. Had it really just been that morning? Being with Roman seemed to make time stop—I felt like I’d known him much longer than just a day or two. “They’re staying somewhere else on the property, though.”

He grinned. “Yeah, you have me to thank for that. I’m the reason Oscar exiled them to the outbuildings.”

“I will definitely thank you for that,” Roman said, placing another peeled clementine in front of me.

“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “Wait. What do you mean he exiled them to the outbuildings? Like the barn?”

“No. The spa. And the kennel. The hutch.”

“Why does everyone keep talking about the spa?” I asked before the other words hit my brain. “He made them sleep with the dogs or… rabbits? What the hell?”

“No,” Trevor laughed. “They’re his family’s other houses on this property. There are a total of six of them.”

While I tried to wrap my brain around that, Trevor continued his story. “Anyway, Oscar and I were going at it in the kitchen when—”

“Eugh!” Roman said, shoving his stool back and picking up his beer like it had been tainted by the countertop. “Gross.” Then he noticed my peeled clementine and let out a squeak of horror before slapping it across the kitchen. It splatted against one of the floor-length windows and fell to the floor in a sad, pulpy mess.