Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
I had two left on the tray when the front door burst open. Trevor strutted in with a gloating smile and held up a big Tupperware container. “Sorry I’m late. My new lady, Emma, wanted me to bring the homemade seven-layer dip hot.”
Everyone groaned. Maddox cursed as he dug into his pocket and threw a fifty-dollar bill on the table. “Fucking unbelievable.”
I chuckled. “Told you. You underestimated the man and bet way too low.”
Trevor was the second youngest brother and the ladies’ man of the bunch. A little over a month ago, he’d shown up to card night with some elaborate Mexican dish a woman he’d gone out with had cooked for him to bring. By the end of the evening, we’d started a betting pool on how many weeks in a row Trevor could get a different woman to cook something Mexican for poker night. I’d picked thirteen. Maddox hadn’t been as confident and had only picked five, so he’d been hoping Trevor would show empty-handed tonight. No such luck.
Elvin grabbed the deck of cards from the middle of the table, slipped them from the case, and started shuffling. “I vote we change the rules of the bet to allow for duplicates. That carne asada what’s-her-name made last week was freaking delicious.”
Trevor set the platter in the middle of the table and flipped a chair around to sit backward. “What the hell was her name?”
I shook my head. “It was only a week ago, you idiot. Your dick’s gonna fall off at this pace if you keep it up.”
“I’m pretty sure your dick falls off from nonuse, too,” Maddox said. “So both Trevor and Elvin are gonna look like Ken dolls from the waist down soon.”
“What are you talking about?” Elvin stopped shuffling. “Linda promised me sex a week from Tuesday if I cleaned out the garage this Saturday.”
Maddox shook his head. “I’m never getting freaking married.”
I filled two pitchers of beer behind the bar and brought them over to the table. “Where the hell is Fritz? He’s never late.”
“Oh. I almost forgot…” Trevor peeled the top off the plastic container, and a smoky smell wafted through the room. “He texted me. He got a last-minute call for a pickup, so he’s either gonna be late, or he might not make it at all, depending on how things go.”
“He still didn’t find a replacement driver for Pete?”
Our brother Fritz owned the local tow shop. He was currently down a few drivers.
“Nope. He hired some guy last week. Dude showed up Monday, worked one day, then quit because he got a better job. Fritz is working eighty hours a week.”
“Let’s get started without him then. If he shows, we can deal him in later.”
The guys all anted, and twenty minutes later I was down almost a hundred bucks. I’d lost every damn hand. So when the front door swung open, I was grateful for some new blood to mix things up. I yelled without looking up. “Get your ass to the table. I need you to break this shitty streak I’m stuck in.”
But the voice that answered wasn’t my brother’s. “That sounds like you’re saying I’m your lucky charm?”
February.
All heads whipped to the front door, including mine.
“Damn.” Trevor cooed. “I don’t know who you are, but you can be my lucky charm.”
I elbowed him in the ribs before jumping to my feet.
“What the fuck?” he complained.
“Watch your mouth.”
“My mouth? What the fuck for?”
I ignored my brother and headed to the door to greet February. Her cheeks were all rosy. “Why the hell don’t you have a jacket on?”
“I didn’t have anything that went with my outfit.”
February had on a burgundy, form-fitting, V-neck dress with a bright teal belt cinched tight around her narrow waist. It accentuated her killer figure, showcasing the beautiful tits I knew were under there since I’d spent waayy too many hours looking at that middle-finger picture this week. I grumbled and removed my flannel. “Here. This goes just fine.”
She looked around me as I draped it over her shoulders. “Am I interrupting something? I noticed the sign on the window said closed, but the door was open.”
“Nothing important. It’s just card night. I close early one Sunday a month to play poker with my brothers.”
“Oh.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “I should go then.”
She should definitely go—what with my nosy brothers and how damn sexy she looked tonight—yet I found myself shaking my head. “Stay. I’ll make these guys be on their best behavior.”
“Are you sure?”
“I haven’t heard from you in a while. Thought maybe you were done with sneaking out.”
“The maintenance guy that I bribe for my ladder has been out sick, and my friend Morgan’s phone was confiscated, so I couldn’t text you.” She smiled and tilted her head. “Shame. I had big plans to make that photo I’d sent you into a series.”