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“Nobody eats until the youngsters have full plates,” Penny explained as she hung back with me. She looked over my shoulder and held two fingers up and, turning, I saw Texas nod.
“Do the men eat before us?” I asked, puzzled.
“No,” Penny said with a laugh as guys began appearing and handing the old ladies plates laden with food.
Texas brought Penny and me a plate each before wandering back to get his own.
“Wow. He’s a unicorn,” I gasped, staring at my plate. The women chuckled. “You have a herd of them.”
“Do we?” Phoe laughed.
“Hell, yes. Never seen men who would put children and then women before their own appetites,” I whispered, stunned.
“Then you’ve dated the wrong guys,” Lindsey stated.
“Clearly,” I agreed, taking a bite of a burger.
???
The women were riotous in their blunt speaking and dry humour. I could understand why they were so close; they had created their own family. I got told titbits of their lives, and what I heard was hair-raising. None of them seemed to have had an easy go of it, which made me relate to them even while I held my story tight. With so many kids around, keeping up with my girls was hard. Whenever I saw them, I was relieved they were having a great time.
For the hour and a half we had been here, I’d seen more signs of my daughter’s old personalities than in the last eighteen months. It was a relief to know that somewhere deep inside them were the cheeky little monkeys they used to be.
I returned from the toilets and admired the room attached to the rec room on my way back, as Phoe called it, when I bumped into Savage.
“That’s a great idea,” I said, nodding to the area which held sleeping babies and toddlers.
“Family comes first,” Savage replied. His eyes fixed on me as if seeking my soul.
Well, he couldn’t have it.
“That does seem a priority here,” I agreed.
An uneasy silence lapsed between us.
“Thought you weren’t coming,” Savage finally said.
That made me bristle.
“I’m sure you must think every single mom is after you, but I can assure you that is not the case with me. After my marriage, I’m very happy being alone. You may be God’s gift to some women, but not me. Phoe begged me to come, so I did. I didn’t come to get into your pants or trap you into anything else. Trust me, a guy like you is the last thing I want,” I snapped, feeling defensive.
“A man like me?” Savage demanded, his brows drawing together dangerously.
An old English saying sprang to mind, in for a penny, in for a pound.
“Yeah.” I poked his chest with a finger, and Savage looked down at it before raising an incredulous gaze to me. “Handsome, drop-dead gorgeous, sexy as fuck, kissable all over, muscles on muscles, and a face that could grace a romance novel. Don’t worry, Savage, I know you can have the cream of the crop in your bed, and I’m chewed corn, not cream.”
“Chewed corn?” Savage murmured, sounding amused.
“Rub it in. I’m frumpy, tired, and have wrinkled before my time. I’m nothing like the women you take to the bedroom, and, quite frankly, there is nothing you can offer me that my vibrator doesn’t!”
Savage’s lips quirked.
“No?” he asked huskily.
Defiant, I put my hands on my hips and leaned forward. “Nope,” I hissed.
The next thing I knew, I was hauled off my feet, plastered against a firmly muscled body, and kissed within an inch of my life.
