Page 61 of The Best Shot

I pulled the cover up one more time.

Carter, the most deliberate man I knew, who ran scenarios before ordering lunch and never committed to anything without at least three backup plans, had looked at a romance novel, seen a skyline and a hard jaw, and decided it was about turf wars and body bags.

I wasn’t missing this.

Me: My bad. Had the title wrong.

Let the Lord work.

Now it was seven o’clock, after hours at the bookstore. Nico had dragged four chairs into a loose circle near the reading nook under the front window. Grant had taken the armchair closest to the door with Havoc asleep beside his boots. Carter sat across from me with his arms crossed, face set, and I had the chair nearest the shelves. Tabby was behind the counter, elbows planted, watching us like she had front-row seats to a comedy special.

“So.” Nico looked at the three of us. “What did everyone think?” His copy of the book was tabbed in three different colors. Man came prepared.

Carter lifted his chin. “It was good.”

The consensus so far was that Carter had absolutely meant to choose a romance novel and would be taking no questions at this time.

Grant made a noise and wisely said nothing.

Nico processed that. He’d come in with questions ready, probably a whole sequence, and it was good wasn’t a lot to go on.

“Themes?” Nico tried again.

Carter nodded. “Power. Loyalty.”

“Vulnerability,” Grant said.

“Stamina,” I said.

Everyone’s eyes went to me.

“What?” I set my bottle down. “Came up a few times. The man’s stamina was… a lot. Medically speaking.”

Carter smirked. “Speak for yourself.”

My middle finger went up.

That was when the door opened and the women piled in. Annie came first, arms full of bags like she’d raided the snack aisle. Ava and Yasmine followed her in, and Tabby came out from behind the counter to meet them.

“Did we miss anything?” Annie asked, dropping the bags onto the low table in front of the reading nook.

“Just getting started,” Tabby said. “Take the nook. It has the best view of Carter pretending he meant to do this.”

Carter looked over. “I meant to do this.”

They ignored him and moved toward the cushioned corner under the front window.

Nico had built it for Tabby the year before, back when the two of them were still pretending they were just friends and she’d hired him to “make better use of the corner.” Now it was all deep cushions, built-in shelves, and a little brass lamp that made the whole thing look innocent if you didn’t know either of them.

“Sweet,” Annie said. “The sex nook.”

“Annie,” Tabby hissed. “I tell you things in confidence.”

Nico closed his eyes.

That Tabby and Nico were, in a word, sex-positive was news to nobody. They’d been caught enough times that “knock first” had become community policy.

“Sorry,” Annie muttered, not sounding sorry at all.