“You too.” I smiled, happy that they didn’t hide who they were in front of me. It was incredibly refreshing. John gave me a sexy, lopsided grin before he made his way to the fridge to fetch a beer. A tiny ping of something hit my stomach, and I tried to push back the feeling. I knew with my situation, I shouldn’t even go there, but if I was honest with myself, John was very attractive.
“You two know one another?” Savi asked.
I shot Mia a small plea to keep what she knew quiet.
“Sloane is an old family friend.” She brushed off the question, but I could tell Savi caught it, and to my surprise, she let it go. She came around to my side of the island and leaned down to my level.
“Does John remind you of anyone?”
“Savi,” he growled with his back to us.
I played along because she was right. He did. Since the moment I first laid eyes on him in the house, he’d reminded me of someone. I wasn’t good with famous people, mainly because I always had my head in a book or a laptop digging up dirt on people, but John was painfully sexy, and I was surprised I didn’t drop my entire stack of papers when he spoke to me earlier today. “Yeah, but I can’t place him.”
“I’ll give you a hint.” June joined in. “Like father, like son.”
I chewed my lip while I raced through my mind. “Celebrity?”
“Mmhm…” Savi beamed.
“John?” I called over just to add to the shit they were giving him. “Would you mind turning back around?” To my surprise, he did, glaring at Savannah the whole time, but she seemed completely unfazed by his look of death.
Then it hit me like a hot need that worked its way through the center of my stomach. I willed my blush to leave, but it didn’t listen. It shamelessly stayed right where it was.
“Oh…my…God.” Each word fell slowly from my lips.
“Yeah,” Savi stood, “she sees it too.”
“Who does he look like?” Mark kissed Mia and looked around the room, thoroughly entertained.
“Crazy cat lady.” John stuck his finger at Mark.
“I’m just sorry I missed the moment.” Mark hooted in laugher at some inside joke they must have had. “Anyway, who does Black look like?” he repeated without missing a beat.
“Scott Eastwood,” Savi and I said at the same time.
“Who?”
“Clint Eastwood’s son,” I explained.
“Mark, remember the movie right before my water broke? You and I both made the connection.”
“What?” He pulled his phone free and started to search the name.
I glanced over at John. He was watching me. His light blond stubble intensified his jaw, and his straight eyebrows rose slightly when I held his stare. I was just happy I was sitting, because my knees went tingly.
“Oh, yeah,” Mark snickered, “that was the guy from the movie you were all gushing about that day too. You watch that movie a lot.”
“Yup,” Mia grabbed the phone, “because of the way he rode that bull.”
“Right!” Savi moaned, and Mark dipped low to whisper in Mia’s ear.
“Pff,” Mia scoffed, “the last time that happened,” she pointed to the baby in the other room, “that happened.”
We all laughed while Mark shook his head.
“So, I guess the question is,” I waited for the noise to settle, “John, can you ride a horse?”
“I can.” He nodded.
“A bull?”
“Perhaps.”
“Interesting.”
Savannah looked at the both of us with a sparkle in her eye that snapped us out of our moment. “And as much fun as this is, it’s time for dinner.”
“So, Sloane,” Mark wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we walked over to the table, “I’m not one for being subtle, so I figured I should just dive in. I notice your left is naked.”
“What?” I laughed as he pulled back a chair for me while John slid into the chair to my right.
“Married? Engaged, boyfriend, ex-husband, widowed?”
“Mark!” Mia elbowed him in the arm. “Really?”
“What? That’s a normal question,” he shot back.
“I’m sorry, Sloane.” Mia looked mortified. “He doesn’t have a filter.”
I shrugged. “It’s refreshing, actually.” Mark shot her a look, and she rolled her eyes. “No, no, it’s complicated, no, and no.”
“Complicated how?” This time Mark was ready for Mia’s hit and grabbed her hand as it came at him. Damn, he was a charmer.
“Sloane,” Frank stepped in for the rescue, “I leave tomorrow but will be back in a few days. Is there anything you need before I go?”
“Actually, there is.” John handed me the mashed potatoes, and as I took the heavy plate, he was ready for me to struggle, so he kept his hands on it. “Heavy and hot.” He chuckled and moved it to sit in front of me.
“Thanks.” Having him so close made my mind foggy. I stumbled to remember what I was talking about. “Ah, I would like to interview Brick from the Devil’s Reach.”
The table went quiet, and I wondered what the deal was with this club.
“I can pack a bag and make day trip out of it. I just have some questions.”
Frank glanced at Cole uneasily. “When does Irons return?”
“Not sure yet. He and Keith are finishing up the paperwork.”
“I don’t need an escort, Frank,” I interrupted before Cole could say anything else. “You know what and who I’ve been up against before. A motorcycle club doesn’t scare me.”
Frank’s lips pressed together like he wanted to say something, but the room was full, so I didn’t push it further.
Suddenly, a stampede could be heard, and a door slamming brought a chorus of groans from around the room.
“Hey,” Mark grabbed one of the little boys by the shirttail as he attempted to scoot by and wrangled him to his side, “Liam, meet Sloane. She’s going to be here for a while.”
“I know, Dad.” He rolled his eyes. “We already met.”
All eyes swung over to me, so I stuck up my pinky and pointer finger and screamed through a whisper, “Call of Duty!”
“Mark!” Mia hit his arm. “I told you they are too young to play that game.”
“I can’t help it if they find my games. Just be glad they don’t find my porn or your toys.”
“Oh, my God, I can’t.” She gave a pleading look to Savi, who was still staring at me with a smirk.
“Call of Duty!” Liam returned my hand gestures before he escaped his father’s hold and raced away yelling, “See ya tonight, Sloane.”
Cole was the first to laugh, breaking the moment.
“I think I’m a little turned on right now,” John joked as he sent me an interesting look, one I couldn’t quite interpret.
“You and me both.” Mark let out a loud laugh before Mia shook her head. “So, you’re kinda single?” Mark suddenly flipped topics again, and I started to laugh—so hard in, fact, that I teared up. He was relentless.
“At least she thinks I’m funny.” He pointed a finger at Mia.