“What skills?” Jaron said. “Every time it’s the same, burnt on the outside, raw in the middle.”
“Fuck off, asshole. If you’re so good at it why don’t we ever get an invitation to your place?”
“Because he’d have to disinfect the place before anyone could enter,” Connor joked, calling out from where he sat at the table. “Jaron’s built up an immunity to dirty socks and unwashed dishes, but anyone else would be dead as soon as they entered the place.”
“A lot you know, asshole. I don’t have dishes.”
“What do you eat off?” Mila asked.
“Paper plates,” Jaron said.
“You don’t.” She shook her head.
“Yeah, he does,” Connor said. “The only time I’ve been invited to Jaron’s place, I had to sit on a lawn chair, we ate off paper plates and I’m damn sure he had a rat living in his bathroom.”
Jaron flipped Connor the bird. “It’s not that bad.”
Mila shook her head. “Oh, Jaron, you can tell you don’t have a girlfriend.”
“I know,” he said mournfully. “Then I’d have someone to clean up all my shit.”
Mila jumped for Jaron as he laughed and stepped back, throwing his arms up. “Joking, Mila, joking!”
She growled.
“Umm, I bought some potato salad. It’s nothing fancy.”
Mila turned her attention back to Cady, smiling. “Thank you, I’m sure it’s fantastic. Come with me and I’ll put it in the kitchen and introduce you to Sasha.”
Cady followed the other woman into the house. A small blonde woman smiled at them as they entered, she was mixing liquid in a jug.
“Hello,” she said. “You must be Cady.” Reaching over, she offered her hand, squeezing Cady’s firmly as she shook it. “I’m Sasha, Simon’s wife.”
Brave woman. She wasn’t so sure she’d want to be married to that scary-looking brute.
Sasha laughed. “He’s not as scary as he looks.”
Oh God, had she said that out loud? Cady looked at the other woman in mortification.
“No, you didn’t say it out loud, you just have that look most people have after meeting Simon. I promise, the scary look is just a mask, underneath he’s a big teddy bear.”
Yeah, maybe with his wife. Cady wasn’t so sure he’d be that way with anyone else.
Mila grinned. “How about you pour us one of those drinks you’re mixing, Sasha, then we’ll get this food out there. I think Josh is almost finished completely killing the food.”
Cady helped them carry out the food, gratefully taking the drink Sasha offered her. Hunter appeared at her side as everyone sat at the table. He pulled out a chair and she sat. He sat next to her, his thigh brushing against hers.
Sasha sat beside Simon who leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Cady observed them silently. Sasha was a complete contrast to her husband, where he was dark and reserved, she was bright, outgoing with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“Cady, don’t worry about eating the meat,” Jaron said. “Josh’s next door neighbor is a doctor. He’s used to making house calls.”
“Hey, that only happened once,” Josh protested.
“Don’t worry, Cady, I’ve been eating his barbeque for a while now and I’ve only gotten sick half a dozen times,” Connor told her.
Hunter grabbed the plate of food handed to him, piling some on her plate before filling his own plate. By the time he was finished both their plates were piled high.
Cady looked down at her plate in dismay. “There’s no way I can eat all this.”