“He’s breathin’ ain’t he?” Cole replied for him.
Crystal grinned and got him a beer.
“What are we talking about, boys?” Green asked, flicking his lighter closed and drawing on his smoke.
“Red Dog was just telling us the joys of being married,” Crash replied.
“Huh. Joys, eh? No woman’s catching me in that trap,” Green snorted.
“Come on, Green,” Red Dog encouraged. “Don’t you want to get married? Have a sweet, willin’ woman waiting on you when you get home with a backrub and a hot dinner?”
“Well, at least there’d be something in it for me.”
“Well, that one’s mostly theoretical,” Dog admitted.
Crash and Cole just shook their heads, trying not to laugh.
Mack walked up and sat on Cole’s other side. “VP.”
“Pres.”
Crystal brought him over a beer.
“How’s the remodel coming?” Crash asked. Mack had been remodeling his house with the help of Natalie, Angel’s aunt, whom he’d been in a relationship with for a couple of years now.
“Fuck, don’t bring that up. That woman’s turned the honey-do list into an art form. She’s got so many projects lined up for me, I’m ready to break.”
“Speak of the devil.” Crash nodded toward the door. “Here she comes with her list.”
Mack’s head swiveled to look. Natalie was walking in, a piece of paper clutched in her hand. “Another goddamned list. God bless it.” His head dropped.
“If you lie real still, she may just sniff you and leave you alone,” Dog whispered.
Green chuckled.
She walked up, smiling brightly. Crash’s eyes roved over her. She may be Angel’s aunt, but she was no gray haired grandmother. She was only in her late forties and had always reminded Crash of a young Ann Margret. His eyes slid over her slim shapely figure. She was wearing slim-cut black pants and a silver tank top with matching high-heeled sandals. Her glossy red hair fell to just below her shoulders and her fiery green eyes matched Angel’s.
“Hi, honey. Boys.”
They all nodded back.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Mack murmured, hooking an arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss. “What have you got there, baby?” He pulled the paper from her hand.
“I need a guy’s opinion on something.”
Grinning, he replied sarcastically, “Okay. I’ll be the guy.”
“Do you think we should wallpaper the bathroom? Because I think it would go really well with the new sink and flooring.”
“Wallpaper?” Mack asked dumbfounded.
Cole stifled a laugh.
“Baby, you already had me replace the flooring and paint. Now you want me to put up wallpaper?”
“Mack, don’t you think it would look better?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’re just pretending I have a choice here, right?”