“I had no idea Doc could be so sweet,” Cat cooed from the stove. “Aw, Snowball is even more adorable in person.”
“And he didn’t make her keep the fluff ball in his room.” The man standing next to her flashed us a grin over his shoulder. “I guess the grumpier they are, the harder they fall, kitty cat.”
“Shut up, Scout,” Kendrick growled, stomping over to the stack of plates at the end of the counter.
“Is that any way to treat your VP?” Scout asked, turning toward Kendrick and crossing his arms over his chest.
He would’ve been intimidating if it weren’t for the obvious spark of humor in his eyes, letting me know he was having a lot of fun pushing Kendrick’s buttons. Not that it worked. Kendrick ignored the verbal jab and started to pile a bunch of food onto the plate he grabbed—about half of the bacon piled on a paper-towel-lined plate, a few pancakes with a thick square of butter on top, and several scoops of eggs. After tucking a fork and knife into the hand that was holding the plate of food, he grabbed the container of syrup.
Another guy strode into the kitchen as Kendrick turned toward me. “Thanks, Doc. I would say that you shouldn’t have, but I’m fucking starving.”
Kendrick yanked the plate out of his reach. “Not for you, Grey.”
“C’mon, man. I’m just trying to help you out. That pile of food is a lot, even for you,” he teased with a grin.
“It’s not just for me.” Kendrick stomped toward me and set the plate, silverware, and syrup on the table. “Oakley is hungry.”
“Not that hungry,” I mumbled at the pile of food in front of me.
“You sure about that, baby?” I blushed at his question since we’d just talked about how I’d worked up my appetite with sex. Brushing my bangs away from my glasses, he explained, “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got some of everything and figured we could share.”
“Whoa, Doc is willingly sharing his food?” Grey turned to stare at me. “With a chick I didn’t even see sitting there? So much for me being observant.”
“Don’t worry, I tend to blend into the background a lot.” I cast a meaningful look at Kendrick, even though he’d seemed pretty set on me not helping them search the judge’s office. “Which can be useful in certain situations since most people don’t pay much attention to me.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible when you’re so fucking gorgeous,” he muttered, dropping down on the chair next to me and sliding the full plate between us. They must have bonded last night because Snowball climbed off my lap and onto his.
“Neither can I,” Grey agreed with a grin aimed my way. “I spotted you right away last night when you popped up on the courthouse security feed.”
“Also not for you,” Kendrick grunted, getting to his feet to shrug out of his vest. Then he dropped it over my shoulders and tugged my arms through the holes before sitting back down.
My eyes widened as I tilted my head to stare at him. I assumed that the television shows had gotten a lot wrong about motorcycle clubs since he hadn’t acted like any of the bikers on them, but there was something universal on all of the shows—a biker’s cut was sacred. If he put it on a woman, he was serious about her.
Then again, considering the fact that he was so blasé about the possibility of getting me pregnant when we’d only met last night, I probably shouldn’t be so surprised by this turn of events. Especially not when none of the other people in the kitchen seemed shocked by the sight of me wearing his vest.
“Shit, sorry.” He lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I heard you brought the chick from the judge’s office back to the clubhouse, but I missed out on the fact that you claimed her. I assumed you were just worried about her tipping him off to the fact that we’re onto him before we got what we needed.”
Cat rolled her eyes as she moved bacon from the frying pan to the paper-towel-lined plate. “If you didn’t figure that out on your own, you were right about not being as observant as usual. Maybe you’ve been spending too much time at your keyboard lately.”
“Or maybe I’m just having fun pushing his buttons,” Grey suggested with a grin.
“Leave Doc alone,” Scout muttered, flinging his arm around Cat’s shoulders and pulling her against his side. “He’s finally less of a grump now that he’s caught himself some sunshine.”
“And earned you fifty bucks,” Cat mumbled.
Leaning close to Kendrick, I whispered, “What’s she talking about?”
“Nothing important, baby.” He glowered at the couple, who were both grinning at us. “They just like to make silly bets with each other to keep things interesting.”