“Okay.” Jasmine went to his side, laid a hand on his stomach and kissed his face, before she headed toward the kitchen, tail of his shirt swirling around her hips. “Be right back.”
Aidan gestured to the sofa across from him. “Come sit down, bro. You look beat.”
Tango wore a stiff, pissed-off expression, but he forced it smooth and nodded, moving to take a seat.
Aidan lifted his hands. “Nothing happened,” he said.
Tango sighed and sagged back against the sofa. “Yeah. I know. Not like it would matter anyway, right?”
Aidan gave him a half-smile. “Dude, you’ve gotta get a real girlfriend.”
Another sigh. “Yeah. I know.” He pushed a hand through his hair, working some of the usual spikes up to attention. “Did you spend all night in that chair?”
“Yeah. And it’s lumpy as shit.”
“This thing with Greg’s getting to you.”
Aidan frowned. “I dunno. Something about ruining some poor loser’s life don’t sit right with me.”
Tango cocked his head. “Greg ruined his own life.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t help.”
Jasmine returned, steaming mugs of coffee for both of them. She handed Aidan his first, then went to sit beside Tango, playing with his hair, kissing him again as he sipped his coffee. She was sweet to him, but because she was smart that way. Maybe she cared about him, but there was no love in her heart. And Tango, yeah, he needed a real girl.
“You boys want breakfast?” she asked. “I saw eggs in the fridge.”
“That’d be awesome, sweetheart,” Aidan said, and that sent her off again.
When she was gone, Tango said, “You heard from Mercy?”
Aidan snorted. “Nah. Ava calls my mom and checks in. What am I gonna talk to Merc about? ‘Hey, how’s it goin’ banging my sister again?’ No. I don’t wanna go there.”
Tango grinned. “Now there’s somebody who’s already got a real girlfriend.”
Sound of the front door opening. Jace entered, looking extra red-eyed and exhausted. He paused as he passed the pool table, looking between the two of them. His expression was strange, but then again, Aidan thought most everything about the guy was strange. It was funny, he often reflected: just because his fellow Dogs were his brothers, it didn’t mean he was friends with all of them (or even that he felt anything fraternal for them).
“Where you been?” Aidan asked. “I can’t remember when I saw you last.”
Jace shrugged. “Ghost had me running around. You know.” He made a vague gesture to the air.
“You haven’t talked to Collier, have you?”
“Nah. Do I smell coffee?”
“Jazz made some,” Tango offered.
“ ‘Kay.” Jace shuffled toward the kitchen, rubbing at his puffy eyes.
Aidan’s phone chimed with a text alert. It was from Maggie. He made a face. “Mags wants to know if we’ve got some junk to add to the tent at the yard sale.”
Tango snorted. “She got a dump truck for it?”
“Oh, and this can go too.” Maggie tapped her nails against the old bureau she’d been wanting to get out of her garage for years now. If nothing else, this upcoming yard sale would be good for de-cluttering. She wasn’t sure it’d be good for much else.
Harry and Carter took the old dresser between them and shuffled out toward the truck. Ava’s truck was loaded down with miscellaneous crap; the bed was stuffed, so the bureau would have to go on the utility trailer hooked up to the back. Maggie was going to consolidate everyone’s contributions, organize them, weed out the junk that was too lame even for a yard sale, and have the prospects load it all up in club vans and trucks. It was important to her, as she’d explained to Ghost, that they not have seventeen vehicles dumping off jumbles of crap the morning of the sale. She wanted the club to appear competent and well-structured. As professional as possible, she’d told him. He’d smirked and asked if she was trying to impress Olivia. He’d paid for that with cold cereal for breakfast.
She surveyed the garage one last time. “I think that’s everything.” Sent the door rattling down with a press of the button. “Carter, you wanna ride with me? You can leave your car here for right now.”
