“Patricia thinks a lot of things,” Grady muttered, punctuating the sarcasm with a swig of his beer.
Lincoln swallowed and shook his head. “And here I thought all you Mallorys would appreciate that Grady’s a workaholic. I thought that was a family trait.”
Ryder snorted. “That’s Patricia’s thing. As soon as I’ve got a solid foundation, I’m setting my own hours.”
I’ll believe that when I see it.Claire closed her eyes so no one could see the eye-roll.
With Grady scowling into his glass, Ryder surfing the arrogant wave, Lincoln and Zane puffing up to defend their mutual business partner, and Claire slumping down in her stool, Freya dinged her spoon against her glass and said, “Okay. Okay, moving along. Claire, I’m dragging you out later this week and we’ll hang out?”
Claire lit up and nodded vigorously. Safely away from both Mallory brothers? Brilliant plan. “That would be great. This is my first vacation in years.”
“You get to choose then. I’ll send you some ideas. Hiking or something touristy... or relaxing. Think it over.” Freya seemed to read her mind, knowing Claire was having the least relaxing vacation in history.
On either side of her, neither Mallory seemed to notice, and looked ready to throttle each other.
Freya powered on. “First, I think we all need to chill out. Let’s play a game or something.”
Pippa wiggled in her seat and grinned mischievously. “How about Never Have I Ever again? Grady and I kicked all of your asses last time. And now we have new blood to make it interesting.”
Asher’s lips quirked into an amused grin. “Let’s flip it this time, whoever is the mostexperiencedwins.”
Under his breath, Ryder laughed and said, “Nah, I think Claire might tie the innocence duo.”
And that’s not helpful. Claire parked her tongue between her teeth and counted to five. No luck. She went for ten.
Grady leaned forward and clenched his fingers in his hair as he shook his head. “Please god no.”
Sophie objected with a hair-shifting headshake. “I think we’re getting too old for—”
Pippa ignored her completely. “I’ve never had a one-night stand.”
Sliding off his stool, Ryder raised a finger with the other adventurous folks and said, “Sorry, I need a quick pit stop. I’ll hurry, I don’t want to miss Grady’s admission that he is truly Mr. Perfect.”
Grady raised a middle finger to flip him off before burying his head in his hands. He stayed quiet until it got to his turn, not a finger raised. Well, aside from the middle one. That one he put back down once Ryder was out of sight. “Pass,” he muttered.
Claire’s hand reachedunder the table and rested on his knee, her soothing whisper against his ear bordering on torture. “You okay?”
Completely at her mercy, he glanced her way. Her hazel eyes were downright melty, her pouty lip turned down just for him. He gave her a soft nod and sat up taller on his stool.
Eyebrows pulled together knowingly, a sparkle in her deep blues, Freya smiled to herself. Witchy sometimes, and knowing she saw right through him, Grady subtly shook his head.Later, he mouthed silently. No doubt, she wasn’t going to let him off the hook until she’d heard the full story.
Ryder reappeared, plopped down on his stool, tugged Claire against him, and spread his hand over her thigh. Posture stiffening, she forced a smile and released her hand from Grady.
“Did I miss it?” Ryder asked.
Pippa smiled. “Grady was trying to pass, but we know he’s got lots of Nevers. Come on Grady, don’t let me down.”
“Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes? Of course he does. Come on Grady. See if you can out-never Claire. You got her on the speeding tickets. What about getting less than an A-minus? Or killing off a few of those brain cells in college? Sex anywhere other than a practical mattress?”
“Fuck off,” he muttered under his breath. “I think you’ve been spending too much time partying to impress your skeezy clients.”
“Hey, I figured by now you would have figured out that playing it straight not nearly as fun.”
“Fine.” He sat up in his seat, gaze locked onto Ryder. “I’ve never fucked anyone else’s girlfriend.” And this is why his mother wasn’t wrong in her rant about his temper. And why he didn’t play competitive... anything anymore. The entire table fell quiet, the awkward pall as thick as this morning’s fog.
Claire stiffened next to him, then her eyes lit up as she blurted out, “I’ve never had an orgasm.”
The entire table stared, mouths gaping wide open. Ryder’s mouth scrunched into awhat-the-fuck-are-you-talking-aboutthat looked painfully natural. How did she end up with an asshole that didn’t get her humor? Quirky, yeah, but wicked.
