Chace nods. “Accepted.” “Let’s wrap this up—dinner’s getting cold.”
“Mackayla Smith, do you accept the terms of either a tattoo or a piercing in the same area?”
“She won’t,” Trey taunts. “She didn’t know what she was getting into.”
Mac flashes me a look and presses a quick kiss to my cheek. “I agree to the terms. But I pick the tattoo.”
“Fine.” Trey pouts. “But I pick the bet”
“In the name of expediency,” I say, “I suggest the game of chance. High card.”
“Done,” Chace agrees, tapping notes into his phone. “Honorable Sam, please retrieve the deck.”
Sam whistles low and pushes away from the table.
Mac leans close. “You’ll still like me with a tattoo or a piercing down there, right, Logan?”
“Angel…” I murmur, dragging my fingers down her arm. “There is no version of you I don’t want. She shivers and I feel it everywhere.
The deck of cards snaps crisply as Mac shuffles, the worn edges slipping through her fingers like muscle memory. She takes her time with it, letting the sound fill the kitchen. Familiar. Comforting. Dangerous. Like her.
“You’re awfully confident for someone who’s about to get wrecked,” Trey says, still glaring at me with mock betrayal as he slumps into the chair beside Chace.
Mac smirks, all fire and mischief.
“Shuffle’em” I say low, dragging a chair beside hers so our thighs brush under the table. The contact is deliberate. Distracting. Fucking delicious.
As she deals, I lean in. “I’m cool with the piercing by the way. I hear it…enhances things.”
She doesn’t respond, but her cheeks flush. Chace picks up the rules like he’s done this a hundred times.
“Aces are low. Face cards are eleven, twelve, thirteen. Draw one card. If it’s a tie, redraw. You can choose to keep your card, or swap it with your opponent. Begin.”
Trey draws first. Then Mac.
Trey peeks at his card and groans, “Shit. This is not looking good.”
“Too late to back out,” Chace says, watching Mac like she’s about to breathe fire. “She’s got that look.”
“House rule. Mac, keep or swap?”
She gives Trey the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen. “I’m sticking.”
“Trey?”
He slams his card face up. “Nine of Clubs, baby. Beat that!”
Mac blinks. “Just to be clear…loser gets pierced?”
“No backing out now.” Sam says, hiding his grin.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I won!” Trey’s already cheering, half standing. “You are gonna look so badass with your—”
“I didn’t realize a nine beats a Queen…” Mac cuts in, placing her card gently on the table.
Trey freezes. “No. No fucking way.”
Queen of Hearts. That perfect smirk staring back at us like she planned it all.
