“I’m really busy—”
“Then you’d better get back to work.” I smile. “I’m fine, Kat.”
She nods, passes me a menu, and returns to pouring drinks.
“Is that Jake Knox?” I ask when she comes back with my wine.
“Yes, he’s the Jake I told you about that married Addie.”
“Ah,” I reply with a nod. “Which came first? Him playing here, or them getting married?”
“He started working here around the time they started dating,” she says, then smiles at someone over my shoulder. “And here’s Addie now. Mac, this is Addie. Addie, Mac.”
I stand and turn to find an exceptionally tall, very beautiful blonde smiling at me.
“Pleasure,” I say, holding my hand out, but she wraps her arms around me and hugs me, her round belly between us.
“I’m so excited to meet you,” she says with a smile. “And I’ve discovered that I’m more emotional since I’ve become pregnant, so everyone is getting hugs. Sorry.”
“I never require an apology from a beautiful woman who wants to give me some sugar.” I wink and return to my seat. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”
“That’s sweet,” she says, and climbs into the recently vacated seat next to mine, leaning her elbows on the bar. “You know, I’ve lived my life in heels for the better part of fifteen years without an issue. And now that I’m carrying this munchkin, my feet are killing me all the time. And you don’t even want to know about the swelling.”
“Gee, that’s sexy,” Mia says as she joins us from the other side of the bar. Kat and Grace are still hustling about, filling orders. “Are you going to eat?”
“Absolutely. I’m starved. What’s good?”
“Everything.” Mia shrugs. She’s recently changed into a clean chef jacket. Her dark hair is up, under a white hat. She’s a curvier woman, with amazing lips and eyes. “Are you a meat eater?”
I nod.
“Do you like mushrooms?”
I nod again.
“Leave it to me. I’ll bring you something that’ll make you beg to marry me.”
I laugh and push my menu aside. “Challenge accepted.”
And with that, she returns to the kitchen, determination in every stride.
“I like her,” I say, and sip my wine.
“Me too,” Addie says with a smile. “But what I really want to know is how you feel about Kat.”
“I like her too.”
“As in ‘I like her because she can pour a nice glass of wine’? Or ‘I like her because she makes my dick hard’?”
“You get to the point.”
“I don’t have time to beat around the bush, so to speak,” she says, and turns to me, rubbing her belly. “If you’re going to be an ass, just say so now so I can kick your ass and boot you out of here.”
“You’re all a little scary, aren’t you?”
“That’s what Jake said when he met all of us,” Addie replies with a grin. “And yes, we are.”
“Well, I don’t plan to be an ass, but I’m a man, and sometimes we’re asses without meaning to be.”
“Goes without saying,” she says with a nod, making me laugh.
“I respect her,” I say, looking over at Kat and watching her laugh with a customer. “The chemistry is crazy, I won’t lie about that, but there’s more there too, and I want to find out what it is.”
“I can deal with that,” Addie says with a nod. “Books.”
“Excuse me?”
“She loves books,” she says, and leans in, as if she’s telling me secrets. “Don’t get me wrong, she loves wine too, but books are her guilty pleasure.”
“Makes sense.” I nod, still watching Kat. “She’s the smartest woman I’ve ever met.”
“She’s a member of Mensa,” Addie says. “She wouldn’t have joined, but both of her parents are members, and it was expected. She did a lot of things that were expected for a long time. She doesn’t do that so much anymore.”
“Good for her.”
“Exactly.” Addie grins just as a man’s arm wraps around her shoulders. “Hey babe.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you flirting with other men in your condition,” Jake says with a smile, making her laugh.
“Jake, this is Mac. He was Kat’s sexcation buddy a couple weeks ago.”
“Nice,” Jake says, and holds his hand out to shake mine. “Couldn’t stay away?”
“It seems not.”
“I get it.” Jake kisses Addie’s cheek. “These women are hard to resist. Of course, it goes without saying that if you hurt her, the rest of us will kill you and make it look like an accident.”
“Of course.”
“Okay, then.” Jake nods and rubs his hand over Addie’s belly. “She’s kicking.”
“She always does when you play,” Addie replies. “She likes listening to you.”
“She doesn’t really have a choice,” he says. “It’s kind of loud.”
“Here you go, Mac,” Mia says, placing a plate in front of me. “Rib-eye steak with sautéed mushrooms, asparagus, and coleslaw.”
“It looks fancy,” I reply, my mouth watering.