Page 219 of Sin Bin

Viggo gave him a sly smile. “Did you just admit that you love her?”

Reid grinned. “I caught that, too.”

Logan’s face heated. “Fuck off.”

The others laughed as he ducked his head and shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth.

Viggo sipped his wine, a small smile playing on his lips. “Don’t be fooled by Scarlett’s badass rocker image. She’s a big ol’ softie like Nadia and Meadow. Sappy movies make her cry, she hates injustice of any kind and she always fights for the underdog. Of course, that’s not to say she isn’t a legit badass. I mean, hell, she’s a drummer in a band, she has a red belt in taekwondo and she curses almost as much as I do,” he said proudly. “She’s a free spirit who marches to the beat of her own drum—literally and figuratively.”

Chuckles and grins went around the table.

Viggo’s smile softened. “You guys know I’m not the most religious guy in the world. But if I ever needed proof of God’s existence, I wouldn’t have to look any further than Scarlett. Seriously. The first time I heard Reid say that Nadia was made for him, I thought he sounded corny as fuck, and I’ll admit that I clowned him. And then I started dating Scarlett, and I finally understood what he meant. I mean, first of all, I never thought I’d find a woman who loves hockey as much as I do. Yes!” he whispered with a triumphant little fist pump.

A round of hearty laughter swept the room.

“You really lucked out with that one,” Logan said, a touch enviously. “Most women hate hockey, don’t understand it or pretend to love it just to stroke our ego. You got the real deal with Scarlett.”

“Totally.” Viggo’s grin broadened. “As if that weren’t awesome enough, she’s just as much of an adrenaline junkie as we are. I mean, you guys saw her at the racetrack in Vegas. She’s always down for whatever. So I could wake her up at three a.m. and be like, ‘Babe, let’s go paragliding.’ And she’d pop right up and be like, ‘Cool. Lemme put on my boots and we can roll.’”

This drew more appreciative laughter.

Logan grinned. “I’ll never forget the first time I took Jupiter for a ride on my Harley. It took forever and a day just to convince her to get on. But once we hit the road, she was so excited she couldn’t stop screaming and squealing. Oh, man, it was so fucking awesome.” He gleefully rubbed his hands together. “I can’t wait to take her jet skiing.”

As laughter rumbled around the table, Viggo gave him a look of wicked mischief. “In other words, you can’t wait to get her wet and screaming.”

Logan’s grin faded, his eyes narrowing on Viggo’s face. “You’d better not be picturing my woman wet and screaming.”

“I’m not,” Viggo said with a pirate grin. “But if I were, it would serve you right for hitting on Scarlett. Remember that?”

Logan coughed and scratched behind his ear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As the others laughed and guffawed, Viggo threw a piece of bread at him.

“Now, now, boys,” Hunter chided indulgently. “No food fights at my table.”

Logan shoved the piece of bread into his mouth and winked at Viggo, who pretended to scowl at him.

“Don’t think I forgot about you perving on my woman last year.”

Logan grinned. “As I recall, she wasn’t your woman at the time.”

“Not officially—”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen.” Hunter was playing referee to the hilt. “There’s no need to hold a grudge, Viggo. As I told you at the time, I’m sure Logan meant no harm by flirting with Scarlett. He was simply reacting to what we can all see with our own two eyes, which is that you have a damn good-looking woman. You all do.” With a glint in his eye, Hunter raised his glass to them. “To three of the luckiest guys I know. Salud.”

Everyone clinked glasses with Hunter, swigged their wine and exchanged self-satisfied grins.

Hunter leaned back in his chair and took a leisurely sip from his glass, then cleared his throat importantly.

Everyone grinned harder, waiting to hear what he was going to say. Seated at the head of the table, he was practically channeling Michael Corleone from The Godfather. Even his Italian accent came out to play.

“As a passionate lover of the female body and a connoisseur of beauty, allow me to express my sincere belief that all women are beautiful. Bellissima. Bella bella,” Hunter declared, kissing his fingers. “I love women who share my reflection as much as those who look nothing like me. Women of all hues possess unique attributes that ought to be admired and celebrated. But I must confess,” he drawled, swirling his wine, “I’ve traveled around the world, been to every corner of the globe. And I can say with absolute conviction that no one—and I mean no one—has sexier curves than a black woman.”

A hearty chorus of “Hell yeah” and “Amen” erupted around the table. When Viggo whimpered “Have mercy” and bit his knuckles, the group burst into uproarious laughter that shook the room.

When the laughter died down, Reid wiped away a few tears and hitched his chin at Logan. “Nadia and Scarlett are going camping and hiking with us this summer. You should bring Meadow.”

“Maybe I will.” Logan grinned. “Planetariums and observatories are more her thing. But her dad is a park ranger, so she enjoys being outdoors and she’s gone camping several times.”

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