Page 14 of Playing for Keeps

I spin around and start walking back to my hog. Grinning, I know Lola’s on my tail.

“You’re insufferable,” she grumbles, having chased my insufferable ass to the hog where I now stand over her. “Immature, too. I don’t know how you’ll run my father’s club.”

“Oh, I’m mature,” I say and slide my finger along her tank top strap. “You’ll need to stop wearing such revealing clothes once we’re married. No, wait, it’d be better if you woremorerevealing clothes so everyone knows what they’re missing out on.”

“You twisted freak,” she hisses and crosses her arms over her tits before deciding that might encourage me. Her hands go to her hips as she glares up at me. “I’ll wear whatever the hell I want when I want. You won’t have a damn say in the matter.”

“How about we compromise?” I reply, nearly laughing at how riled up she’s gotten. “When you’re making my dinner and waiting on me hand and foot, you can wear whatever the hell you want. But when you’re out on the town, acting as my arm candy, youmustdress like a skank. I want men to be jealous of me.”

Lola shoves me. When she realizes I haven’t budged, my dream girl frowns at her hands as if they’ve failed her.

“I hate you,” she snarls, first at her hands and then at me. “I’m only marrying you to help my family. I puked when Duke told me it would be you. I wanted anyone else.”

“Might not be too late for my club brother, Leftie, to step up. He’s missing an eye and a few teeth, but he makes up for all that with a long, snakelike dick. It’s deadly against frigid pussies.”

Lola shoves me, again finding her attempt a flop. She uses her entire body to push against mine in the futile hope of knocking me down.

“Not until the wedding night,” I tease when she struggles to take me down. “Besides, your grandma’s watching and I can’t perform well with an elderly audience.”

Lola clenches her fists and screams in frustration. I watch her go wild and assume this is her mating call.I can’t deny it’s sexy.

The bar’s front door swings open and the rest of the McGraw family pours out. Her dad looks ready to tear off my five massive limbs. Her meemaw is frozen between amused and horrified. Her sister looks like someone farted, and she suspects I’m the culprit.

Once Lola realizes we have an audience, her scream gets cut short. Yet, her glare remains white hot.

“You don’t have a club brother named Leftie,” she snarls and blows hair from her face. “You dumb monkey liar.”

“Mean,” I accuse and wag my finger in her face. “You’re saying hurtful things. I hope you don’t plan to be mean like this to our perfect kids.”

Lola freezes as the reality of this situation hits her. “Why did you come here today?”

“I got scared about the responsibility I’d agreed to,” I say and mess with the strap on her tank top again. “I’m spoiled and lazy. When people at the homestead claimed I’d made a mistake or wasn’t thinking straight, I started wondering if they were right. But here you are in all your glory, so I plan to stop stalking you and nail this down.”

“You’re nuts,” she says and wags her finger in my face, mimicking my move.

“Only about you.”

“Lame.”

“Hurtful. You need to work on your manners, so you’ll be nicer when you meet my ma.”

Lola blinks rapidly and glances back at her family before frowning at me. “That’s right. I have to know your people.”

“They’ll be your people, too, soon.”

Her once-angry gaze goes soft and scared. Lola looks back at her family again. Regaining her focus, she steels her spine, tips back her shoulders, and lifts her chin.

“Should we have a get-together before the wedding? Or maybe we ought to have everyone meet at the reception.”

“Let’s do that get-together thing, so my ma and sister are less likely to fly into dramatic displays at the wedding.”

“You’re really doing this, right?” Lola asks, inching closer. “You get how this is happening so we can protect our club and this town.”

“And your family.”

“Your family gets something out of it, too. No one wants the Charleston club to swoop in and claim this county.”

“No. Two small clubs will morph into a bigger one, making the Charleston club choose another target.”

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