Page 44 of Pulse

Liv laughed. “Oh, Talia, I think you are the perfect addition to our insane family.”

“Oh, no, I’m not part of—”

The rest of her protest disappeared beneath more of Liv’s laughter. “Come on. Let’s leave the men to do whatever weird stuff they do. We need some girl time.” Liv towed her away to where the other ol’ ladies were chatting while they destroyed a bowl of chips and guacamole.

Pulse had to fight to keep from staring at her ass as she walked away.

Before Spec could add more of his two cents, Pulse grabbed the platter of burgers and added them to the rest of the food.

“This the last of it?” Curly asked as he pointed to a space on the table for Pulse to set the platter.

“Yep, everything is ready to eat.” They had ribs, chicken, and burgers, along with a ton of sides. They had enough food to feed three times as many people as were present. Then again, his brothers could eat.

“Someone say meat?” Jinx asked from a few feet away. He grabbed his junk and smirked. “Because if there’s not enough, I have this huge sau—”

“Nope!” Harper stretched onto her toes and slapped a hand over her man’s mouth. “No one wants your sausage, so please don’t whip it out, or offer to add it to the table, or put it between two buns, or whatever vulgar suggestion you were about to make.”

Pulse snorted—typical Jinx.

The big guy’s eyebrows drew down to an annoyed V. Harper slowly removed her hand an inch, hovering as though prepared to remuzzle her ol’ man at any time.

“Baby, what the hell?” he whined in a pitiful tone. “I thought you loved eating my sausage.”

Harper’s face went beet red, but what caught Pulse’s attention was the strangled laugh that came from about twenty feet away. Talia stood there, eyes twinkling as she bit her lower lip.

Shit, he liked this woman. He needed to nip it before it became a problem.

The usual chaos ensued a second later. Everyone booed Jinx and threw heaps of insults about the guy’s manhood and lack of sexual prowess. Typically, Pulse would have joined in and thrown a few verbal jabs, but he couldn’t tear his attention away from Talia.

She let her lip slide between her teeth, and then she smiled. The full, wide, teeth-revealing smile transformed her face from serious and wary to open and happy.

Absolutely mesmerizing.

He reached for the table as his knees went. His head swam, and his heart sped. If a patient reported these symptoms, he’d have them lying down with a blood pressure cuff around their arm in seconds. Unfortunately, his diagnosis was more along the lines of a smitten storybook character than something he could pop a pill for.

He needed to get laid and fast. Someone, anyone who could get him off and shift his focus from this inappropriate attraction to his club’s fucking attorney.

“Thank you, Harper,” Curly said as he held Brooke’s hand in front of the food table. “I think you saved all our appetites.”

“Hey!” Jinx flipped two birds and waved them at everyone.

Curly spoke again once everyone’s laughter died. “I know you’re all hungry, so I won’t talk long, but I’ve got something important to say.”

The laughter and chatter disappeared. Every man and woman in this club loved Curly and owed him for making them a part of his found family. This club had saved them all in some way, Pulse included. The respect and loyalty they had for their president was unmatched.

“Well, shit,” Curly said. He plucked at the front of his T-shirt, fanning himself with it. “Didn’t realize I’d be this fucking nervous.”

Nervous? Pulse’s stomach flipped as a murmur went through the crowd. Did he have bad news?

Curly dropped Brooke’s hand as he turned to face her. Concern scrunched her face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Curly stared at her for a long, charged moment.

Then he dropped to one knee.

Someone gasped. Someone else—Jinx for sure—shouted, “About fucking time.”

Curly reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.

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