Page 52 of Four-ever Single

“What?” I asked, pulling the phone in closer as I glared at him. “There better not be any fucking hookers. I swear to God, Jones, if I find out you so much as look at another woman tonight, I will come over there and cut your dic—”

“If you do that, how will I ever fuck you with it?” He cocked his head to the side, giving me a look that could melt my insides.

I opened my mouth and then closed it in frustration when I didn’t have an answer for him.

“Relax, baby, I’m just messing with you. But you’re cute when you’re jealous. You know that?”

“Shut up, I’m not jealous.”

“Yes, you are, and I love it. Now go get dressed and enjoy your day. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” I said, sighing with resignation. “You too.”

We hung up, and I rushed to put myself back together so I didn’t have to explain to Lia what I had been doing.

Thirty

Jones

“You have got to be kidding me,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes as we walked into the room. “This is what you planned for my bachelor party?”

Capshaw clapped me on the back and forced me inside as the guys scattered around me and grabbed a spot at one of the tables.

“A cooking class?” I asked, leveling him with a look.

“What? You’re getting married and it’s part of your husbandly duties to be able to provide for your wife. That includes cooking.” Nate winked as he squeezed past me and grabbed an apron from the woman who looked more than thrilled to have a room full of firefighters for her class tonight.

“I don’t think this is going to help.” I let Capshaw lead me to a table in the corner with a counter behind us. I glanced over my shoulder and laughed. “Six fire extinguishers? Do you really think we need six?”

“I tried to tell him we didn’t need that many,” Rodriguez chimed in. “But then I remembered what happened with the burgers last week, and we all agreed it would be best to add a few more.”

He nodded to the other side of the room, where another six were lined up.

I shook my head and tried to listen as the woman up front spoke to us like we were a bunch of kids. Which wasn’t totally her fault, given that she primarily taught kids cooking glasses, and the guys had pulled some strings to get her to do a special one for us.

“Alright, tonight I’m going to teach you guys how to make something I like to call Marry Me Chicken. I thought it would be fitting as I heard someone is tying the knot tomorrow! Plus, this is the perfect dish for those forgive-me meals, as well. You know, just in case you need it.” She winked but suddenly seemed to remember she was in a room filled with attractive men and blushed.

She went over the directions as Capshaw and I prepared and sauteed the chicken. I could tell which of the guys were already used to cooking at this level because they just breezed through it and tossed bottles behind their backs as if they belonged in an upscale kitchen in Las Vegas. Then there were the others who were still trying to figure out how to trim the chicken breast and were already ten steps behind. She walked around the room, checking on everyone as they worked.

“Do you really think this works?” Capshaw asked, slicing his breast down the middle and then separating them on the cutting board in front of him.

“Cooking?” I focused on mine, making sure not to cut my finger with the knife. “It seems to work for most people, not including myself.”

“No, this whole Marry Me Chicken. Do you think if I make this for Kensy, she’ll marry me?”

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him, royally confused.

“You guys are already engaged.”

“I know, but she won’t set a date, and I’m getting worried that she’ll back out.”

“Why? Has she said something?”

“No,” he said with a heavy sigh as he washed his hands before getting the butter out and adding it to a large skillet. “But I don’t know why it’s taking so long. Look at you and Bella.”

“Yeah, our circumstances are different.” I lowered my voice, checking around to make sure no one was listening. “If we didn’t have to get married, I don’t think we would. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Bella and have no problem marrying her. But I don’t know that she would still want to get married if given the choice.”

“I’ve seen you guys together. There’s something real there. That chemistry is hard to find, and trust me, it’s scary when you think of losing it.”

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