The Expert’s Guide to Driving a Man Wild (Bluebonnet #3)(27)
Author: Jessica Clare

“Grant took Elise to get breakfast, since someone still hasn’t done grocery shopping,” Dane said cheerfully, wiping his hands as he returned to the living room. “And that milk was expired, so I tossed it. You’re welcome.”

She made a face. “I’ll go grocery shopping soon enough. Get off my jock.”

“You don’t have a jock. You’re a chick,” Dane said, bouncing down on the couch next to her. “And I’m glad someone went and got breakfast. I’m starving.”

“Doesn’t Miranda feed you before she turns you loose?” Colt asked.

“My cabin isn’t wired for electricity, remember? So unless I wanted beef jerky for breakfast, Miranda told me I was on my own.” He grinned.

“I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to light a fire just to feed your ass Pop-Tarts,” Brenna said, elbowing him. Everyone thought it was weird that Dane preferred to go off the grid for his small cabin, but it made him happy, so whatever.

He elbowed her back and looped a thick arm around her neck, dragging her against him in a headlock. “So, you gonna tell me and Colt how come you decided to mindfuck Grant and sleep with him?”

She twisted the hairs on his arm to try and make him let go of her, squirming out of his grasp when he eased up. Boys. Sheesh. “I’m not mindfucking him!” After a moment, she added, “At least, it’s not his mind I’m f**king.”

“I knew it. They’re sleeping together.” Colt shot Dane a triumphant look.

“Damn it.” Dane reached into his pocket and slapped a five down into Colt’s outstretched hand. “I lost that bet.”

“So fess up, Brenna. How long has this been going on?”

“About two days.”

Colt grunted. “Thought it’d been longer, honestly.”

Her brows drew together. Longer? “I’m just pretending to be his girlfriend while his parents visit.”

“Dang. You really get into character, don’t you?” Dane whistled.

She elbowed him again, because he was getting on her nerves. “What’s the big deal? I can’t f**k a guy without everyone thinking we’re married? The eighteenth century called and they want their morals back.”

“Again,” Colt drawled, “you don’t normally f**k someone you can’t stand.”

Since when did everyone think she couldn’t stand Grant? Brenna glanced over at Colt, curious. She liked Grant. She liked all three men who she worked with. It was just that Grant nitpicked so very much that she felt like she had to give him a hard time. Did that mean they thought she hated him?

Did Grant think that, too? That couldn’t be the case, because why would he start proclaiming her his girlfriend if he hated her?

So, you gonna tell me and Colt how come you decided to mindfuck Grant and sleep with him?

It wasn’t a mindfuck . . . was it? Suddenly irritated at both men, Brenna leapt up from the sofa . . . and realized Rome was still sitting in a chair across the room, watching them, his arms crossed over his chest. The situation probably seemed odd to him—Brenna and Dane horsing around on the couch and Colt giving her a pop quiz about her sleeping arrangements. She rather hoped that Grant hadn’t had time to quiz him yet. She smiled brightly at Rome. “Been here long?”

“Not long,” he said quietly.

“Did the boys say hello?”

Dane frowned, his handsome face a bit confused. “I thought he was the plumber and that Grant had called him. Some idiot flushed something down the toilet again, you know.”

“A tampon,” Brenna said. At Dane’s look of horrified disgust, she explained, “For Pop. And Rome’s our new employee, not the plumber.”

“He got good credentials?” Colt turned his narrow-eyed gaze on Rome, sizing him up. The dark skullcap of hair, the tattoos, the guarded expression on his face.

“I don’t know, but he’s sure pretty, isn’t he?” Brenna beamed at Rome approvingly. “He’ll be perfect for the shoot Elise wants to do. Girls love a bad boy spattered with mud.”

“Shoot?” Colt asked.

“Mud?” Dane inquired.

Brenna waved a hand. “Long story. I’ll tell you some other time.”

Rome strode forward and offered his hand to Colt and Dane. “Pleased to meet you. I won’t let you down.”

Colt grunted again. It might have been a sign of approval. You could never tell with Colt. “We’ll have to sit down and jaw sometime. For now, though, I need to head out. I’m speaking at a local elementary school.”

Dane groaned and got to his feet. “And since we don’t have classes today, Miranda’s dragging me to go taste cakes.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Rome said.

“It’s at a tea parlor.” Dane grimaced. “I’m picturing gray-haired old ladies sipping from china with their pinkies out. I told her she should have taken Brenna, but then her feelings got hurt, so here I am.” He shrugged. “So I’d better get going. See you guys later.” He headed out the front door, whistling.

Colt rolled his eyes. “For all the bellyaching Dane does, you’d think he’s the most henpecked man in the world. What he doesn’t tell you is that if Miranda has so much as a tear in her eye, he loses his shit and bends over backward to make her happy.” Colt shook his head and headed toward the door.

Brenna bit back her own smirk because Colt had more or less described, not just Dane, but Colt’s relationship with Beth Ann to a tee. She turned to Rome as the two men exited and gave him a cheerful smile. “Guess you’re stuck with me for your first day.”

His blue eyes focused on her, and he blinked slowly. She noticed he had the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man. Elise had to get that on camera. “Miss, can I ask you a question?” he said, his voice low and smooth.

“Shoot.”

“Is this job for real?”

She tilted her head, studying him. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

He glanced down at her clothing. “You’re not dressed, your boss doesn’t know anything about me, and neither do those two guys. You barely looked at my résumé, and you haven’t asked me anything about my work experience. Just seems a bit strange to me.”

“I’m a strange girl,” she said lightly. “And listen, we run a survival school. Dane and Colt run the classes, Grant rides everyone’s asses, and I basically file paperwork and take pictures. They’re opening a paintball course, so we can put you in charge of that. I don’t see what the big deal is. You want to work here, right?”