When she said nothing, he continued.
“For a long time we all knew Gage had a thing for Harper. Maybe even before Gage knew it.”
Yes, one only had to see Gage and Harper together to know they were meant to be.
“For the most part, we’ve always treated her as a relative. Now that they’re married, that’s what she is to us. Family.”
His hands went to her shoulders, gently massaging while he talked.
“The day Cherry showed up, everyone noticed, believe me. Cherry’s stacked, and she’s cute and likes to party. But Denver made it clear he wanted her. End of story. We all respected that, and none of us would ruin a friendship over a woman.”
No, they wouldn’t. They were loyal to each other, and Vanity admired that a lot.
Stack’s tone went quieter, heavier. “We all remembered when Yvette left. She was still young. We knew what happened to her, what she’d gone through. And of course we knew Cannon had been there when it all went down.”
Yvette, a sister of her heart. Vanity turned in Stack’s arms, silently asking for comfort from the memories.
He gave it, gathering her close.
Yvette had been hunted by a madman, almost raped, threatened with being burned alive... Vanity shivered, and Stack’s arms tightened around her.
She relaxed enough to share with him. “Yvette had told me about Cannon. She made him sound like Superman. Larger than life and very heroic.”
“That about covers it.”
“I knew he was special to her.”
One of his hands dipped down to the small of her back. “None of us realized she was the one for Cannon, not until she came back to town. Then it clicked. During the years she was away, Cannon dated plenty. But he never settled on anyone. When he saw Yvette again, it was pretty clear. He wasn’t himself anymore. He was... I don’t know. Part of her, too.” He dipped to see her face. “Does that make sense?”
“Yes. They’re a couple.” Together, they were whole.
“Part and parcel with each other.” Stack’s hand smoothed up and down her back, then settled lower near her hip. “Merissa is Cannon’s little sis. That alone makes her off-limits. But the fact that Cannon knows us all so well, knows how we think—”
Indignation dug back in. “Meaning what?”
Fighting off a smile, Stack said, “Meaning we pretty much focus some part of our brains on sex 24/7. All guys. But it’s just random thoughts. Not intent.”
Having finally regained her aplomb, Vanity patted his chest. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Sure.” She almost smiled over her deviousness, but she managed to keep it in check as she said, “Women are the same.”
His relieved expression fell in a comical way. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, please. You think guys have a copyright on lust? Pfft.”
Brows gathering together, Stack levered her back the length of his long arms. “So you have been lusting after Leese?”
Swallowing her laugh, she managed a credible shrug. “I’m saying I’ve noticed his gorgeous blue eyes, that his body is different from yours but just as shredded. Heck, all the guys at the rec center are drop-dead sexy—in their own unique ways.”
His hands fell away from her. “Un-fucking-believable.”
“Oh, poor Stack. You were so honest, I wanted to be honest with you, too. I didn’t realize you thought women had only pure thoughts. Were you under the assumption that we sit around thinking about knitting or shopping or doing our nails?” Vanity poked him in the chest. “You think we wear virtual blinders and only notice a guy’s shoulders, abs or butt when we fall in love?”
“Butts?” Disbelief lightened his scowl. “You’re telling me you moon over guy’s asses?”
The laugh bubbled out. When she saw the flare of outrage in his eyes, she slapped a hand over her mouth, but it didn’t help. “Muscled glutes.” She could barely get it said around her giggles. “Mmm.”
His eyes narrowed. “Now you’re fucking with me.”
Pinching the air, she confirmed, “Little bit.”
Relief had him taking a deep breath. “Brat.”
“You are too funny, Stack.” She drew him down for a kiss, then hugged him tight and said, “But we really do.”
Again he stiffened. Luckily her hold was tight, so he couldn’t get away.
“You really do what? And, no, don’t you dare start snickering again!”
She gave him another squeeze for good measure. “Women notice all the same things men notice, including a well-shaped butt.”