Page 19 of Sinners Reunion

Keep dreaming, lover boy. This one’s off-limits.

To everyone.

Three hours later, the men sit around the food court like soldiers returned from war. Bags drape from their arms, and most of us wear a thousand-yard stare as we dissociate from the misery that is a shopping trip. Only Jim and Bennett seem unbothered as they discuss their findings. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only bloke who needed a few odds and ends.

I’m happy to spot Blayne among the men as well. Though I can’t be certain how long he followed the hens around, they eventually left him behind, which is all I could ask for. So long as he isn’t sniffing around Josie.

Speak of the she-devil, she appears in a cloud of laughter and shopping bags. Two mall staffers hurry behind the women, each of them pushing a silver cart loaded to the gills with paisley fabrics, designer labels, and glitter. Judging by the way Jim’s face goes a ghastly shade of pale, he wasn’t aware of Josie’s proclivities toward the finer things.

“I got the girls a few things too,” Josie says as she passes a credit card back to Jim. It’s a wonder the damn thing isn’t smoking. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Cat, Eve, and Quinn pull their treasures from the trolley. I’m not surprised to see that Kindra and Frankie didn’t partake. I’m also not surprised that Josie was their ringleader.

“Still feel like that sloth is worth it, old man?” I raise an eyebrow toward Josie, who’s already skipping out of the mall with her entourage close behind her. “We could leave her here. She’ll find her way home. She’s very resourceful.”

The other men stand to leave the mall, so I do as well, but Jim clamps his hand over mine. He nods for the others to go, but I take a seat. He clearly has something he wants to say.

Once the others are out of earshot, Jim pulls his chair closer to mine. “King, before we drive another mile, you and I need to have a serious chat. This trip was orchestrated for the Carter children’s benefit. If you plan to squander what I’ve⁠—”

I pin him with a glare.

“If you plan to squander what we have worked so hard to put together, I think it’s best we tell everyone the truth right now and be done with it.”

“You’re the one obsessing over a sloth,” I mutter, but I look away from him. Because damn it, he’s right.

“I’m not saying this as another of my empty threats,” he adds. “If this is too much for you, we will turn this car around and go home. But seriously, as your friend, I’m asking you to try.”

“No,” I say, keeping my tone soft for his sensitive soul. “You’re asking me to torture myself. You’ve placed a seven-layer chocolate cake in front of a diabetic.”

“I’ve placed a seven-layer chocolate cake in front of a man who has self-diagnosed himself as diabetic. If you would merely try the cake, you’d see for yourself.”

“I’ve tried the cake. I know it’s everything a man dreams of at night, but it’s every man’s downfall as well.” I shake my head. “It’s no use, I’m afraid. This is the one time when your schemes have failed.”

“Would you like to bet on it?”

Damn him. I want to walk away right now, but he’s just invoked the demon within me.

“What sort of wager?”

“My lakefront property in Florida for your cottage in Ireland.” He grins and leans forward.

“I gave that to Frankie and Maverick as a wedding gift.”

“The estate in Surrey?”

“That’s Ezra and Kindra’s wedding gift. If they keep marrying at this rate, I’ll have no property left to wager.”

“All the more reason to make sure you win, then.”

“And when I win, what do I get?” I ask.

Jim shrugs. “I’ll give up on the sloth, and we’ll leave Josie at the next stop.”

I hold my hand across the table. “You’re on. What’s the task?”

“Grab a fork and a napkin.” Jim grins and slides his hand into mine. “Before sunset tomorrow, you must try the cake.”

Chapter Six