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Doom looked around and saw everyone within listening distance was avoiding his gaze. “It’s that bad?”
More gagging came from Moon. “Brother, I’ve got a strong stomach, but this is beyond me to deal with.” He went to the window to open it.
“Why didn’t any of you fuckers tell me I stink?” Doom bellowed.
While he was yelling, Doom saw Arden come out of the kitchen then go back in.
“We didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Jesus spoke up, eyeing him with pity. “We didn’t know if you had developed a medical condition.”
Doom ground his teeth together, making for the kitchen. As he walked through the door, he saw Arden making a sandwich.
She innocently gave him a welcoming smile. “Puck wanted a peanut butter sandwich, so I made him a couple. You want me to make one for you?”
His chest puffed up in outrage. “Why didn’t you tell me I stink?”
Her eyes widened in sham innocence.
Doom had never been this disconcerted by anyone before. The woman was better at lying than he had imagined she could be.
“You don’t stink—to me.” Wiping her hands on a paper towel, she came closer to put her hands on his chest. “To be honest, though, I’ve worked for Mama since I was sixteen. I lost my sense of smell where garlic was concerned by the time I was eighteen. Don’t forget; I warned you.”
“I thought you were warning me against eating so much of it because I’d take a case of the shits, not have BO bad enough to incinerate the whole club.”
“They’re just giving you a hard time. You don’t smell that bad.”
He crossed his hands over his chest as Arden finished the sandwich. “Bad enough to keep women sitting on the other side of the bar from me.”
As she reached for a paper towel, Doom was taken aback that she didn’t exhibit one ounce of guilt. He expected her to be embarrassed or regretful at not telling him to lay off the garlic, yet she unsparingly met his gaze head-on.
“You want to know why you don’t notice the smell?” With pursed lips, she came toward him to poke a finger into his chest. “You might come in the club smelling like a vat of garlic, but within an hour or two, you smell like a perfume counter.” She gave him another hard poke before she leaned her head closer to him to take a hard sniff.
“What the fu—”
“Tonight, you smell like Channel. I can also smell some Dior and a faint whiff of Givenchy. You smell more like a flower garden than garlic.” Angrily, she puffed her chest out. “Smell me. What do I smell like? I guarantee you won’t get any whiff of men’s cologne.”
“Uh… That’s okay.” Doom dropped his arms to his side, falling off his high horse. “I’ll take your word for it.”
Turning back toward the counter, she reached for another paper towel to wrap the sandwiches. She held them in one hand as she picked up an apple from the fruit basket and threw it at him, Doom managed to catch it before it struck him.
“Eat a couple of these. They’ll kill most of the stink of the garlic. Unfortunately, you’ll have to take a shower and wash your clothes to get rid of the perfume.”
Brushing past him, Arden left him alone in the kitchen, feeling guilty as he ate the apple. He was on his second when his anger kicked back in. How had he not been aware his woman was diabolical? Arden, cunning? Who would have thought?
Tossing the second apple core into the trash can, whistling as he left the kitchen, Doom got himself a bottled beer. As he twisted the cap, he saw Moon was chatting with Tink.
“Can I get you something?” Kat asked.
“No, I’m good.”
It didn’t take him long to notice that every time Tink moved away to wait on someone, Moon would pull her back into a conversation. The brother was on the prowl, and he had set his sights on Tink.
Waiting until she was waiting on Buck, he angled behind Kat and moved to stand in front of Moon.
“How was the ride down?”
Moon grinned. “Not bad. It didn’t hurt I had company.”
“I was surprised you were the one to bring Oasis. I figured one of the other brothers would have volunteered.”
“I didn’t mind.”
I bet he didn’t, Doom thought snidely. Moon was notorious about trying to steal the other brothers’ women away. He got off on the fucking chase, but once he achieved his goal, he quickly lost interest. Everyone in Kentucky and Ohio wanted to be in a relationship, have a couple of kids, and start a family. The problem was boredom would kick in, and then he would catch the scent of another woman.
Doom tipped his beer to his lips. “When you headed back?”
