Page 53 of Crashing the Altar
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Want me to get you something sweet to chase it away?”
Turning forward, she settled her back against my chest, sighing. “Maybe later. I’m comfy here for now.”
Rodeo chatter went by the wayside once Declan produced a quarter and decided the group was going to play hands up, hands down—guys versus girls. It required having additional chairs brought over to arrange seating for the teams, but once the ladies were settled, Dec handed the coin to my wife.
She pulled off her rings and placed them in my palm. “Hold onto these for me, baby. This won’t take long.”
Patton nudged me with an elbow. “Ooh, she’s cocky. I like that.”
I inwardly groaned. The man was oblivious to how his compliment had inadvertently set her up.
“Oh, sweetie.” She gave our young friend a saccharine smile. “I don’t just like cock. Iloveit.”
There was a rowdy chorus of hoots from the rest of the men.
Bryce slapped the table. “Damn, and here we thought the horses were wild. I think Sully’s wife’s got ’em beat.”
Penny tossed him a wink. “Tip of the iceberg.”
“She’s not kidding.” The words were muttered under my breath.
“We playin’ or what?” Tate called out, trying to steer us back on track.
A smile played on Penny’s lips as she locked eyes with me from across the table and hitched a thumb in Tate’s direction. “Get a load of this guy thinking he has a chance of winning twice tonight.”
“Be nice, Lucky,” I warned.
She batted her eyelashes, projecting an air of false innocence. “Who, me? I’m always nice.”
Directing my next comment to the group, I said, “In case anyone hasn’t figured it out yet, my wife is highly competitive.”
“Bring it.” Tate lifted his chin, accepting the challenge. “Put those hands down, girls.”
The ladies tucked their hands beneath the table, and I trained my eyes on the movements of their visible wrists, hoping to decipher which ones were meant as decoys and which were actively passing the quarter.
“All right. Hands up!”
All five women brought their closed fists into view.
“Hands down.”
Quick as lightning, palms smacked against the wood. The metallic sound of the coin meeting the hard surface was almost drowned out by the country music being blasted from a speaker nearby.
Bryce’s eyes narrowed suspiciously on the redhead at the far end. “I heard it somewhere over here.”
“You sure?” Declan asked.
Bryce’s confidence wavered. “Maybe?”
Tate groaned. “Fuck it. Tracy, lift up.”
The redhead obeyed, bringing both hands off the table to reveal nothing beneath.
Penny smirked, taunting, “Aw, well, ain’t that a shame.”
“You haven’t won yet.” Irritation leaked into Tate’s voice. My girl was a pro at getting under a man’s skin.
“Put ’em back down.” I took over the game commands because my buddy was too busy grinding his teeth. We were at a table full of competitors. No one was going to take too kindly to losing.
