“I discovered that flowers have meanings.”
“Oh, Christ.” Noah ground the heel of his hand into a suddenly throbbing temple.
“I discovered that the Christmas rose can symbolize anxiety,” Mack said. “I can’t wear that at my wedding.”
“It has the word Christmas in it,” Colton said. “What could be more perfect for a December wedding?”
Noah stirred his coffee. “Is there a flower that means giant douchebag? You should get that one.”
Mack ignored Noah and turned his phone around to show off a picture of a small white flower that looked almost exactly like Noah remembered the first one he’d chosen.
“I’m thinking of the white ivy flower,” Mack said. “It stands for fidelity.”
“Perfect,” Noah said. “Go with that.”
“Definitely that one,” Malcolm said, sending Noah a silent thank-you with his eyes.
“Absolutely,” Colton added.
“It’s ugly,” the Russian said.
Noah elbowed him to shut up. Mack’s eyebrows pulled together as he studied the picture again. “You think it’s ugly?”
“It’s not ugly,” Noah said. “The Russian doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Colton got a look in his eyes that said he was about to start some shit. He propped his elbows on the table and leaned toward the Russian. “What kind of flowers did you have in your wedding?”
“I don’t remember,” the Russian answered, cheeks suddenly red.
Noah glared at Colton, who responded with an I told you so smirk.
The waitress interrupted to take their orders. While the guys took turns, Mack suddenly became engrossed in something on his phone. The waitress walked away, and Mack looked directly at Noah.
“So, Liv just texted me.”
A cold shiver ran across Noah’s skin. “And?”
“And when were you going to tell us that you spent the night at Alexis’s house and she saw you without a shirt?”
Ah, fuck. Heat raced up his neck and blazed a path clear to his hairline. But embarrassment quickly became hope, because if she told Liv about it, then it must have meant something. Right?
Colton snorted. “I guess we know why you’re off your game this morning.”
“What happened?” Mack asked.
“Nothing,” Noah gulped.
“Bullshit,” Colton coughed.
“And you were shirtless why?” Mack asked.
“It’s a long story,” Noah mumbled.
Malcolm stroked his beard. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Noah blew out a frustrated breath, swiped his hands over his hair, and launched into the whole story—Candi, the kidney transplant, the story of Beefcake and his fucking claws. By the time he got to the part about Lexa walking into the bathroom and stopping dead in her tracks, his nipples had started to tingle.
He crossed his arms. “Any questions?”
The Russian raised his hand. Noah called on him.
“Did she sniff you?”
“What the fuck, man? No.”
Another hand shot into the air.
Noah sighed. “Yes, Malcolm?”
“You said she acted weird when she saw you. Can you be more descriptive?”
“What more do you need?”
Mack piped in. “Where did she stare?”
The Russian pouted. “He did not raise his hand.”
Mack raised his hand and repeated the question.
“She stared, you know . . .” Noah let his voice trail off. But when all the guys leaned forward, he gestured toward his pecs. “Here.”
His face got hot again as he lowered his hand and waved it below the belly button. “And here.”
One by one, the guys met one another’s eyes and then in unison, busted into loud, table-shaking laughter. Noah looked around the restaurant and then hissed at them to be quiet.
Mack wiped his eyes. “Dude, she was staring. The real kind of staring.”
“Sure sign,” Colton said. “The happy trail is like catnip for women.”
Noah gaped at him. “The happy what?”
The Russian lifted his shirt and pointed to his stomach. “The line of hair from your belly button to your pork and beans.”
Mack leaned left to whisper, “Frank and beans.”
The Russian looked baffled. “Who is Frank?”
Colton raised his hand. Noah shook his head. “Next.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask!”
“Doesn’t matter. It’ll be inappropriate. Next question.”
“Who is Frank?” the Russian asked again.
“Someone fucking tell him,” Noah growled.
Malcolm leaned over and whispered in the Russian’s ear. He giggled and covered his mouth.
Their food arrived, but Noah barely had time to take a single bite before the questions continued.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Mack asked.
Noah poked his eggs with the corner of his toast and feigned ignorance. “Do about what?”
“The staring,” Colton said.
Noah lifted a shoulder. “Nothing.”
“You can’t do nothing, man,” Colton said. “She stared.”
Noah snorted even as his pits began to sweat. “You guys have read too many romance novels. Which, by the way, the one you gave me? It’s total bullshit. Do you even know what that book is about?”
Mack leaned back in his chair. “I do. What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s about a guy who abandoned his daughter! You seriously expect me to learn something from this guy?”
“The secret baby trope is a very popular plotline in the romance genre,” Mack said.
Noah made a noise that was part snort, part laugh. “Secret. Baby. Trope?”
Mack shrugged. “Guy finds out he has a kid he never knew about.”
“And people find this romantic?”
Mack sighed and looked to the ceiling as if praying for patience. “It’s a plot device for a larger message, Noah.”
“What larger message?”
“Forgiveness.”
This time, Noah laughed outright. “Bullshit. Some things are unforgivable.”
Mack sipped his coffee. “True. But that’s not the point.”
“Yeah, the point is that there’s no freaking way I’m going to learn how to build a relationship with Alexis by reading about a guy who’s as much of a bastard as her father.”
“You can’t judge the book based on one chapter,” Malcolm said. “Give it a try.”
“No.” He sounded as stubborn as he felt.
The Russian patted his arm. “Noah, why are you so angry all the time?”
“He’s not angry,” Colton snorted over the rim of his coffee mug. “He’s horny.”
Noah pointed. “Fuck off.”
“Dude, Alexis could not be making it any clearer that she wants more and is ready for more,” Mack said. “What the hell are you waiting for?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just told you about her father? She’s going
