“Jesus, you two belong together.” Jenna pushed past them and slid up to the high-top bar attached to the wall.
Rhys looked mouthwatering in well-worn jeans that hugged his ass and legs. A blue BPD shirt Jo had given him last year stretched across his chest and showed his tightly muscled arms to perfection. Why were they in a bar when she and Rhys could be in the hot tub at home? Or better yet, their bed?
“Get you ladies something?” Marcie asked, jarring Jo from the fantasy of a naked sweaty Rhys.
No thinking of him naked . . . yet. It was her last night of ‘freedom’ as Jenna continuously reminded Jo. Not that she considered marriage to her dream man a prison sentence. Far from it. Forcing her mind to the present, Jo was glad when Karma answered for her.
“Beers.”
“On the house, Marcie.” Charlie came to rest in front of Jo. A beaming smile stretched across his weathered face. Tufts of white hair stuck up around his head and barely covered the bald spot in the back.
Tugging Jo into a hug. “He’s been here all night. Wanted to be where you two made your first date.”
Jo laughed. They really were on the same wavelength. She hadn’t wanted to go to a strip joint and watch young, muscled guys grind away on the stage. It wasn’t needed since she had Rhys. Oh, she still appreciated a fine ass and muscles, but it wasn’t what she wanted to see unless it was him doing the grinding.
“Are you and Stella still coming tomorrow?”
“We wouldn’t miss it,” Charlie called over his shoulder as he headed back to the bar.
Karma shook her head. “I still can’t believe you invited him.”
“Charlie?” Jo asked confused.
“Yeah.”
Marcie handed them their order and bustled across the room to another table.
Jo shrugged. “I’ve known him longer than I’ve been on the force. He’s one of Pop’s fishing partners for the competitions.”
“Hey boys, how about girls versus guys?” Jenna shouted as she meandered to the pool tables.
Rhys’s head jerked up and his gaze latched on to Jo. She grinned as he jogged over.
“What a great surprise.” He leaned down to kiss her but missed when Karma dragged him back by his belt loops.
“None of that lovey-dovey crap tonight. Tonight is about bachelors and bachelorettes going head to head in a pool tournament.” She tugged him to the pool tables. “You’ll have plenty of time for kisses tomorrow and on the honeymoon.”
Abe, Redden, and Ian strode over with refills for the men. Ian pointed a bottle to Karma. “You’re on, but be warned I was a champion snooker player.”
Karma squinted at the man. “The only snooker I know comes with a doodle at the end and tastes yummy.”
Jo groaned. “Seriously?”
“What?” Karma batted her icy blue eyes feigning innocence. “We’re allowed to make all sorts of jokes during a bachelorette party that has to do with balls and sticks . . . or so I’ve read.”
The rest of the women laughed while Jo pointed her bottle at her sister. “You get me in trouble before the honeymoon, and you’ll be on Bieber duty.”
Maker squawked. “Hell no.” While Karma looked around. “What’s a Bieber?”
“I’ve got Karma for a partner,” Terry called. “I’ll fill her in on Bieber and his fannettes.”
Jo gave Terry a thumbs up while Abigail and Jenna headed for another table chatting about tomorrow.
“Guess that leaves you and me,” Juliette said, going to the cue sticks in a stand near the far wall.
This was the sister she knew the least. Juliette had the gorgeous Polynesian bone structure of her mother’s ancestors with Joseph’s pale blue eyes. Long black hair cascaded in a sheet down her back and swayed gently as she chose her cue stick.
Where Karma flew through life by the seat of her pants and Jenna was intense about anything computer related, this sister was an enigma. Cool and composed, most mistook her for Asian.
“Or not. If you don’t want to be paired with me.” Her sharp brow arched in question, jolting Jo out of her thoughts.
“Sorry, I figured you’d want to play with the others.” She gestured toward the other tables.
“Nope, I’m good.” Juliette headed for Rhys and Sullivan’s table. “Hello, boys.”
“Oh, this will be easy. Two midgets who can’t get around a nine-foot table means me and Rhys are gonna wipe the floor with you.” Sullivan strutted to the end to rack the balls.
“In your dreams, Sully,” Jo called to her partner. “We might lack height, but we more than make up for it with our kick-ass moves.”
In between games, cops from different departments came to the back to congratulate Jo. She’d not been able to invite everyone to their wedding. Being here allowed them to join in where they wanted. It was nice Charlie had let everyone know where she was.
Jones and Brown strode in, making Jo question asking Charlie to let everyone know where she was. “What’re you two doing here?”
“What? We can’t say congrats? I mean I know we have our differences, but we work in the same department now. What do you say we let bygones be bygones?” Jones held his hand out, and Jo clasped it wondering what the catch was. She still had blackmail material in case this ‘friends truce’ turned to crap.
Brown followed his partner and shook her hand too. “We’ll be reporting to you after the honeymoon, so we need to work together and quit giving each other grief.”
“Okay.” She clapped them on their shoulders. “First beer is on me.” She waved Marcie over and told her to get the gentlemen a beer.
It was true they would be reporting to her, and she needed to quit the prank war that had sprouted up years ago between them. They joined the game. She was still surprised the two hadn’t taken the exam to move up to Lieutenant
