It took a few minutes before I spotted them.

As expected, even her boss had a tough time getting Braxton to comply. She was still arguing with him even now as they made their way toward us. Just as I was wondering if he’d told them who had requested her, she climbed the stairs, and her big eyes widened when she saw us sitting there. She was wearing this black number made spectacular only by her subtle curves as the dress hugged her body.

Her brown gaze moved from Houston to Rich before narrowing on me. Of course, she assumed this was my idea.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.

“Miss Fawn!” the managed bellowed his outrage before turning to us and apologizing profusely. “She’ll be terminated immediately,” he swore.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I warned him.

Utterly shocked, he blinked rapidly at me before regaining most of his composure. “I-I don’t understand.”

“We know her,” Rich informed him.

“And we like her,” I cheerily added with a wink directed at Braxton.

Houston, of course, said nothing as he looked Braxton over like he was bored. I bet he was already planning to make her quit this gig but wisely kept his mouth shut rather than seize the opportunity that just landed in his lap.

“Nevertheless,” the manager began before facing Braxton. If he fired her anyway, I was knocking his toupee-wearing ass down those steps. “Succulent prides itself on providing fine dining and excellent service. These are our special guests who’ve personally chosen you to wait on them. I expect you to be professional from this point forward and give these gentlemen whatever they desire.”

Now you’re talking. Maybe he wasn’t common-sense deficient, after all.

The manager stormed away, taking the rest of the actual waiters and waitresses with him. They looked disappointed about not being able to wait on us, so I sent a quick text to our assistant before focusing on Braxton.

“You look nice,” I complimented after slowly looking her over once more. “Why don’t you dress like that when you come to rehearsal?”

“I didn’t realize there was a dress code.”

“There is now.”

Rich kicked me under the table, a nonverbal demand for me to be less verbal, so I knocked his glass over, spilling his water into his lap. He jumped up like he was on fire before snatching up his white napkin cloth and dabbing at the ice-cold water wetting his crotch.

Braxton, catching the entire exchange, shook her head. “You know it’s hard to believe that the three of you are grown men.”

I had so many dirty responses to that. Wisely, I kept my mouth closed. Jericho, sitting down again, swiped my water for himself since I spilled his and started guzzling it down.

“So,” she said with a sigh before lifting the notepad and pen in her hand. “What can I start you off with?” She clicked the pen a little harder than necessary.

“Depends,” I spoke before the others could. “What do you recommend?”

“To leave.”

Rich choked on his water while Houston frowned down at him. He was so embarrassing.

“Sorry, but I don’t think that’s on the menu.”

Braxton didn’t respond. Instead, she leaned over, giving me a full view of her breasts and the freckles there while she flipped open the menu in front of me. I wondered where else she hid her freckles.

“We have an amazing selection of wine—”

“Don’t drink the stuff.”

She paused, meeting my gaze, which I’d been smart enough to remove from her tits before she caught me. “Well, what about your friends?”

“Birds of a feather.”

“We have other drinks—”

“I’ll just take a lemonade.” She looked surprised, but I wasn’t about to elaborate or explain my drinking choices.

Sensing this, she stood up straight before turning to Houston. “And you?”

“Coke.”

She wrote it down before turning to Rich. “I’ll just take more water,” he answered before she could ask. I caught the dirty look he gave me and laughed.

“All right then. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as she walked away—yes, I watched her walk away—I turned to my friends. “A hundred bucks, she thinks we’re alcoholics.”

“Does it matter?” Houston asked. Irritation creased his brow.

“If I’m going to bone and possibly marry her, it does.”

“You’re not, so I guess it doesn’t.”

I resisted the urge to cause a scene by breaking my best friend’s nose. “Afraid I’ll beat you to the punch?”

Houston waved me off. “I’m only interested in her guitar skills.”

“Which you act like she doesn’t have. Care to explain why you’re keeping her around then?”

“Because you know as well as I do we don’t have a choice. You know what Carl is up to. We all know why he chose her.”

“So you think you can get her ready in three goddamn months? Toot your own horn much?” Houston’s frustration was palpable at his point, so I leaned forward, eager to go in for the kill. “Just admit it.”

“Admit what?” he snapped.

“That either she’s a damn good guitarist, or you want her pussy bad enough to risk everything we’ve built. Same as me. Same as Rich.”

That vein in his forehead looked ready to burst as our staring contest intensified. He couldn’t choose, and I, honest to God, had no clue why. It was like someone held him by his heel when he was a child and dipped his complicated ass in a pool of angst, much like Thetis did Achilles in the River Styx.

I figured if anyone could crack that wall, it was Braxton. Maybe that’s why he was afraid of her.

“Pussy,” I muttered when I caught Braxton making her way over to us while carrying a tray topped with our drinks.

None of us said a word as she set our drinks on the table along with a basket of bread. “Can I start you off with something to sample, or would you like more time to look over the menu?”

Although most of the six menu choices looked foreign even to me, we each rambled off what we wanted. Somehow this world had gotten even more pretentious since I was kicked out of it years ago, and I didn’t think that was possible.

“Okay, I’ll be back—”

“Wait,” Rich interrupted before she could run off again. “Stay.”

Braxton shifted from one foot to the other before chewing on her plump lower lip. “I can’t. I’m working.”

“We obviously know that,” I reminded her. “That’s why we’re here.”

“So you purposely came to distract me from my job? You do realize I almost got fired.”

“In our defense, no one made you be a bitch,” Houston piped in, making me wince. He was definitely the pot in this scenario, but I said nothing since we were on the same side for once.

“Excuse me?” Braxton blinked as she took a step back from the table. It was hard to believe she was that appalled.

“You heard me.”

“You ambushed me. Again. What did you expect?”

“Hi?” Houston suggested with a smirk. He was in rare form today since his weapon of choice was indifference. “Maybe hello?”

Nostrils flaring, Braxton stormed off without another word.

“Could have gone better,” I mused out loud. “This next round, I’m going to try to get her in my lap. Think she’ll go for it?”

Houston and Rich both looked at me and spoke at the same time. “Shut up, Loren.”

Thirty minutes later, Braxton returned with our food, but she didn’t give us time to apologize or make things worse before she stormed off again. A starry-eyed waiter refilled our drinks minutes later, and we took turns signing his notepad at his request before he practically skipped away. Braxton still hadn’t shown her face by the time we were done eating.

“What I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger right now,” I said after I topped off my fish that was smaller than my fist. The food cost so much they didn’t even bother to list the prices. Apparently, if you had to ask, you had no business dining here.

“Do you think she left?” Rich asked the moment he swallowed the last of his food. At that moment, Braxton appeared, her face flushed and coated with sweat like she’d just run a mile. I noticed her dress was wrinkled at the hem, making me frown. “Are you okay?” he asked when she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

“Yes. My apologies. Would you like dessert?”

“Are you on the menu?” I flirted.

“You shouldn’t ask questions you already know the answer to. Shall I bring the checks?”

“Rich got it,” I answered. Since this was his idea, he could pay for the fucking food. Braxton looked at him for confirmation, to which he gave with a nod of his head. She scurried off, and like all the times before, I watched her go. I wondered if she knew that dress was tight enough to tell that she was no longer wearing panties.

Oh, hell yeah.