He grabbed the dog’s leash from her and clipped the latch onto Penelope’s collar. “Right. You’re going to be punished for that lie. I think a good fucking should do.”
“I thought you said I was going to get punished.” She snickered and opened the truck door, all the while her mind playing the naughty reel of Sean, naked, smacking her ass with a riding crop, or even better, one of those leather floggers. Yeah, she thought, she could definitely go for that.
Sean helped the dog out of the truck and grabbed the duffels from behind the seat. “Did I mention it was going to be in front of Eric and Ron?”
Well, that made her stop in her flip-flops. He wouldn’t! “You’d better—”
“Hey, guys!” Ron shouted as he came jogging across the grassy front lawn. “Need help with anything?”
Sean heaved the heavy duffel bags over one shoulder. “No, we’re good.”
Ron was shirtless too. Abigail tried not to laugh as she watched Sean’s jaw clench tight. He sneaked a peek over her way. Didn’t he know Ron was like a brother to her? For that matter, Eric was too. The fact that they were a very-in-love couple and very gay didn’t seem to faze Sean at all. “Where should we set up our tents?”
“How about next to ours? Eric set our stuff up over there. This is going to be fun, just like when we were little and would camp out in the backyard. I haven’t done this in years.” Ron pointed to a small alcove of trees. The spot looked perfect, secluded but not bear-snatching territory.
“That looks perfect!” Abigail reached into the bed of the truck to start unloading.
“It’s okay.” They both looked over at Sean. “I’ll get that stuff. You just relax. Here, take the girl, and I’ll unload the truck.”
Abigail took the leash from Sean and watched as he loaded up his other arm with the tent bag. The tank top he wore hung loose over his hard stomach but clung tight to his bulging chest. The effort to lift the items from the truck bed didn’t go unnoticed by Ron either. His eyes popped out as he studied Sean’s tight physique. Okay, so it was her turn to get jealous.
“Stop it!” She slapped Ron’s arm. “Stop ogling him!” Sean, who seemed oblivious to Ron’s blatant appreciation of his body, stopped only briefly, then continued to unload the items onto the lawn. “Come on. Let’s go get this feast started. Did you get the meat from the butcher?”
“Everything’s inside,” Ron said.
As they made their way across the front lawn to the cabin, Abigail looked over her shoulder. Eric had come over to help Sean haul their things over to where they were going to set up camp.
“Since when did you care if I fantasize about one of the performers?” Ron walked up the steps onto the long front porch. “Are you that hung up on this guy?”
“Since he’s not a performer anymore, and yes, I guess I’m kind of hung up on the guy. I don’t know, I just feel possessive, I guess.”
“If he’s not a performer anymore, then what is he?” Ron opened the screen door so she and Penelope could go inside.
“He’s going to be my accountant and financial advisor. Hopefully.” Abigail bit at a loose hangnail on her thumb. “How do you feel about that?”
“Accountant? He seems like a really smart guy. I think that’d be a good idea to bring him on board, but are you sure it’s just for business?”
Abigail leaned down and unlatched the leash from the dog collar. “Just don’t go looking him over again, okay? And, yes, it’s just for business.”
“Got it, boss lady. So it’s safe to say it’s more than just for business, then.”
The smell of musty cigar smoke wafted through the cabin, reminding Abigail of Carl. Ron looked over at Abigail and smiled. “I’ve got the ribs marinating. I made my homemade barbecue sauce, but it’s going to burn if we don’t turn it down. You get to stirring the sauce, and I’ll start making the potato salad.”
As she sauntered by, Ron gave her ass a hard whack. She jumped and scurried over to the kitchen. As she stirred the homemade barbecue sauce, she couldn’t wipe the grin from her face. Yes, it was more than business.
* * * *
The sweet mesquite scents coming from the huge smoker made Abigail’s mouth water. She’d watched Eric, in his Kiss the Cook apron, slap the burgers and hot dogs on the grill. Like a star on Top Chef, he’d slathered the barbecue sauce on the meat, then gone over to the table to finish wrapping tin foil around the ears of corn. He really did have a gift for cooking out-of-doors. She tried to help with the corn on the cob, but he wasn’t having it. He slapped her hands away and sent her off to make the iced tea.