Tamed by Love (Agent Lovers Series Book 2) by Harper Steen, Lesley Schuldt Page A

bra from the table and disappeared again. Shaking his head he looked after her.
    “Actually, we should have figured they would try to pull something on him,” Chris said as he pushed the cards together on the table and put them back in the pack.
    “Next time we should leave Jeff here. He can deal better with their shenanigans.” Gray lit the grill and went into the kitchen to get the steaks.
    “Have you seen Terence?” Jeff cautiously peered out of the patio door and looked around.
    “He’s getting dressed now. But it would probably be best if you just give him the camera, otherwise he’ll probably nail your scalp to the wall,” Gray said.
    But Jeff just shook his head as he stepped onto the patio. “If he wants, he can get a couple prints. But I’ll never give up this camera! It’s my favorite disposable.” Then he sat down at the table, stretched his legs casually in front of him and watched Gray, who was flipping over fantastic smelling steaks. A moment later, Jeff caught the meat fork his brother had thrown to him and watched Gray disappear into the house.
    As Gray climbed the stairs, he prepared to play the lion tamer. The testy “What?” he heard when he knocked, confirmed his suspicion. Gray took a deep breath before he opened the door and looked at Terence. “Have you calmed down yet?”
    “I keep asking myself how you put up with her.” Terence was still angry. “Did she ever pull something like that over on you?”
    “Trick me? Make me look silly? No. But if she had tried, she wouldn’t have succeeded.”
    “Why not?”
    “The two of them probably, well, let’s just say, cheated.”
    “You mean I was screwed the whole time?”
    “Probably. Most likely even.” When he saw Terence’s outraged face, he couldn’t suppress a laugh anymore.
    “I’ll get them for that!” Terence said and put on some clean jeans with a jerky movement. “And I’ll get Jeff too!”
    “You can torture him until the cows come home. He’ll never give you the camera. But he said you could have a couple prints.”
    For a moment, Terence’s bleak face looked almost sinister. Then a smile flashed across his face. “Did I look that bad in their things?”
    “The color of the skirt looked really good on you. But the shirt? If I were you, I wouldn’t put it on again.”
    “I hardly think Liz will be able to wear it anymore.” He took the stretched out shirt from the bed and threw it at Gray, who caught it with one hand. Terence grabbed the dark green, wildly-patterned skirt and followed Gray out. In front of the door, neatly folded and stacked, lay the things he had lost to Liz and Jennifer. He picked up the pile and threw it toward the bed before he went downstairs with Gray.
    Liz and Jennifer were sitting at the table, which was already set, and looked at him with angelic expressions. He understood they had very deliberately made a fool of him and Jennifer had very likely put on a skirt for good reason. Terence narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between both women and Chris and Gray, frowning. Gray shrugged as if saying, “See, I told you so!” Terence sat across from Liz and Jennifer and glared. Chris and Gray sat down next to their wives and left the chair next to Terence empty for Jeff.
    “Considering you’ve already suffered a lot today, you get the largest steak,” Jeff announced patronizingly, and put a monstrous piece of meat on Terence’s plate. Jeff ignored the poisonous look and smiled.
    “For dessert, I want that camera, or your head!”
    “Oh no! The next time we have a meeting I’m going to have it made into a poster and hang it in the entrance so everyone can see what you do in your spare time.” Then he quickly hid behind his brother when Terence jumped up in a rage.
    “Tell him he should give me the camera right now, otherwise there’ll be a bloodbath in here!” Terence said to Gray, his hands balled into fists.
    “Jeff!” Gray warned. “Don’t get carried