Acquiring Trouble

about his gun-toting wife, getting a smile out of Ahmed.
    “I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way about a woman. I’m enjoying my freedom, thank you very much , ” Pierce said as he picked up his cards. “However, when Miles gets married I’m calling dibs on hosting the bachelor party.”
    “Speaking of Miles getting married, how’s Morgan?” Marshall asked with a grin a s the men at the table laughed.
    “There’s nothing going on with us.” Miles took another sip of his bourbon and hoped that would put an end to the discussion, but he knew better. It had only begun.
    “Yea, nothin ’ going on when you were at her hotel for two hours the other morning,” Noodle snic kered.
    “Thanks for keeping that quiet , Marshall . I didn’t tell them about Ruffles attacking you when you climbed into Katelyn’s window that one night. Death by poodl e, very manly. I don’t know how you made it out alive,” Miles shot back.
    “Hey, I had to put it in the police report. You were her, um, alibi, ” Marshall laughed.
    “ You know, I think Morgan is perfect for you. You need some excitement. She’ll be just like my Dani and keep you on your toes.” Mo tossed another chip on the table and Cole cursed, folding his hand.
    “S he’s very attractive. But, why is everyone so scared of her? I’ve ru n a background check and th e only thing remotely interes ting is the horse tattoo she has on her lower back,” Ahmed said casual ly as he raised his boss’s bet.
    “How do you know about that?” Miles almost leapt across the table at the thought of som eone else seeing Morgan’s body.
    Ahmed just smiled and Miles took a deep breath. They were teasing him. It’s what guys did. So instead of putting his fist through Ahmed’s face, Miles just smiled and put his cards on the table.
    “I believe the pot is mine.” Miles grinned and raked in his winnings.
     
    As the players started to drop out, they talked about Noodle’s girlfriend who had asked him to accompany her to the Doctor’s Ball. Mo gave him advice on small talk and Pierce mumbled something about th em not having strippers either.
    “ How is you new house coming, Pierce?” Cole asked after he lost another hand.
    “It’s coming a long. The property is run down. I’m in the process of demo lish ing the house. Selling off the fixtures and whatnots to some of the antique stores. As soon as that is torn down, I can st art building the new house. I’ ve only cleared about 8 acres so far for farmland. It’s so overgrown that it’s taking forever to get ready for crops. Hopefully next year it’ll be in condition for me to move in and start planting .”
    “Mayb e you can have your twenty-seventh birthday par ty out there. Strippers and all,” Miles stated dryly. “All teasing aside, we’re proud of you little bro.”
    “Aw! You’re growing up!” Cade grabbed him and ran his knuckles over Pierce’s head as he squirmed. “What are you laughing at, Mo?” Cade let go of his brother and Mi les watched as Mo ’s grin widened.
    “ I’m simply imagining if I did that to one of my brothers at the palace. My father would be horrified.”
    “How are your royal duties going?” Marshall asked as he tossed a chip in the center of the table. Mo was so down to earth most of the time they all forgot he was a prince.
    Mo played with a chip and l ooked at his hand before tossing out his chips . “My father is in grand preparations for when he gets his heir at the end of the summer . H e wants to send me around the world to represent the family at conferences. He believes that with me living in the United States it shows other countries, especially English speaking countries, that Rahmi is the better choice to do business with than some oth er countries in the Middle East . As an expectant father, he thinks they’ll find me less intimidating now. ”
    “That’s rough. Will Dani go with you?” Cole asked as he sat back from the ta ble after losing his last chip.
    “Some. She’ll go to New York City with me when I speak to the United Nations, but from there she’ll come home and I’ll be on my way to Belgium to meet with the European Union. I don’t want her traveling too much in her condition. She’s not quite ten weeks so I want to keep everything as stress - free and normal as possible. ”
    “It ’s very ex c iting. I’d love to see all those places. I wonder what kind of fishing you d o in Belgium?” Noodle pondered.
    “It sounds