The guard nodded and stepped aside.
“Come on, love,” Cade told the hesitating Kylie. Wide-eyed, she followed him in.
Down below, he could already hear strains of conversation. Maylee’s thick southern drawl was mixed in with Gretchen’s louder, more boisterous tones to the right of the stairs. To the left, he could hear Reese smugly announcing his hand of cards. They’d already started without him. That was fine—he knew he and Kylie were late. And as they came down the stairs, he grinned at the changes below.
The men’s enormous basement room had been neatly halved. A wall had been erected on one side of the room, and the women’s voices could be heard from that newly created room. The walls of the men’s room had been painted a dark Kelly green, and inside the new “women’s room” he saw the walls were a fresh baby pink. An identical card table with six chairs had been placed in the new room, and he could see the alcohol and refreshments cart in their room, just like in the men’s.
They’d given the ladies their own club, so they could quit crashing the men’s. Everyone was delighted at the thought.
But before he turned Kylie over to the women, he wanted her to meet the guys. His brothers. So, squeezing her hand to reassure her, he led her down toward the table where the men were seated.
At the sight of them, five chairs scraped back and the men stood. Cade felt proud at the sight of his friends—here were five of the most influential men in the world, and they were standing up to greet Kylie and smiling. Smiling at her, though he noticed Reese had eyed her figure appreciatively. He’d have to knock Reese in the head for that, he thought with good-natured jealousy.
“Boys, this is Kylie. Kylie, these are my brothers.”
She gave them a shy, charming smile. “Hello.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Logan began, only to be interrupted by a feminine cry.
“They’re here,” Cade heard Gretchen bellow. “Everyone out! We need to meet the fresh meat.”
The women piled into the now-smaller men’s card room, and from there, things were a little chaotic for the next half hour. He introduced Kylie to his friends one pair at a time. There was Hunter and Gretchen, who insisted on going first (Gretchen more so than Hunter). He could tell that Kylie felt awkward meeting Gretchen, who looked extremely similar to Daphne, but when Gretchen gave her a bear hug and squealed with delight at meeting “Cade’s new boo,” he saw Kylie visibly relax. Then, he introduced Kylie to Maylee and Griffin, because Maylee’s sweet southern charm made her easy to talk to, and Griffin had unstarched quite a bit since meeting her. Brontë, Logan’s new wife, then gave some pithy quote about friendship, and Violet and Jonathan were polite and friendly. Jonathan gave Cade a knowing, approving look at the sight of Kylie. Jonathan knew all about Cade’s long-term despair over the Daphne situation, and it was clear he approved that Cade had moved on.
Then, Reese and heavily pregnant Audrey came forward. Kylie did a double take at the sight of Audrey, who held up a hand. “I know. I get that from some people,” she said wryly. “We’re twins.”
“I just . . . Oh.” Kylie bit her lip and looked at him helplessly. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“You sure?” Audrey said. “It’s probably awkward as hell, considering that my sister beaned you with a flowerpot. Cade told us all about it.”
“She wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” Kylie said, her voice gentle. “I don’t hold it against her.”
“Which is why you’re a better person than me,” Audrey said, and patted her belly. “Can we all sit down now? My back is killing me.”
“Of course,” Cade said, and rushed into the ladies’ side of the basement to get Audrey’s chair for her.
The women headed back into their room, all chattering. Maylee had already linked arms with Kylie’s and was exclaiming over her hair and makeup, and Gretchen was talking up a storm. Kylie was still smiling, but it wasn’t the helpless, unsure smile. She looked at ease.
“Thanks for bringing her, Cade.” Audrey said as she settled into her chair. “I’m so glad to see you settled and happy. I almost thought Daphne was going to keep you miserable and strung along for the rest of your life.”
“I almost thought that, too,” Cade admitted. “Then I met Kylie, and everything changed overnight.”
Audrey’s expression softened, and she smiled. “Just like me and Reese.”
“Just like,” he agreed, grinning. He moved to the far side of the table and gave Kylie—who was now wedged in between Maylee and Gretchen—a kiss. “Will you be all right? Can I get you anything?”
“She’s fine,” Gretchen said, waving a hand at him. “Quit being a helicopter boyfriend.”
Kylie stifled a grin. “I am fine. Thank you, love.” She beamed up at him. “Go and have fun.”
“All right,” Audrey said as he exited the room. “First order of the Ladies Club—changing the color of this room.”
“Hear hear,” Gretchen said. “Who the hell decided pink?”
Chuckling, Cade shut the door behind them.
“A ladies club is genius,” Griffin said as Cade sat in his customary chair between Reese and Jonathan. “I always felt bad leaving Maylee at home, knowing I’d be out late with the boys.”
“And now we can finally play cards in peace,” Jonathan agreed.
Just then, a raucous shout arose from the women’s room. “Bras off if you lose,” Gretchen shouted. “Ante up, bitches!”