“Oh my god, your house smells like heaven.”

Bex smiled over her shoulder at Emma, who had let herself in the front door. “You mean ‘bacon.’”

“Same same.”

“Well, I’m glad you approve.”

Bex pulled a baking sheet of bacon out of the oven and carefully drained the strips on a mass of paper towels. The best way to make bacon, in her personal opinion, was to bake it. You still got to control just how crispy it came out, but you could make a huge batch at once without having your kitchen splattered like a crime scene.

“Hand me that serving tray, will you?” She nodded her head in the direction of a tray as big as her arm.

Emma slid it onto the counter next to the steaming waffle maker, and Bex arranged the bacon on one side of the tray, with a fresh batch of Belgian waffles on the other.

Emma leaned her face over the tray and took a deep inhale. “Can I just say—you can cook for me any day?”

Bex grinned. “Once a week, at least.” Every Sunday she had an open door policy for lunch: all you can eat waffles and bacon. The meal was scheduled later than brunch to allow for her friends in the booze industries to recover from any late nights, but the menu was unchanging. Because who didn’t like waffles and bacon? Guests brought their own side dishes and toppings, and people didn’t roll out until three p.m. Every now and then lunch turned into dinner, and that was the magic of it.

Bex had found that Sunday lunch was one way to keep her community going. In Las Vegas, it was easy for people to get caught up in work or not want to go out. Her job wasn’t in the tourism or alcohol industries like was the standard in this town, but most of her friends worked in service positions. For people like Sam and Aderyn and Colton, when your job was going out, sometimes you just wanted to stay in.

At Bex’s house, they could all stay in together.

“That should do it.” Bex shut off the oven and lifted the serving tray, bracing its weight against her hip.

Emma trailed her down the hall toward the dining room. “Where the hell are Colton and your brother?” she asked.

“No Colton, today. But Sam’s puttering around in the yard.” You couldn’t call the patch of desert out back a yard by conventional standards, but every now and then, when it wasn’t a hundred and twenty degrees, it was pretty bearable.

“Okay, I’ll go grab him.” Emma started toward the door, but paused in the dining room and tsked. “Oh, Bex.”

Bex followed her friend’s gaze. “What?”

“You need to get rid of that collection.”

“You mean my sex toy cabinet?” She’d inherited her grandmother’s china cabinet, but seeing as how she had a lack of china to put in it, she thought the toys were much more appropriate. It was like a display case of all her awards.

“Dude,” Emma said. “You realize every one of those vibrators is like a blow to a guy’s ego. Each one says, ‘I don’t need you.’”

“I don’t.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “That’s not the point. How can anyone not be intimidated by the Wall of Judgement? Each one is like a record of a different way he can fail.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“That’s why I’m here. Speaking of which, are you going to see Gabe again?”

Bex flashed on the image of Gabe’s face when he hadn’t known who Sam was. Getting territorial was cute in a caveman type of way. But still.

“Why are we still talking about him?” Bex set the tray of food onto her dining table and slid into a chair.

Emma gave her a knowing look. “Because you’re still thinking about him.”

She had to admit she was. It was distracting, really, which is why she’d known he would be a bad idea in the first place. All week she’d been trying to perfect the design for a couple’s vibrator, and she couldn’t get it quite right. She’d hoped that her time with Gabe could have at least been useful, but no. Her mind was too frazzled by her orgasms to remember what exactly she had liked about having sex with him.

No—that was a lie.

Bex liked everything about having sex with him, from the way he groaned into her ear to the way his fingers trailed like fire over her skin. And those things were hard to translate into a toy.

Emma lifted an eyebrow when Bex didn’t protest. “I knew it! So, you’re going to see him again.”

She shook her head. “Probably not.”

Emma made a face. “But why? He’s gorgeous, and he clearly likes you. He even helped you win at trivia.”

“That was pretty fun. The look on his face when he nailed the question? Priceless.”

Emma’s eyes gleamed. “So go have lots of sex with him and get inspired. For Sam.”

“What are we doing for Sam?” Bex’s brother and Aderyn had emerged from the yard, kicking in a halo of sunlight with them.

Emma smiled. “We are having sex with Gabe again.”

“Dear god,” Sam grumbled. “I’ve told you so many times I don’t want to hear about your love life.” He gestured at the collection of vibrators and dildos. “It’s bad enough I have to stare at these when I’m enjoying my waffles.”

“They’re my prize products,” Bex said.

“No, Bex, they’re awards for masturbating.”

“That’s not entirely true. I design toys for the masses, not for myself. I have to keep a huge range of body types and desires in mind.” She shot her brother a teasing look. “Anyway, if you’d rather host lunch, you wouldn’t need to look at my collection. I’d even let you borrow mom’s waffle maker. Or you could get really wild and make pancakes.”

Emma laughed and forked two waffles onto her plate. “So back to sex with Gabe…”

Bex smiled at her friend. It was too much fun to ruffle Sam’s feathers.

Sam slumped into a chair and filled his own plate. “Again with the dating people thing.”

“It’s okay,” Aderyn said, shushing her husband. “I want to hear about Bex’s sex life. But why is it for Sam?”

Bex and Emma shared a look. “Because if I win this toy design contest,” Bex said, “there’s prize money involved. And I’m planning to put it toward your adoption fund. I want to be the best auntie ever.”

Aderyn pressed a shaky hand to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. “Are you serious?”

Bex shrugged because it was easier than crying. Adoption, for her brother and Aderyn, had been a long time coming. “I mean, yeah. It’s not a ton of money, but it can only help.”

Aderyn walked around the table and wrapped her in a hug. “You are the best sister-in-law ever. And you go right on ahead and have sex with whoever you want if it helps you win.”

Bex squeezed her back. “Thanks, Dare.”

They were all going to dissolve into a puddle of tears, but Sam broke in. “Say ‘sex’ one more time, and I’m going to take my waffles out back.”

Aderyn pulled herself together with a laugh. “Suit yourself.” She returned to her chair, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

Emma stacked a strip of bacon between two waffles. “All I’m saying,” she said, cutting into her stack, “is why not see Gabe again? Isn’t it tiring to keep dating new people?”

Emma was right. Going out and putting on a show to get a guy to come home with her could be exhausting. But Bex liked sex—she wanted it and needed it. And if she needed to extrovert herself into an orgasm, she would make it happen.

Bex forked a waffle onto her plate and avoided Emma’s eyes. “Well, yes, Miss Resident Matchmaker. But I’m also a little cursed. So there’s that.”

Emma covered Bex’s hand with her her own and squeezed. “You are not cursed.”

“I’ve only ever had the people I love get sick. My dad, Sam.” She glanced at her brother. “No offense to you, Sam.”

“None taken. But you’re not cursed. You’re human, and you’ve had shit go wrong. There’s a difference.”

Bex sighed. “Well, fine. Even if I am human, you have to admit I don’t always have the best track record when it comes to other humans. It’s probably safer for everyone if I don’t get too attached.” She offered Emma a weak smile. “I mean, you’d be better off staying away from me, too, but you’re too damn stubborn to stop.”

Emma grinned. “It’s one of my charms. And I’ll take my chances. Anyway, I’m not saying you have to marry the guy. Maybe just have some fun.” She pointed at Bex with her fork, her eyes bright. “It’s also my duty as Quality Control Manager to remind you that in life there is almost always room for improvement, and that includes in your attitude.”

Bex reached for the maple syrup and poured it over her waffle so an equal amount of syrup filled each square. Gabe had been fun the first night, and he was fun at Trivia Night. But her life was pretty awesome without him, too. She had a kick-ass job and a great group of friends. She didn’t need more complications.

“Fun is an excellent idea,” Aderyn agreed. “Especially if it’s for a good cause.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Bex frowned and licked a dash of syrup from the edge of her thumb. Maybe Emma and Dare were right, but she needed more evidence before she’d act.