Cannon (Carolina Reapers 5)

The guys glanced at each other as if they were privy to some secret.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’re all going to stand here like a bunch of moping matchmakers until you have your say, so just say it.” I rested my elbows on my knees and settled in for one of their life-is-great-when-you’re-in-love pep talks that they usually gave each other.

“You actually want our opinions?” Noble asked as he climbed out of the leg press.

“No, but I know that’s not going to stop you from giving them to me, so feel free.” Maybe if I sat through this shit once, they’d leave me alone to deal with it.

“I think you should give it a try,” Axel stated with a nod.

Every head turned his direction, and most had the same disbelieving look of what the fuck that I did.

“I’m sorry, but you think that giant, scary-ass man should stay married to the cute, fragile-looking woman who runs our charitable foundation?” Lukas questioned.

“I do.” He stood there with his arms folded across his chest, confident in his statement. “Look, I’m the only man in this room who had a quickie wedding—under some really false pretenses, I might add—and look how we ended up? I fucking love my wife and wouldn’t change a thing about how we got to this point.”

“Right, but you wanted that marriage,” Noble argued. “You were the one who asked Langley for it, if I remember correctly. You didn’t just wake up married to the woman and think, well, let’s make the best of it.”

“If I had woken up next to Langley—” Sterling started with a smirk.

“Don’t finish that fucking sentence,” Axel warned, leveling a glare on the kid.

“I’m with Noble on this one, Cannon,” Connell said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “That lass is no match for you.”

“Hey, she’s not exactly weak,” Logan countered.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Connell argued. “She’s sweet and kind, and he’s…” He gestured at me.

“The surliest bastard on the entire planet?” Lukas offered.

“Exactly.” Connell nodded. “I think you’re making the right decision with an annulment. I say set the lass free before you hurt her, because whether you mean to or not, she’s going to get scraped up.”

He was right, which was exactly the reason I’d called my lawyer in the first place.

“Oh, come on. Do you see the way they look at each other?” Sterling stepped into the fray.

The group muttered.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked since no one wanted to offer an answer to that ridiculous question.

“He’s right.” Axel nodded. “When you two aren’t fighting over something ridiculous, or generally pissing each other off, you do…well…look at each other.”

My gaze narrowed on the man, and he had the nerve to grin at me.

“She looks at you like you’re… I don’t know. I guess a mixture of devil and dessert,” Sterling said with a shrug. “When you’re not looking, of course.”

“Right? Like that time she fell into his lap on the plane?” Logan added.

“You’re not helping my cause here,” I told my best friend.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“And sorry to tell you, but you look at her like you’re torn between worshipping her and carrying her off to worship her, if you get my meaning,” Sterling said. “You know, in the hot, sweaty way of—”

“We get it!” Lukas shouted. “Christ, you’re talking about a woman we work with.”

“A hot woman we work with,” Sterling muttered. “And it’s not like I was saying that I wanted to—”

“Enough.” I shot a glare at the kid to make sure he understood my meaning.

“Are we talking about the sudden marriage of one Cannon Price to Persephone VanDoren?” Sawyer asked as he walked into the weight room. “Because I can hear that shit all the way down the hall.”

Great, now I had to listen to the resident newlywed weigh in.

“You have an opinion?” Noble asked him.

“Me?” Sawyer’s eyebrows shot up. “Hell no. Cannon, I love you like a brother, and you deserve to be happy. Persephone is pretty fucking awesome, but if she isn’t the one, and this is really some giant fuck-up, then exit with grace, my man.” He took a seat on the bench across from mine.

“And do you have an opinion?” I asked Logan as he stood beside me, just like he always did.

He sighed and ripped his hand across his hair. “Honestly, you know I’m going to back whatever decision you make. That’s my job as your friend.”

“And I appreciate that. But if everyone in here is giving me their best Dr. Phil, I wouldn’t mind hearing your actual thoughts.” I’m not sure how I managed to say it, but I did. The more they all talked, the higher my blood pressure spiked.

“I think you guys have something. I think we’ve all seen it since that first moment you met, and we’ve watched you two dance around each other for almost two years. You want to explore that? Cool. There are six men in here who will testify that our happiness is dependent on the way we feel about our women.”