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Cash chuckled. “I want to take out any man who’s ever thought of you naked, much less seen you, if that helps.”
He inched back to his seat, studying her warm eyes and the way her flushed cheeks screamed that she wanted more than their roadside make-out. Both of his hands were needed on the steering wheel, or they’d never make it back onto the road. He took a deep breath. Her breath mirrored his from the passenger seat. Their matching cadence slowed to normal. He didn’t know about Nic, but he was always catching his breath when she was around.
“Sugar shouldn’t have that ammo.” Nicola rearranged her seatbelt.
Nope, she was always thinking about the job around him.That’s just marvelous.Someone out there would commend her. He’d rather she stayed hot and bothered and thinking of him, but that’d make the meeting with her handler a-w-k-w-a-r-d.
“She shouldn’t. I know. But she’s on the up and up, so there’s something more to it.” Cash sighed, sitting up and shifting into drive. “Looks like you and Sugar are headed for a sit down. I’ll referee.”
“Let’s bring Rocco too. At this point, I think he’d be upset if he couldn’t watch.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The sun was blinding bright. Nicola shuffled through her purse for her sunglasses. They were in a little Coach case that matched her little Coach purse. Maybe camouflaged was a better word than matched because she couldn’t find the flippin’ thing.
Cash walked through the parking lot with her. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He didn’t seem like the wander-around-the-mall type, but he’d insisted on driving, so he was stuck there. His activities for the next hour or so weren’t her problem. Where were her sunglasses?
“Looking for these?”
“Yes!” She reached for them, and he held them high overhead. She jumped but still couldn’t reach them. “Please. Give them to me.”
“Are you still worked up about everything?”
“No.” She jumped again. “Damn it, Cash. Give them to me already.”
“I don’t believe you.” But he lowered the case to a snagging height. Jumping up again, she was almost nose to nose with him. His peppery scent flooded her senses, reviving memories of him in bed. Everything paused, and then her hand felt the fabric case, and life sped back up again.
“Why do you have my stuff?” This wasn’t at all what she was worked up over.
“It just fell out of that black hole draped over your shoulder.”
Why was she so nervous and twitchy? Oh yeah, because unless Cash found somewhere to wander off to, she was going to have to make introductions. There was no telling what would come out of Beth’s mouth, especially after Nicola’d mentioned on the phone that Cashmaybehad a girlfriend. And how Nicola hadmaybeshown off the little lacy number.
Beth waved at her from the patio at P.F. Chang’s. Nicola’s fingers tapped along with the nervous drumbeat in her head. Fifty yards and closing in on Question-Mageddon. Instead of a world-ending battle, Nicola expected an interrogation worthy of drop-dead-embarrassment. Or defensiveness. Hell, probably both.
Waving back to Beth, Nic turned to Cash and gave him a thanks-for-the-ride-see-you-later smile. He cheesed it back and stuck with her.
Twenty-five yards out.
She could ditch him. She had to. Beth had a cocktail in her hand. Cash had to go elsewhere, pronto. There was no telling if this was Beth’s first or third, and after their thirsty throw down at her apartment, it didn’t matter if it was only the first drink. The woman was primed to pry. Maybe she’d just push Cash and run.
“Cash, we’re going to talk about girl stuff.” He kept the slow pace, not moving from her side, and looking totally aware she wanted him gone like last week’s garbage. “Like tampons and Spanx. You want nothing—”
“Girl, if you were into getting spanked, all you had to do was—”
“Spanx.Spay-nhxx. With an X. They’re undergarments. Tummy suckers. Fat smoothers.”
“None of which you have. That’ll be a quick convo. Besides, I met Beth for a second at the Farm. She seemed like fun.”
Fun? Try ready to incite a social disaster.“We have important personal stuff to talk about, and you’re not invited.”
“You’re going to talk bedrooms and the Bullet? Or is that the Rabbit? I can never keep up with you girls and your toys.”
“Cash,” she hissed, abandoning the slow crawl and daring him to keep pace with her Olympic-speed race walk.
His long legs ate asphalt, easily keeping up with a casual amble. Ten yards out, and she hadn’t scared Cash away yet.
Shit.