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“Oh. My. Dear. Sweet. Lord.” Now was not the time for

Amy to melt in her seat, but she pretty much did anyway.

Great. Now she’d be visiting just because the very scary

bodyguard made her hot and bothered.

Sweet dear lord pretty much summed up everything Haley

felt when Snake’s hand closed around her upper arm, and she

was hauled out of her seat. His fingers were like a claw,

unrelenting, yet it didn’t actually hurt. He said nothing, but his

face was a mask of pure menace.

“Snake, I’d like you to meet my friends,” Haley stammered.

The story she’d planned flew out of her in bits and pieces and

sounded like total bullshit. Snake grabbed for her smoothie,

and it was clear that they were leaving. All she could do was

smile at Elva and Amy to assure them that she was okay. “I’d

better go. I’ll text you guys later.” She’d text them details

about when to come over. The idea had taken root and she

liked it. She liked it very much.

Elva looked like she wanted to take Snake on herself. She

was fearless enough to do it. Amy gave him fluttery eyelashes

and a lovesick, please sir, spank me look. It made Haley want

to gag, but then she remembered how the same image of

Claire doing things to her made her so weak in the knees that

day on the beach that she’d had to dive back into the water just

so the rush of cold would give her some clarity.

She waved at her friends and let Snake usher her out of the

food court. He might as well have been her grandma, putting

her hand on her arm when she was a little girl to guide her

around. Now, she often led her grandma that way, taking care,

making sure she never fell when it was icy out.

A sudden wave of homesickness washed over Haley. She’d