Page 27 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

“Here,” Jack’s voice said beside me as he held up a cocktail of some kind. “ You look like you could use one of these.”

I wiped the corners of my eyes, careful not to smear my mascara, and thanked Jack , who was standing next to Archer . I was about to show Jack the card my granddad had given me, but my granddad spoke up to all of us.

“Jack, good to see you,” he said then turned to Archer . “ Second -best, sorry not sorry it didn’t work out with you and my granddaughter.”

Both men chuckled at his comment before Archer spoke. “ Not a problem. I think it worked out just how it was supposed to in the long run.”

The fact that Archer felt like Jack and I were meant to be together felt a bit weird. How could he be so sure of that? Especially when I wasn’t even sure of it yet.

“Inclined to agree with ya on that,” Granddad replied. “ Alright , I’m headin’ out. This place is getting’ too busy for my taste.”

He turned to me and gave me a hug. “ Have a good night, and enjoy yourself.”

“I will,” I replied, hugging him back. “ Thanks for coming.”

He didn’t respond, just nodded before he walked out. When I turned back, it was to see Archer gone and now talking to Wade and Axel , but Jack was still right next to me.

“Is it something he said to you, or what’s in that card that has you all choked up?” Jack asked quietly.

“He got me another dog,” I told him and watched the small smile on his face drop briefly before his neutral face came back.

“Another one?” he asked. “ When do we pick this one up?”

His question was simple, but there was a deeper meaning to it. There were no questions about how would I take care of two dogs or anything else. Not only that, but that he would be along for the ride and ready to help out.

I found myself getting emotional again at his response. Maybe I needed to lay off the drinks. I’d only had two, but clearly they were turning me into an emotional basket case.

“It’s more like a gift certificate,” I explained to him. “ He basically prepaid for me to get another one, but I can take my time picking one out.”

His small smile returned as he looked at me. “ That’s good.”

I hadn’t missed the look on Jack’s face when I had originally come into the room.

Our eyes met and he had smiled at me, but he didn’t come up to me right away.

Instead , he waited until now, when I wasn’t surrounded by so many people.

And , even then, I think he only intervened because he saw me getting emotional.

He leaned in to me, putting his hand on my hip and whispered into my ear. “ Happy birthday, firecracker.”

As he pulled away, I lifted my eyebrow at the use of his new nickname he’d called me “ Firecracker ?”

Instead of answering, though, he just continued on. “ You look really nice tonight,” he said quietly then leaned in to kiss my cheek. “ Go enjoy time with your friends.”

After that, he walked away.

He didn’t say another word to me all night, but his eyes found me anytime I looked over at him. I found it both nice and uncomfortable that he was always looking at me.

I was sitting at the end of the table with Tammy , Val , Cat , Delia , and Ellie talking mostly about wedding plans for Ellie and the bachelorette party, but Val decided she was ready to move on to a new topic.

“What’s he like in bed?” Val asked, which caused Ellie to choke on her drink.

Going for both brutal honesty and also to make her laugh, I gave it to her straight. “ I don’t know. We’ve never actually made it to a bed. But the wall sex, couch sex, and counter sex have all been great.”

Both Val’s and Cat’s jaws dropped open while Ellie made a gagging noise. Delia chuckled, and Tammy cackled loudly from beside us.

“Girl, you’re my spirit animal,” Tammy said. “ I wanna be you when I grow up.”

I laughed since Tammy was not only older than me by nearly two decades, but that she wanted to be more like me based off my sex life.

Not really wanting to talk about Jack , especially knowing he was in the same room, I decided to change the subject.

We chatted more about Val’s new job, Delia’s mom, and Tammy’s date she had gone on the other night. It was a few more drinks before everyone started to make their way home for the night, but I’d had a great time.

When Jack came to collect me to go home, I found myself a little tipsier than I had originally thought I was.

That had to be why I couldn’t stop staring at him.

He had on a faded black tee and a nice worn pair of jeans that clung to his body like they were tailored for him.

He also had a leather jacket over top and that sexy grin he always seemed to give me whenever I would look at him.

God , he was so handsome—not just his looks, but his entire aura.

His confidence was off the charts, but I found I liked it.

His scruffy beard reminded me of how it felt as he kissed his way down my body.

I felt myself getting flushed just thinking about it.

“I’d love to know what’s going on in that brain of yours right now,” he said quietly to me as I put my jacket on over my cute blouse and jeans I’d worn tonight.

Not wanting him to know my thoughts, I lied. “ I’m ready to go home and sleep. I’m tired.”

His smirk told me he didn’t believe me, but he also didn’t say anything, so at least I had that reprieve. We walked out to his car, his hand holding mine, and I found I liked that. A lot.