Page 108 of Slumming It

Did that make me his girlfriend for real?I would be naïve to think so. After all, I'd known the guy for less than a week, and during most of that time, our relationship had been anything but friendly.

I gave the Ferrari in the parking lot another lingering glance.And now he was here.

But why?

I wasn't angry. But Iwascurious and just a little thrilled that he'd come all the way out here to see me – until I made it out the front door and into his car.

That's when the anger kicked in.

Chapter 41

Reese

Emily stared from the passenger's seat. "So that's why you're here? To hassle me?"

I hadn't planned to hassle her. But I wasn't going to ignore the danger signs either. I pointed toward the restaurant. "I'm just saying, you call that a security guard?"

She turned to look, where a middle-aged guy with a beer belly was standing in the front entryway, looking like he needed a nap. She turned back to me and said, "I'll have you know that Ralph is an off-duty cop."

I frowned. "Off-duty is right."

She looked personally insulted. "And what doesthatmean?"

I pointed again. "He looks ready to fall asleep."

"Yeah, because it's near the end of his shift. You'd be sleepy, too, if you stood there all night."

If that was the case, his security protocol sucked. "So he just stands there in the same spot?"What a lazy-ass.

"No," she said with overblown patience. "Sometimes he stands in the gas station or walks through the parking lot."

I didn't see this as agoodthing. "So who watches the restaurant when he's gone?"

"We all do," she said. "And Ralph's just a holler away."

In my mind, I could almost see it – Emily calling for help and Ralph sleeping in the back room. I gave the guy another careful look. "What, the mall wasn't hiring?"

She didn't look amused. "The nearest mall is an hour south."

"That doesn't make me wrong."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't make you right either." Her tone grew defensive. "And for your information, Ralph did a pretty amazing job tonight."

I wasn't liking the sounds ofthat. "Why? What happened?"

"Well, you can probably guess that things got a little crazy." She hesitated. "I mean, thanks to all of those stupid stories about us. Youdidsee them, right?"

I had, but this wasn't my primary concern.Not now.I repeated the question, more slowly this time. "What happened?"

"Nothing much. Just some people were hassling me, that's all."

"That's all?" I'd like to see them try that in front ofme. "So who were these people?"

"Just random customers," she said. "Most of them weren'ttoobad, but there was this table of four just after 2 a.m. That's when the bars let out."

So now she was dealing with drunks?I felt my fingers flex, but my voice remained steady as I said, "Describe them."

"It was two guys and two girls. I guess you could say two couples. The guys were alright, but the girls were something else." She gave a humorless laugh. "Honestly, they went a little nuts."