Page 17 of Sweet Poison

“Yeah. Everything’s alright.”

She glanced at Cole, then smiled at him. “Thanks for the tomato soup. It was delicious.”

He nodded. “No worries.”

“Do you mind if I borrow Montana for a quick trip to the Ladies?” she asked.

“Nope.” His eyes slid to me. “I’ll be waiting here.”

I stood, and with careful steps followed Natalie. She didn’t say a word until we got the Ladies, then she whirled around like a snake, her eyes shining. “Damn, but that man’s cuter than a speckled pup. He was staring at you like he couldn’t wait another second to climb on top of you. What’s he like?”

“He’s … mysterious and … deep.”

She looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but on the outside, I get the impression of someone powerful and urbane, perhaps even wealthy, but inside he seems sad and broken.”

She frowned. “Hey, don’t you go getting all soppy on him. You’re supposed to have fun. You know? For just once in your life, can you be like Kelly? Let your body be the boss.”

“I’m not going all soppy on him at all,” I denied. “I understand we’re ships passing in the night. You’ll be happy to know he’s booked a room upstairs.”

She nodded approvingly. “Good work!”

“I can’t take credit for that. His car broke down, remember?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Missy. That outlaw booked the room because of you. One of us is going to be sweating like a sinner in Church later tonight and it’s not going to be me.”

I flushed but tried to play it cool by walking towards the mirrors. Heck, I sure looked excited. My eyes were sparkling and there were twin spots of color on my cheeks.

Natalie followed me and pulled a tube of lip gloss from her purse. I watched her slide it over her lips with practised ease. Then she met my gaze in the mirror.

“Not much talent here so Kelly wants us to bar hop for a bit, but we’ll be back in an hour. Whatever you do, don’t leave this bar, okay?”

“Okay. Um … is Kelly okay?”

She grinned. “She’s still madder than a wet hen that the man she wanted chose you instead of her, but that’s not your fault. Don’t give it another thought. She’ll get over it, especially if she finds someone she likes in one of the other bars. If we’re late and you want to go up to his room, then just text me when you’re done and we’ll bring the car around to the front. Okay?”

I nodded.

“Right.” She dropped her lip gloss into her purse and snapped it shut. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t you need to use the toilet?” I asked.

“Nah. Do you?”

“Nope.”

She grinned. “Time to return you to your hunk.”

“Natalie?”

“Yeah …”

“Thank you. I really appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

“No need for thanks, but I do expect details.”

I laughed.

---