Page 22 of In Spades

Eavesdropping had such an ugly ring to it. Coincidence sounded much better to my conscience. The thin walls in my room let me overhear the conversation Kristin had with her coworker.

…Especially when I pressed my ear against the wall. Coincidentally, of course.

At least, that’s what I told myself while I sat at the dinged and dented wood bar at Jokers for the second night in a row.

“You need a refill, hon?” Bridget asked, eyeing my near-empty bottle.

“If you don’t mind,” I said, finishing the last of my beer. She exchanged it for another bottle and waltzed off to help another customer.

I checked the time and turned my attention to the half-eaten burger in front of me. When I ordered my food earlier, I asked Bridget if they served vegetables on the side.

“Of course,” she said with a laugh.

I didn’t understand the joke until she returned with my burger and a plate filled with everything but the color green. “I thought you said you had vegetables?”

“Okra is a vegetable,” she said, gesturing toward the plate. “We just fried out all that pesky nutrition.”

Fair enough.

I popped a piece of fried okra in my mouth, and my mind turned back to the conversation I’d overheard at the hotel. I smiled, thinking about how flustered Kristin sounded when her friend brought up her being interested in me.

And I didn’t hate that bit about bending her over a bed.

The okra lodged itself in my throat. I choked it down with a swig of beer, discreetly adjusting the sudden tightness in my jeans.

Her friend also mentioned getting a babysitter. It made me curious who Zoey was. Twenty-five years old and busting her ass the way she did? Maybe Kristin was a single mom.

Emphasis on the single part.

The more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to be around her.

I loosened up and stopped burying my head in work. Numbers and coding sequences no longer consumed my thoughts.

Instead, I pictured the way her face lit up when she joked about me being a secret agent. The way she floated through the room, bouncing from task to task without so much as a second thought.

I sipped my beer and scanned the room for familiar faces.

A few old-timers two-stepped across the splintered planks of the dance floor. I frowned, glancing down at my well-worn Ariats. It had been a while since they’d seen any action of the boot scooting variety.

The screen door swung open, screeching like a flock of geese being bludgeoned to death.

Detective Chase Brannan and five ladies barreled in. Kristin brought up the rear of the pack. She wore ripped denim shorts and a cut-off white tank top. Her exposed midriff gave me a peek of something glittery. She stepped under the glow of a beer sign, and I got a better view.

Kristin had a belly button piercing.

I couldn’t help but smile. She looked so friggin’ sexy.

A tall blonde stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me with her jaw on the floor. “Holy shit, Kris!”

Kristin glanced at the blonde and followed her line of sight.

“Mr. Sol—” Kristin cut herself off, eyes darting left and right. Her friends stopped and stared. “Will.”

“Oh my damn, he is fine.” The comment came from a short Black woman wearing a Beaufort CrossFit shirt.

“Kristin—uh, hi,” I stammered, wiping my greasy fingers on my jeans as I stood. I didn’t know why I acted surprised to see her when I knew she’d be here. Hell, I knew what time she would show up.

But honest to goodness, that woman knocked me on my ass every time I saw her.

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