Page 9 of Cross Point

He frowned and reached for the check, motioning for it with his fingers. “If this is a date, then I pay.”

She playfully held it out of reach as she took some money out of her pocket. “Nope. I got it. You can treat me next time.”

Smiling as he grumbled in irritation, she slid the money into the book before handing it to the waitress when she came back to their table. As they made their way toward the exit, Trinity noticed how many of the patrons seemed to know Jackson. They smiled or waved at him, and he returned their greetings with a curt nod. She wanted to roll her eyes and tell him to relax, but she figured she should wait a little before trying to get him to loosen up.

When a man called out to Jackson, they detoured over to a table where three men and a woman were enjoying some drinks. The woman was beautiful, with long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and all three of the men were handsome. Two of the men looked similar enough that Trinity figured that they had to be related.

“Hey, Stone. Do you guys want to join us?” one of the men asked.

Jackson shook his head. “Sorry, Brody. Maybe next time. We were just leaving. Katrina Cross, this is Brody Collins and Adam and Ford West. We work together at the police department. And this is their girlfriend, Olivia Abbas.”

Ford’s blue eyes sparkled with humor. “Do my eyes deceive me, or is Jackson Stone out on a date? Has the world officially ended?”

Trinity couldn’t help but laugh as Adam reached out and slapped his brother on the back of the head. She could practically hear Jackson’s teeth grinding again.

“This isn’t a date,” he denied. “Katrina ran into some trouble earlier, and we were talking about the details over a meal.”

The four sitting at the table glanced at one another, then Ford said, “So, a date.”

“It is,” Trinity confirmed before Jackson could deny it again. Playing it up, she hooked her arm through his and grinned at the group. “Sorry, Jackson’s still a little put out that I pulled my gun on him earlier.”

The group gawked at her.

“You…pulled a gun on the Lieutenant?” Adam asked slowly in disbelief.

“Well, yeah, but it was a mistake. Okay, so not really a mistake since I meant to do it. But you know, a girl has to be careful when a man creeps up on her on a deserted road.”

“I did not creep up on you,” Jackson growled.

“Sure, honey.”

She batted her eyelashes at him, then smiled at the group again. She winked at Olivia, who choked back a laugh. The men watched her warily as if not quite sure what to think of her. Good thing she was used to that, or she might develop a complex.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you new in town, Katrina?” Olivia asked with a warm smile.

“Call me Trinity. And yeah, just arrived on the island today. I’m staying at the resort.”

“The Palace? I love that place. They have a wonderful restaurant and spa there. You should stop by my store if you get a chance the next time you’re in town. I just opened a clothing and lingerie store a block over called Temptations,” Olivia said with a proud grin.

Trinity smiled. “Great name. I’ll definitely stop by. I think I’ll need to buy something sexy that a man can rip off me.”

Olivia laughed. “I think I have exactly what you need.”

“Excuse us, we’re leaving,” Jackson said stiffly as he grabbed hold of Trinity’s arm.

She turned to wave at the others over her shoulder as Jackson pulled her toward the entrance. She was pleased to see that his eyes had gone the color of a storm at sea but was sorry it was partly anger mixing with the lust she’d been hoping for.

When the door opened, they almost ran right into a tall blond man. The man all but snapped to attention as soon he saw Jackson.

“Sir.”

“Noah. I thought you were on duty tonight,” Jackson snapped out, making the other man straighten even more.

“I was. I am,” Noah said as he eyed Jackson warily. “I’m just stopping by to pick up some food for me and Carlos.”

Jackson blew out a breath. Damn it, there was no reason for him to be snapping at one of the men he worked with. Noah Diaz was a good cop and a good friend, but Katrina Cross had his dick going to stone in his pants, making it impossible to think clearly. He had to get them the hell out of the bar before he did something stupid. Like throw her onto one of the tabletops and yank her jeans down to see if her ass was really as perfect as it seemed.

They all turned when an older woman called out from behind the bar. “Noah, where is Carlos? Don’t think I don’t know my son is hiding from me!”

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