Page 14 of Cold Foot Cash

“Dude,” another one said. “Look what she’s wearing. She’s fine. She doesn’t care about people taking pictures, do you sweetheart?”

Cash’s smile chilled her blood. He dropped the phone in one of the full beers.

One of them stood in a rush, looking pissed, but whatever he saw on Cash’s face stopped his advance.

“Give me a reason,” Cash gritted out.

The guy threw up his hands. “We were just playing around.”

“Play somewhere else.”

“This is our bar.”

“Not anymore.” He jerked his chin to the door. “You’re dismissed.”

“We’re dismissed?” Another one said, standing. He was a behemoth of a man.

Cash squeezed her hand gently. Wait, she was still holding his hand. She was still holding his hand? Harley looked down at where his big strong hand was wrapped protectively around hers, holding her right behind him. She shouldn’t feel safe right now at all, but she did.

A presence pressed against her back, and when she turned her head, Wreck and Reed and King were there. Kade was against the nearest wall, watching the guys, arms crossed.

The big guy looked around at them all, and then flipped a chair. “I’m over this place anyway. They only let trash in here now.”

The guy yanked the phone from the beer, and shoved another table over on his way out, and the bar was completely quiet until the door shut behind them. And then the murmuring and noise picked up again. Cash turned to her with a smile on his face. “You suck at pool, friend.”

“I do not,” she said. “I just need to warm up.”

“For ten years. You damn near missed the cue ball.”

Okay, was he really going to gloss over what had just happened with those guys?

He led her back toward the pool table, still holding her hand, and she allowed it. Harley rested her other hand on the inside of his elbow to steady herself as she checked the door behind her to make sure those guys hadn’t come back in. That had scared her a little.

The two girls who’d been all over Cash were watching her, but she only met their eyes for a couple seconds. This Crew was right in the middle of a lot of attention, weren’t they? Was this the norm for them? From the way the ladies of the Crew hadn’t even reacted, and from the way the guys went directly back to bantering and playing and laughing, she thought it was.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said softly to Cash.

“No, I shouldn’t. You’re right. They shouldn’t have taken pictures of you without your permission.”

Reed was shooting now, but only got two in, and then Cash ran the table to finish out the game. She’d never been attracted to men like Cash, but here, under his protection, absorbing his banter, his laughs, his grins, his teasing flirtatiousness, hisseriousness when he explained right-and-wrong…she could see the appeal.

He pulled her over to the darts in the corner next while his Crew started another game of doubles at the pool table. This was a game she actually did need some guidance on, because she’d never played before, but after a couple of games, she had the hang of it and was having a blast. The music got louder the later it was, and eventually a live band took over where the jukebox left off.

Cash was good at conversation and kept it easy and smooth. He would make a great salesman. She was normally more awkward, but he kept them on this strain of conversation that was lighthearted and teasing, and set her up for good comebacks, and she just…well she lost herself for a couple of glorious hours.

“What time is it?” he asked after a while, pulling the darts from the board.

She checked her phone, but froze. There was a new message from Lance there. It simply said,I’m sorry.

“What’s he sorry for?” Cash asked carefully from right over her shoulder.

She flinched and shoved her phone back into her purse. “I don’t know.”

“Lie.”

“Let’s just enjoy the night,” she said, pleading. “I don’t want to talk about him. Just be a friend.”

“I’m trying.”

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