Page 19 of Snowed In With the Mountain Man
He laughed. “I think I’d be just fine with that.”
Her smile made his insides go upside down, and when they fell back into place, it was like everything had resettled.
It wasn’t a bad feeling, just… dangerous.
He glanced away. “I’ll pay the food tab and meet you back there.”
She didn’t argue about him paying this time, and that was a relief. He respected women’s rights just as much as anyone, but he still liked to treat a beautiful lady when he could.
He found he was grinning to himself as he leaned against the bar, waiting to get Mack’s attention.
Bobby had long since left, but that had felt sorta good too. He wasn’t a violent guy, not by any means, but there was something satisfying about being able to protect Dahlia.
Maybe it was the fact that she was so very capable and terrified so many people that to be her protector meant so much more.
Kinda like her smiles.
He shook his head and set down some cash when Mack handed him the bill.
It was about time he stopped trying to figure out why he enjoyed her company so much and just went with it. She wouldn’t be here for long, so there was no danger.
She’d be gone back to New York in the next day or so, and he’d go back to his loner ways. But until then…
He spotted her through the back room’s open doorway, chalking her cue stick and eyeing the pool table like a warrior before battle. Something inside him melted at the sight.
Until she left, he’d be her friend, that was all. She might not want to admit it, but she needed a friend here in Aspire. She needed someone who didn’t judge and who didn’t push. Someone with whom she could play pool and watch the game.
She straightened, her hips moving and her shoulders shimmying as the pop song playing got to the catchy chorus.
He chuckled, letting himself have one more moment to watch her before he went in there and joined her. She’d likely kill him if she knew he’d seen her dancing.
A second later, he walked toward her, acting like he hadn’t witnessed a thing. “All right, Ms. O’Sullivan. Let’s see if you can put your money where your mouth is.”
Her grin was everything.
For a second he forgot to breathe. He was her friend, he had to remind himself. Just her friend.
“You’re on. I’ll even let you have first break.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, grabbing a pool cue and lining up that little white ball.
About half an hour later, JJ was out ten dollars and even more impressed by this stunning New Yorker than he thought possible. She’d beaten him three games to none, and he had a feeling she probably could have done that with her eyes closed.
His stomach grumbled as he watched her return their cues with a triumphant grin, and as much as he knew he probably shouldn’t, he found another way to extend their time together. “What do you say we grab a proper bite to eat?”
She nodded. “I’m starving.”
There were no decent restaurants in this blink-and-you’d-miss-it town, so he drove them into Aspire. Mama’s Kitchen was still open, but there was a good chance everyone in town would hear of their having dinner together there, and he had a hunch Dahlia wouldn’t relish being the subject of small-town gossip.
“The cafe on the corner has decent pizza,” he offered.
She shot him a smirk. “He says to the New Yorker.”
He chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re picky about your pizza.”
“Exceptionally,” she said with no hint of remorse.
“How about burritos?”
