Page 19 of Hot Winter Nights (Bear Mountain Rescue 1)

“What the heck was that?”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Hunter said.

Allie’s cheeks warmed at the insinuation. He hadn’t heard anything because he’d been too busy kissing her, while she…

She’d been distracted by a bird.

It wasn’t that Hunter wasn’t a good kisser; he was. There just wasn’t any…

Spark.

Yet. She couldn’t judge Hunter based on her experiences in her past relationships. Those had been crazy hot in the beginning, but fizzled out quickly. She wanted something that was going to last.

“Sorry, I’m not used to the great outdoors.”

Hunter, easygoing and nice, just smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

Allie figured she’d blown it after that, especially since he started packing up their food. But after he picked up the basket, he took her free hand and held it all the way to the car. Even opened the door for her and gave her a sweet, chaste peck before closing her door.

Everything was perfect about their date, and yet, she wanted to roll her eyes.

Chapter 12

Dex ordered another drink for Iris, some fruity cocktail with a ridiculous name, and another whisky for him. He’d downed three already, but who could blame him? He’d forgotten how grating Iris’s nasal voice was.

He pretended to listen to Iris bitch about how cheap her ex was, nodding and grunting as he looked past her shoulder toward the door.

I should have taken Iris somewhere else.

Except Dex hadn’t wanted to go anywhere else, and if he was being honest with himself, it was because he wanted to see how Hunter and Allie’s date had gone.

“I decided not to speak to him except through our attorneys. It’s better for my stress level that way,” Iris said.

“Makes sense,” Dex said distractedly.

Iris’s hand landed on his knee, moving its way up his jeans-clad thigh, indecently close to his crotch. “Here I am dominating the conversation with my complaining. My ex has the kids this weekend. Maybe we could go back to my place and I’ll make it up to you.”

Dex opened his mouth to answer, but the door swung open, and in stepped Hunter and Allie, both smiling and looking nauseatingly happy.

Until Allie’s pretty brown eyes landed on him at the bar with Iris’s hand in his lap, and her face crumpled into an unhappy scowl.

Was that look because he was there or because he was with Iris? Suddenly, Dex grinned, feeling better than he had all day. He climbed to his feet. “What do you say we play some pool, darling?”

Hunter and Allie had barely sat down at the bar when Penny walked over to take their order.

“What will it be?” she asked curtly.

Hunter, a little surprised by her attitude, asked, “You okay, Penny?”

“I’m fine, just busy.”

Hunter glanced around at the handful of patrons in the bar, and as if following his line of thinking, Penny snapped, “I’m trying to study for my test, okay?”

“What kind of test are you taking?” Allie asked.

Penny seemed to hesitate before answering. “Animal biology. I’m going for my master’s in zoology.”

“That is amazing. I love animals. I just adopted a puppy that Dex Belmont found abandoned on the highway.”

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