Page 41 of I Want Crazy (Loco, Texas 3)

A hissy fit? A hissy fit? She had almost let him do her on the ground, which was crawling with insects and other gross, nasty things and he had the nerve to yell at her in front of Officer Straitlaced. What a grade A douche bag. Well, if he thought he was getting anywhere with her now, he had another thing coming.

* * *

Red was aching to hit something, to hurt something. It had been humiliating to be handcuffed like a criminal in front of Jessie, but then to have her debase herself in front of that idiot… Well, it had been all he could do not to tell the self-righteous prick to fuck off.

Of course, that would have been a guaranteed trip to the sheriff’s office, since he’d noticed the deputy badge, and a state trooper would have hauled his ass in no matter what Jessie said.

From the silent, angry waves radiating off her, he had a feeling he’d stepped in it again with her. He hadn’t meant to take his anger out on her, but every time he tried to apologize, the words got stuck in his throat.

He pulled up in front of the hotel, and before he could say anything, she was out of the car and walking, pantsless, toward the entrance.

“Hey!” He jumped out of the car, and she didn’t even slow, just walked inside. She marched across the entryway, and Red saw Jeffrey, the owner’s little brother and night desk clerk, checking out her ass as she sauntered by. Scowling menacingly at the little shit, he sped up and grabbed hold of her, picking her up in his arms despite her struggles.

“Put me down,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Stop walking around with your ass hanging out.”

“My ass is none of your business—”

He reached the top of the stairs, and dropped her to her feet, his temper flaring. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you, okay?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Usually, an apology isn’t yelled in someone’s face.”

Running a hand over his short hair, he took a calming breath. “I’m sorry. I was embarrassed and pissed off, and I just wanted to get out of there. I wanted tonight to be romantic and fun, and instead it turned into a disaster.”

She was quiet, and he almost kept talking, but her hand reached out, splaying against his chest. “Not every part was a disaster. There were several moments in there that were pretty spectacular.”

He took another shaky breath and chuckled. “I just can’t seem to do anything right when it comes to you.”

“That’s not true,” she said, stepping into him. “When it’s just you and me, things tend to go so right, I don’t even notice there are bugs in my hair.”

He looked into her green-gold eyes and her teasing grin and relaxed. “So, if I was to ask you out on a midnight fishing trip again—”

“I’d say hell no.”

She turned and walked to her door. Pulling the key from her sweatshirt, she slid it home and pushed the door open before adding, “But anything else will be a definite maybe.”

Her door closed with a snap, and he shook his head at the turn his life had taken.

It was several hours before he stopped typing and fell asleep, but before he did, he sent one last text.

What about skinny-dipping?

Beep.

Definitely, maybe.

Chapter Twelve

Saturday night, Jessie was a bundle of nerves. She’d hired a full staff including two bartenders and Ray as head chef. She’d paid a photographer to take pictures of the town earlier in the day and of the guests tonight and hoped to use most of the pictures to decorate the bare black walls. She kept telling herself she was ready, but she still couldn’t stop shaking.

Besides the opening, there was also the unfinished business with Red. After their late-night date and make-out session she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him, only their playful texts and a couple of late-night phone calls that had gotten a little, well…hot. But it seemed like he was keeping his distance from her, and she wondered if she’d misjudged him. What if he had a girlfriend in another town or was a serial killer? What if he wasn’t a great guy and she was making another mistake?

It was five minutes to seven, and, taking a deep breath, she went to the front doors and peeked out. And almost cried.

There were only about fifteen people outside. Jessie’s heart sank as she stepped out, trying to smile.

“Hey everyone!” She saw that Red, his sisters, Jake, and Rand were all there, and the girls who’d helped with flyers last week. “Welcome to Jessie’s!”

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