patrons until he stepped up beside her. “Caley,” he shouted. She jumped at first at the sound of his voice, but when she turned and saw him, Caley gave him a smile of relief. “Hey, Winslow,” he said, giving the cop a nod.
Jeff smiled. “You two better take that girl home,”
he said, pointing at Emma with the neck of his beer bottle. “I think she’s had enough.”
“Where is Sam?” Caley shouted.
“In the car. Drunk and asleep.” He took her hand and pulled her along toward the door. When they got there, he glanced back at Jeff Winslow. The guy didn’t look happy, but he hadn’t tried to stop Caley from leaving. Then he looked at Emma. “She looks like she’s having a little too much fun.”
Caley nodded. “That’s because she’s had a little too much tequila. It won’t seem like fun in the morning. She’s dancing with some guy named Robert. He seems harmless enough.”
They stepped outside into the chilly night air and walked around the corner of the building. The moment they reached a private spot, Jake grabbed Caley, pressed her back against the wall and kissed her. It wasn’t an expression of lust or even affection. He needed reassurance that nothing had changed in the hours that they’d been apart. When she responded, Jake felt an overwhelming sense of relief.
“That’s better,” he murmured. His hand slipped beneath her jacket and slowly searched for bare skin. When he found it, he splayed his hand across the small of her back. “You’re so warm.”
Caley shivered, her teeth chattering. “Not for long. My car is parked over there. Let’s get out of the cold.” She handed Jake the keys and they hurried over to the spot where she’d left the rental. Jake let her in the passenger side and then hopped behind the wheel. He started the engine and turned on the heater. “It’ll take a while to warm up.”
“I’m starting to think this whole thing was a really bad idea,” Caley said, rubbing her hands together.
Jake took her fingers between his and blew on them. “Me, too.”
“What ever made us think this was the right thing to do?”
“Maybe we’re transferring our own fears about commitment to Sam and Emma. I mean, they seem to know what they’re doing and we haven’t had much success in that department.”
“Well, a little success,” Caley murmured, staring at her fingers as he kissed each one. “Just since we came home.”
Jake smiled and pressed her hands to his chest. “Yeah. A little. More than a little, I’d say.” He reached out and slipped his hand around her waist, pulled her closer. He’d spent the evening looking at naked women and he hadn’t been the slightest bit affected. But the moment he touched Caley, his desire warmed and his pulse raced.
“Do you think if we crawled in the back seat and took all our clothes off anyone would notice?” Jake murmured. “People make love in roadhouse parking lots all the time.”
Caley laughed. “Don’t you think it would be easier if we just went back to the inn?”
“Only if you do that lap dance you promised me,” he said.
“All right,” Caley replied. “I think I can do that.”
“We’ll go inside, get Emma, then dump them both in Emma’s room at the inn and let them figure this out for themselves.”
“Good plan.”
They both jumped out of the car and hurried back to the front door, but a small crowd had gathered outside. “What’s going on?” Jake asked.
“There’s a fight,” one of the girls said. “Some guy and his fiancée and a stripper.”
Jake groaned. “Oh, hell.” He turned to Caley. “You stay here. I’ll be right back.” An instant later, the sounds of a siren could be heard in the distance.
“Get Emma,” Caley cried. “Before she gets hurt.”
Jake pressed through the crush of people leaving the bar and when he finally got inside, the place was lit up and emptied of half the patrons. The band was lounging around the stage and a small group was gathered in the middle of the dance floor. Emma and Sam were sitting on the floor, Tiffany was holding her nose and arguing with Jeff Winslow and a guy that Jake recognized as Emma’s dance partner was laid out flat in front of them all, his hands clutching his crotch.
Jake strode up to group. “What’s going on here?”
“Just step back,” Winslow warned. “Everything is under control.”
“This is my brother and my future sister-in-law. I want to take them home.”
Winslow glanced over his shoulder at Jake and shook his head. “I’m going to have to take your brother and his fiancée in. They started this brawl. Assault, public intoxication—”
“They’re in a bar,” Jake said. “Everyone is intoxicated.”
“You can meet them down at the station. We’ll get things sorted out there.”
“Come on,” Jake said. “Don’t be a hard-ass, Winslow. No one was seriously hurt here.”
“She hit me in the nose!” Tiffany cried.
“She ran into my elbow,” Emma countered. “I was trying to help Robert up after Sam kicked him in the crotch. And she got in the way.”
“I didn’t kick him,” Sam said.
“Yeah, you did, man,” Robert groaned from the floor.
Sam shrugged. “It was a knee to the crotch, not a kick.”
“Isn’t there just a fine I can pay right away and we can take care of this mess without wasting any more time?” Jake asked.
“What’s going on here?” They all turned to look at Caley as she joined the group, a worried expression furrowing her brow.
“I’m breaking up with Sam,” Emma announced. “We’re not getting married.”
“You can’t break up with me,” Sam countered, “because I already broke up with you.”
Emma sent him a withering glare. “You have no reason to break up with me. I was just dancing with Robert. I wasn’t dancing on him like that stripper was doing to you.”
“I’m not a stripper,” Tiffany said. “I prefer exotic dancer.”
“You invited her to our wedding!” Emma cried. “Sometimes, I wonder if you even have a brain in your head.”
“And sometimes I wonder if you have a heart,” Sam shot back.
“Enough!” Winslow shouted. “There will be no more talking. Or I’ll throw all of you behind bars.”
“Can I go now?” Robert asked. “I’ve got to start packing up the van. I’m with the band.”
