“So, tell me, cutie-pie.” Because she was wearing high heels, Jasmine had to stoop a little in order to lean Ash’s way. “Anyone snatched you up yet?”
The hot, beasty thing inside of her had tentacles, one of which was snaking up her spinal cord and others that slithered into her extremities. Whatever it was, it was intent on possessing her, and the growl in her tummy slipped right out of her throat.
“What did you say?” Jasmine asked with a wrinkle of her nose.
Ash licked her lips, about to embark on a diatribe, about what? She had no idea. “Yeah, I’ve got a boyfriend.”
“You do?”
“Sure.”
Someone cleared his throat.
“Hey, honey, about those nachos...?”
Ashley spun. Colton Cross stood there, adjusting his cowboy hat so it tilted back on his thick head. Perfect. “Nachos?”
“Yeah.” He squinted.
“You want nachos, baby?” She beckoned him closer. “C’mere.”
A puzzled expression settled over his features as he leaned across the bar. When Ash fisted her hand in the front of his shirt and tugged, his expression went from puzzled to wide-eyed surprise.
“Look, I’m sorry if I offended—” he began.
She didn’t let him finish. For whatever-God-forsaken-reason, Ashley leaned across the bar and planted a juicy one, square on Colton Cross’s lips, sucking his apology right out of his mouth before he had a chance to finish.
“What the—”
Her mouth still close to his, she whispered, “Pretend to be my boyfriend, just for tonight, and your nachos and beer tab are on the house.”
WHAT THE FUCK had just happened? The snippy girl from behind the bar kissed him. Like, full-on, openmouthed kissed him.
“Pretend to be my boyfriend, just for tonight, and your nachos and beer tab are on the house.”
“Is this a—” Colton intended to say, “joke,” but the girl locked her lips on him once more, shutting him up.
So, Colton decided to roll with it. Why the hell not? Seemed like a decent deal to him, free beer and nachos for a little bit of spit swapping? He pulled away. “As much as I want?”
“As much as you want, what?” she whispered, her face flushed, like she was angry.
Weird chick.
“Beer. Nachos.” He wet his lips and was about to say “kisses,” because—damn—the girl might be a harpy but she wasn’t half-bad in the kissing department.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She blinked hard. “No, wait.” It was like she was doing a calculus problem in her head, her eyes rolled up and to the side, and her ruby lips moved silently, like she was figuring something out. “Well, within reason. Like you better be legal to drive home to the Silver Tree Ranch afterwards.”
“How’d you know where I live?”
“God!” She huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes again. Whatever he’d done to piss her off was clearly still irritating her, despite her lusty lip on lip action.
“Is this him?”
A dark-haired beauty leaned on the bar, a hand outstretched. “I’m Jasmine. Ashley and I go way back.”
Ashley. Right. Good thing the friend mentioned her name, because he’d forgotten it and almost called her Brenda again. He shook the woman’s hand. “Colton.”
Ashley gave him a fierce look, trying to convey...something. Who the hell knew what this woman wanted? She turned to her friend and said, “Colt and I had a bit of a fight earlier, so...” She shrugged. Like that summed up their whole relationship. Which, as far as he was concerned, it did.
“She was snippy,” he offered, helpfully.
She glowered. “You were an ass.”
Rubbing his jaw, he said, “Can’t say I recall that part.”
“We might break up.” Her face was red. Not a sweet blushing red, but a fiery red, complete with nostrils flared and steam spewing out of the ears. Angry-bull red.
He chucked her beneath the chin. “She’s so funny. It’s why I love her.”
Her eyes went saucer-sized.
Damn. Too far?
“I mean, I don’t love her, love her.”
Yes. There was the steam pouring out of her orifices again. This was fun.
He flashed a well-meaning Cross family smile at Ashley’s friend, who watched their interaction with a little pucker between her brows. Leaning toward her, he said, “I love making her mad, is what I mean. She’s feisty when she’s mad. And when she’s feisty...?” He whistled high, then low, hoping the friend would catch his meaning. Shit, this was the easiest free grub ever. “So, babe,” he said to Ashley, “about those nachos. I’m thinking a double order for me and the boys at the end of the bar. Sound like a plan?”
“Sure.”
“I’m also thinking a couple more makeup kisses are in order, too.”
Kaboom.
She was like a cartoon character, blowing her top.
Hands up in mock self-defense, he said, “I’ll collect later.” He grinned and then wove his way back down to the end of the bar, looking forward to telling the boys how he’d finagled free food for the lot of them.
* * *
“HUH,” JASMINE SAID, a wrinkle between her brows as she watched Colton walk away.
Ash rubbed the spot between her own brows in response because she could feel way more than a wrinkle there. A chasm.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What the hell had she done?
“Well,” Jazzy’s frown slipped away to make room for a huge smile. “He is one hot tamale.” She leaned close and whispered, “How’s the sex?”
Ash choked on her spit. Her sister, very helpful sister that she was, smacked her hard between the shoulder blades. A couple good hard whacks. Then, when Ash finished choking, she leaned down and hissed in her ear, “I told you to flirt, not make out with the customers.”
Ash gave Beth a meaningful look. At least her sister got her looks. Unlike the dolt she’d chosen to be her pretend boyfriend.
Coughing once
