hour long wait for a table.”
“What about something in the back, Shawnii?” Mollie asked.
“Mollie?” The server perked up when she recognized her. “I didn’t know it was you with...” Color, probably. He noticed Mollie give a sheepish smile. She held herself stiffly in that cheetah print jacket like it was stinging her. Why did she always want to disappear? “I think something might’ve just opened up,” her friend said. “Just a sec.” She disappeared and then returned, hooking her finger in the air to get them to follow her.
Janson felt like he was with royalty as they were shown to a seat next to a window at a table that reminded him of ones that he’d find in an upscale New York restaurant. He pushed into a sleek, gray wrap-around style booth chair, feeling like he was miles away from Mollie, especially with his two hovering bodyguards leaning against the wall, far enough to be inconspicuous, close enough to hear everything he said.
She shuffled out of her mother’s wild jacket at the first opportunity and spread her fingers through her tangled hair. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into doing this.”
He leaned as close to her as the chair would allow. “Every man in this room will be taking tips from me to figure out how to get to you.”
“Um yeah, because they’ll want to be dumped into a pond too,” she said sarcastically.
Compliment officially rejected. Mollie was much harder to woo than Rosa. He didn’t let it get to him. He had the extra incentive of trying to get to her phone without his bodyguards getting suspicious. He smiled at her. “You fell right into my arms, so it was worth it.” He threw his mother’s Brazilian accent in there and made it a little thicker since women normally excused his boldness when they heard it. She smiled faintly and played with the Molinero ring on her finger. He was getting outplayed by his own ring. “You know that comes with a matching set,” he said. “The hair comb would look great in your hair.”
She laughed nervously and pulled off the ring. “You should probably take it back.”
That had backfired. He decided to make it backfire on her, too. “Hmm, you think?” He tried to put the delicate ring on his pinky and it hit the joint. “I don’t think it’ll fit.” He captured her hand and slipped it back onto her tiny index finger. “It looks better on you. Maybe you should take the whole set.”
Her mouth parted in surprised. “No, no, I’d never do that.”
She was different from any woman he’d brought into his life. The girl showed her quality in spades, and when they connected, it was gold, but he wasn’t sure how to reach her heart. She’d definitely been betrayed before—so he changed tactics with a shrug. “I’ll put that in my notes then.”
“Notes for what?”
“How to get thrown into a pond. First, sign up for a ghost tour, backtalk, touch your hair.”
“You wouldn’t dare tell anyone about that!”
“I would...” he smiled, seeing her eyes sparkle with laughter at his teasing, “if you don’t take my ring... and my hair comb.”
“That’s blackmail.”
“I don’t think you know what blackmail is—I threaten to reveal sensitive information in exchange for getting something good from you... which we could still do. Let’s see.” She straightened with anticipation as he matched her in a battle of wits that he was sure she’d never seen. “Let me see your phone.”
“My phone? No.”
A girl had never stood up to him like this before; the attraction pulling them together was irresistible. If he wasn’t worried about Dwayne and Vin catching on that he wanted her phone to check up on them, he’d take advantage of this situation more. “Why?” he asked. “Have you been texting some other guy all night?”
The brightness in her expression did something to his heart. She was enjoying this conversation more than he’d realized. “Yes, I’ve been texting at least three highly eligible, highly available bachelors.”
“Yeah? Prove it. Let me see your phone.”
“I didn’t bring it,” she said with a laugh.
“You didn’t...?” His stomach dropped.
“Who am I going to call?” she asked with a sweet laugh. “All my hot texting buddies are here.”
He groaned and mentally worked out a Plan B—explain everything he thought was happening and get her to go for help, but how to get her alone? He slanted a glance at Dwayne and Vin. Their expressions were a mixture of boredom and frustration. Luckily,