to be there, too!”
Jess paused. Looking at her two friends, she felt a sudden and overwhelming urge to hug them both. She reached out and pulled them close, hearing her voice as if it wasn’t quite coming from her own body. “Have I told you how much I love you two?”
—
“Oh, boy.” Cole spotted the women as soon as he and Daniel walked through the door. “Looks like somebody’s been hitting the Jell-O already.”
“What is with these three and their Jell-O?” Daniel sidled toward the bar. Cole followed him, hardly taking his eyes off from Jess as he walked. God, she was gorgeous tonight. She’d pulled her hair into some sort of half-up, half-down configuration so it draped down her back, but he could see every curve of her face.
She had on a sleeveless, dark pink sundress, and her wrists sparkled with bracelets. As he watched her, it was all he could do not to march right out onto the dance floor and take her in his arms.
But no. Hadn’t he told Daniel just the other day that he wasn’t going to even try? Hadn’t he told himself that just yesterday—one hundred times?
Yeah, he had, and he’d meant it. But damn, the woman intrigued him. Despite his best attempts at self-preservation, all he could think about was getting closer to her, making her trust him—helping her chase away her demons, whatever they were.
And that was getting him nowhere fast.
He signaled Salty, and though there was a sea of tourists between him and the bar, Salty handed over two brews and waved off Cole’s money. “Save it for the dollar dance,” he winked.
“So”—Cole clinked his bottle against Daniel’s as they turned to scan the dance floor—“too bad about this wedding thing. You could have had your pick of hot singles tonight.”
Daniel laughed. “Little late to back out now.”
“No ring on your finger yet.”
“Would you want to be the guy who left Hayley Scampini at the altar?”
“Not if I wanted to keep all my parts intact.”
“Exactly.”
They surveyed the crowd in silence for a few minutes, but Cole was only pretending to look at anyone but Jess. She and the other gals were still dancing, but they were looking decidedly uncoordinated.
Daniel pointed his beer at their table, which was littered with tiny white cups. “How much Jell-O do you think they’ve downed already?”
“Enough that they’re going to be reaching for the Advil in the morning.”
“Whose idea was it to do this combined-party thing, anyway? And how did they get such a head start on us?”
Cole laughed. “It was your fiancée’s idea, remember? It was the best way she could guarantee we wouldn’t hire a stripper for you.”
“Would you have hired me a stripper?”
“No. Hayley would’ve castrated us both.” Cole looked toward the door. “Where’s the rest of the crew?”
“They’re probably with the stripper.” Daniel mock-sighed. “Oh, well. Should we head for the girls? Looks like they might need us to hold them up soon.”
Cole felt his eyes narrow as he scanned the crowd protectively. Almost everyone looked harmless, but there were a couple of cowboy-yokels he didn’t recognize over in the back. They were upending their beers as their eyes glommed onto the trio of Whisper Creek women in the middle of the dance floor.
“Who are those guys by the back door?” He pointed with his beer.
Daniel followed his gaze. “They work out at the Double-K. Brody hired them about a month ago.”
“You know anything about ’em?”
“I know they’re eyeing our women.” Daniel took another drink. “Which might worry me, if I thought said women couldn’t hold their own.”
“They might be able to hold their own, but I’m not sure how well they’re holding their liquor. Hayley might come with steel-toed stilettos, but I’ve gotta watch out for the other two. Decker’ll have my head if somebody makes a move on Kyla under my watch.”
Daniel laughed. “I don’t think you need to worry about Kyla. She’s been out here long enough to recognize the type. She’ll be fine. Plus, she’s got the go-away ring on her left hand.”
“And we all know how many guys see that as a challenge, rather than a deterrent.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s not Kyla or Hayley you’re worried about, buddy.”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Not going there.”
“Bullshit. You’d go there in one second flat, if you had the chance.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He watched Jess put her arms up in the air and turn a slow circle, wide smile on her face. “Maybe.”
Daniel tipped his head. “I think you should go for