and took a bite, chewing slowly, letting the flavors play on her tongue. The patron next to her laid a twenty-dollar bill down on the counter and slid off the stool. Just as Ashley dipped a French fry into the ketchup and popped it into her mouth, the scent of pine and leather wafted in the air around her as someone plopped down onto the empty seat beside her. Looking sideways, her mouth went dry.
“Hey,” Smokey said.
“Hey,” she mumbled, reaching for the glass of water.
“How’s your burger?” His low, caressing voice wrapped around her.
“Good.”
Sidling up to Smokey, the blonde asked, “Whatcha doin’ over here?”
Turning, Ashley met the dancer’s stare, and watched a slow smile of recognition spread across her face.
“You’re the one I was talkin’ to at Blue’s Belly.” She giggled. “This is a small world.”
“It is,” Ashley said as she pushed away her half-eaten dinner.
Smokey gave the girl a look. “Aren’t you gonna be late for your shift, Diamond?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Aren’t you comin’?” Her eyes sliced to Ashley’s.
“No. I’ll see you around.”
A tall, blond man in a leather jacket and tight jeans walked over and nudged Smokey’s shoulder. “Who’s the pretty lady, dude?”
Smokey threw a menacing look at the man. “Take the girls to Dream House. Emma’s gonna be pissed if they’re late. Blade’s already texted, asking where the hell they are.”
“Don’t wanna share?” The man laughed as his eyes roamed over Ashley’s body.
Smokey shrugged the guy’s hand off his shoulder. “Get a move on, bro.”
“Are you coming, Bones?” another man shouted.
He nodded, circling his arm around Diamond and pulling her away. The curvy dancer walked up the aisle, but kept looking back at Smokey.
“Your date didn’t look too happy about leaving without you. You don’t have to keep me company,” Ashley said.
Smokey turned on the stool so he was facing her. “Diamond isn’t my date. The guys and I took the women out for a bite to eat. No reason to worry about it.”
“I’m not worried about it,” she replied, her temper sparking.
Smokey shrugged. “Seems like something’s bugging you.”
“Maybe it’s because you disappeared for the last three days. The night of our business dinner, you said you’d let me know the next morning about when we could get together to go over the marketing campaign, but you didn’t get back with me.” She crossed her arms and shook her head. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Are you pissed because I didn’t call you?”
A dry laugh escaped her. “You can’t really be this clueless. I’m here to do a job, and you don’t seem to give a crap about it. I dragged my butt to this town and left everything behind to do this.”
Smokey stared at her, not saying a word.
Ashley cleared her throat. “What I’m trying to say is, I feel like I’m wasting my time.”
Running a hand over his face, he leaned forward, touching his knee to hers, making her shiver.
“You wanna go back to Denver?” he asked in a soft, low voice.
For a split second, the thought of leaving and never seeing Smokey again sent a shot of panic through her. “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what?”
“I just want some respect. I work hard, and I do a damn good job, but when you don’t even give me the courtesy to meet so we can discuss the project, it makes me feel like you don’t care.”
“About you? Fuck, don’t think that. I was just busy as hell with a job my crew was screwing up. The client paid out a ton of dough for it, and I had to make sure everything was perfect. Believe me when I say, you’ve been on my mind.”
“I meant that you didn’t care about your business, not me,” she scoffed, while shoving down the thrill of knowing he’d been thinking of her.
Smokey shifted away from her, and she instantly missed the warmth from him being close.
“Don’t accuse me of not giving a damn about my company. I worked my ass off to be where I am. You don’t know shit, lady.”
The sudden change in mood surprised her. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, and what I said wasn’t fair. I know you work hard for your business. I’m feeling like the marketing campaign has been at the bottom of your list, when for me, it’s at the top of mine, seeing it’s my job.”
When he eyed her hand, she quickly pulled it back and placed it in her lap.
His gaze darted