Stormy Surrender - By Nicole Andrews Moore Page 0,18
guess I’ll just have to share, won’t I?” He sat down opposite her and smiled over at Laurel whose jaw had dropped when he sat with Marti. While he waited for his meal, he studied the woman he couldn’t help but like.
Marti had recommenced staring out the window. Known for her patience, she was embarrassed that he had cajoled her into a fight. And clearly he had enjoyed it. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that he was still smiling as he stared at her, willing her to pay attention to him. Well, she just wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She held her tongue for what seemed like forever. She tried counting to calm down. She tried clenching and unclenching her fists in her lap. She tried focusing on the life outside of the café. Finally, she broke. “What?” She asked, exasperated. “Why are you staring at me?”
A wide smile broke out on his face. “I was just trying to figure you out,” he admitted. “It’s a little something I do.”
“Really,” she said smartly. “So, have you figured me out yet? Because I have to tell you, I haven’t figured me out yet and I’m way more years into it than you are.” She leaned toward him and stared at his face.
“Well, that explains things,” Joey admitted, scratching at his chin. “You cost me a bet.”
“How’s that?” Marti asked, thoroughly annoyed. He was really sucking the enjoyment factor out of this meal and she was about to tell him so.
“Yup. I lost out on a week’s worth of free breakfasts because you own that orange hybrid. I hope you’re happy.” Joey was finally in a playful mood. Something about annoying her stirred something within him. Maybe it was because her mere existence had thrown such a wrench into his life. And now, if Keely was correct, that wrench was just getting bigger and bigger. He was enjoying upsetting her for a change.
“I’m ecstatic. Can’t you tell? So, what did Keely win?” Marti had taken a bite of her sandwich after asking the question and had to actually close her eyes to savor for a moment. Joey started to speak, but she silenced him by simply raising her finger.
He leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised. No one had tried to silence him in a long time. Hell, half the people who had tried had paid the price. He wasn’t always the upstanding citizen she saw before her. No. He had been a complete bad ass in his day…fearless, impulsive, and as temperamental as his ginger colored hair suggested he might be. He never lost a fight and he had been in plenty of fights and had the scars to prove it.
When Marti opened her eyes, Laurel was standing near the table, smiling, waiting for a reaction. “Oh my God!” Marti exclaimed. “You weren’t kidding. This is quite possibly the best roast beef sandwich I’ve ever tasted.” She forgot for a moment how annoyed she was with Joey. She shoved her sandwich in his face. “Here. Try this!” He sneered at her sandwich. “Okay, have a bite from the part I haven’t eaten off of yet.”
Joey simply turned his nose up at her meal and leaned further away. “I don’t eat red meat,” he said seriously. “Could you get that out of my face? It’s disgusting.”
Looking at him in shock and dismay, she wondered how a man that…manly could not like red meat. “Huh. I didn’t have you pegged for a vegetarian,” Marti said.
And that’s when Laurel placed the large basket overflowing with fries and chicken tenders in front of him. The women exchanged glances. “Your usual, Joe,” Laurel said. Then she reached into the pouch of her apron. “And your Texas Pete. Try not to use the entire bottle this time. You are costing me a small fortune in that stuff.” She glanced at Marti. “And try not to let this grump ruin your lunch.” Then she returned to the kitchen.
It was a quiet lunch. Joey was focused on his food. He ate quickly with little concern for manners, although he did use napkins. That was when Marti realized she’d been staring at him. He needed more. It was no wonder the way he was shoveling food into his mouth, talking on the phone while eating, and cursing every few minutes. He paused mid-conversation with someone on the phone that he kept referring to as ‘Buddy.’ And Marti couldn’t help but wonder if that was the