Page 5 of Craving Francesca

“Go wake ’em.” Tommy looked at me. “You stay in here where it’s warm.”

“You don’t think she’s in here somewhere?” I asked, looking around.

Tommy cocked his head to the side as he thought about it. “Men stayin’ inside have women with ’em, and I doubt any of ’em would want Myla sleepin’ in their room.”

I opened my mouth to remind him that not all the men had women with them but snapped it shut again. I already knew that Myla wasn’t in Gray’s room. Beyond the fact that I’d just left there, he was her frigging cousin.

After the men left, I dropped onto a barstool to wait. Where the fuck had Myla gone? It wasn’t as if she’d driven away—she’d had too much to drink to be driving anywhere. Glancing over at the men in the corner, anxiety raced down my spine. Had she found someone to hook up with? I hadn’t seen her flirting with anyone from the other clubs who were visiting from out of town.

“My daughter is going to be in so much trouble,” Heather announced as she came up behind me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “Geez, honey, have you even been to bed yet?”

“Nope.”

Heather grimaced as she rounded the bar and started searching around behind it. “Jackpot!” She straightened. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please,” I grumbled, resting my chin on my hand. Tommy and the boys would find Myla. I just had to brace for how pissed she’d be when she realized I’d ratted her out. Normally, I would’ve tried harder to find her before calling in the cavalry, but something felt off about the whole thing. Usually when we partied at the club, the only people there were ones we knew well—tonight had been different.

“So, what were you doing up so late?” Heather asked insinuatingly.

“Nothing,” I replied quickly.

“Because that wasn’t suspicious.”

“I was hanging out,” I said, forcing myself to speak slower.

“Mmhmm,” she said, setting a cup of coffee in front of me. “Anyone I know?”

“Nope.”

She raised her eyebrows and glanced at the men in the corner. “I hope Myla told you to be careful—”

“I know,” I reassured her. “It was nothing. I didn’t go off anywhere with one of them.”

“They’re not bad—not all bad—we just don’t know many of them well.”

“All good,” I said. It felt like my skin was on fire, and I hoped the dim lighting hid my lying blush.

Heather nodded. “Tommy is going to be so pissed when he realizes that Myla just passed out in one of her cousins’ tents.”

“Probably.”

“Oh, well,” she said breezily, grabbing her own cup of coffee. “He’ll feel important for a while. The kids barely need us anymore, I swear.”

“They do, too.”

“Sure, when they want us to babysit,” Heather joked. “I’m not complaining, mind you. That’s the best part of my week. It’s just different when your kids are grown. Boring.”

“I’ll take your word for it. I’m enjoying the kid-free life.”

“You’re young.” She waved me off. “That’s different. How’s your dad?”

“Good, I think,” I said, glancing back at the hallway. Doors were opening and murmured conversations drifted toward us. I turned back toward Heather. “I talked to him last week.”

“I bet he misses you.”

“I think he’s enjoying the kid-free life, too,” I joked.

“You going down to visit any time soon?”

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