Page 24 of Tasting Fire
7
At Cash’smention of the massive life mistake she’d almost made, Emmy popped out of her chair. “Excuse me a minute.”
Unfortunately, the ladies’ room didn’t give her much reprieve seeing as it was wall-to-wall women. The hand dryer was blasting at a billion degrees and someone was spraying what smelled like Aqua Net with a heavy hand.
The blonde who’d given Cash a tonsillectomy came out of the last stall and touched up her lipstick. “It’s open if you want it,” she said, meeting Emmy’s gaze in the mirror.
“No, I just need…” What did she need? She walked to the counter and dampened a paper towel. Pressed it to the back of her neck.
“He has a way of making a woman hot and confused.” Chelsea said with a smile that seemed friendly enough, but it was hard to tell with that dark shade of lipstick.
“He… I…”
“Exactly my point.” Chelsea laughed. “But no one catches him. At least no one yet. But I plan to change that.” To Emmy’s surprise, Chelsea slapped her on the butt on her way out the door.
Had she just been warned away from Cash or invited to a contest?
When she left the ladies’ room and tried to pay for her portion of dinner, Grady glowered at her. And that man had a powerful glower. She’d talk with Randi and make it clear she wasn’t comfortable being part of the Free Food for Heroes promo she had going on.
Back at the table, Emmy didn’t sit. “Hey, I really need to get back home and—”
“I’ll walk you.” Pushing back his chair, Cash stood and shrugged into his jacket.
Couldn’t he see she needed some time alone? Some time to recover from sitting two feet away from him. Some time to figure out how to explain why she’d left Baltimore. Some time to make a plan. “I think I can figure out where I’m going.”
“It’s dark,” he said as if that explained why he was on her heels as she wove through the restaurant crowd and out into the parking lot.
“And this is Western North Carolina, not West Baltimore.”
“Iamwalking you back to your apartment.” His tone was as cool and sharp as slate. “I can either do that beside you or behind you. Your choice.”
Fine. This wasn’t a battle one of them had to win. In less than five minutes, she’d be in the apartment, wearing her favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles PJs, a piece of paper and pen in hand, where she could make sense of her thoughts.
And it was nice to see a few people strolling along the sidewalks, peeking into the windows of the closed shops. Cash pointed across the street toward a boutique named La Belle Style. “That’s Brynne Steele’s place.”
“She’s Reid’s wife.”
“Can you believe someone actually married him?”
With a laugh, she bumped Cash’s shoulder with hers. “Yes, because he’s good looking and funny.”
Cash grunted. “If you say so.”
“I do.” She slanted a look at him. “Then again, so are you.”
“Was that a compliment?”
“Take it as you will.” But what she really wanted to know before she told him about Oliver was why Cash himself hadn’t married. The hometown girls had to be swarming him if Chelsea’s performance earlier was anything to go on.
“Because I never asked anyone else.”
Cash’s words surprised her enough that her feet stopped moving. “What?”
“That’s what you were really wondering.” He turned around and meandered back to where she was standing. “Why I’m not married.”
Lovely. It appeared that transparent was this season’s trendy color. “Well… small towns and all that…”
Even in the waning light, she could see his face tighten. “Because what else would we have to do here besides fight and fuck, right? Maybe drink a little beer, watch a little football, marry a little woman, and make little babies.”
