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.” He nodded toward the beer tent.“Some of the boys from the fire house are over there grabbing a cold one.Why don’t you head over there and join them?”“Yeah, I might do that in just a minute.Where did you say Jess was headed when you saw her?”Jake frowned.“Why’re you looking for Jess?”Craig sensed Jake’s need to protect Jess ran deeper than his loyalty to her family, but he wasn’t going to be the one to point that out to him.“Actually, I’m looking for her friend, Ava.”Jake grinned.“You mean that gorgeous brunette wearing the Daisy Dukes? Man, that chick is smokin’.”Craig scowled at his friend.Now it was his turn to want to protect his woman from prying eyes.“Back off, asshole.” He smiled to soften the warning.“She’s mine.”Jake whistled under his breath.“Then you, my friend, are one lucky S.O.B.”“Yeah, don’t I know it.” He’d be even luckier if he could convince Ava to leave with him.“Where’d you say she was?”“Last time I saw her, she playing that game with Rob.” He pointed toward a series of mounted pistols with water streams aimed a bull’s eye target.“He was standing behind her, helping her aim.” He nudged Craig’s arm.“He was getting pretty damn close.If she was my woman, I wouldn’t waste any time finding her.”“Bastard,” Craig muttered.He liked Rob, but if he didn’t keep his distance from Ava, they were going to have big problems.“All right, I’m gonna go look for her.” He started walking backwards.“You on duty all night?”“Nah, I’ve been here since eleven this morning.Riley’s coming to relieve me in a couple of hours.”“Cool.Come find me.We’ll grab a beer before you head out.”“Sounds good, man.” Jake raised his hand, pointing toward the Ferris wheel.“Hey, there’s Ava.Looks like Rob’s trying to convince her to take over for Barb at the kissing booth.You may want to make your way over there now.”The kissing booth? Like hell.Chapter ThirteenAva was bent over laughing at Rob’s impersonation of Robin Williams when she felt strong hands gripping her waist from behind.Only one person could send chills racing up her spine with the slightest touch.Craig.“Hey, beautiful,” he whispered in her ear.“You still mad at me?”She wanted to tell him to get lost, but as soon as she turned to look at him, she was the one who was lost.How he could make faded blue jeans, worn cowboy boots, and a graphic t-shirt look sexy was beyond her, but judging by the salacious stares of the women within a twenty-foot radius, she wasn’t the only one who thought he looked good enough to eat.The subtle scent of his cologne teased her senses when he leaned in to nuzzle her neck.She couldn’t resist the urge to lean into his waiting arms and let the dozens of other women who were ogling him know he was spoken for.“Did you and Brandy have a nice breakfast?” She knew she sounded petty and jealous, but she couldn’t help herself.A woman with a body like that would shake any normal girl’s self-confidence.He tipped his head back.“We’re back to that again?”She set his sunglasses on top of his head so she could see his eyes.She leaned in to whisper in his ear and asked, “Did you think I was just going to forget that you left my bed last night so you could hook up with another woman this morning?”He framed her face with his hands as he leaned in to kiss her lips, gently, tenderly.He stared into her eyes for several seconds before he finally said, “That’s not the reason I left.That was an excuse because I didn’t want to tell you the real reason I had to bail on you.I’m sorry, baby.Sorry I left and sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you the truth last night.”She frowned.Okay, she hadn’t been expecting that, but she had to admit humble and apologetic Craig was too sexy to resist.“So, are you going to tell me the reason you left, or are you planning to keep me in suspense?”“I will tell you, I promise, but not here.”She glanced over her shoulder.Not surprisingly, Rob had moved on and Jessica was cozying up to a tall, dark, and handsome cowboy who appeared to be hanging on her every word.They were as alone as they could be in the midst of a thousand people.“I don’t think anyone’s listening, Craig.”He smiled as he stroked her cheek.“Baby, this is private.I can’t get into it here.”She melted into his touch.She was so weak where this man was concerned; she told herself she would ignore him today to punish him for last night, but he had her right where he wanted her, in his arms, within minutes of his arrival.“I should be mad at you.”He grinned.“But you’re not [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]