Troy shook his head. “I’m not leaving until I get what I came for.”
Juan stiffened and pointed his finger at Troy. “What makes you think you have rights over Senada?”
Pausing, Troy gave a warning glance at Juan’s accusing finger. He took an unrushed swallow of beer and leaned back in his seat, clearly sure of his power. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve got rights with Senada.”
Then he looked at Senada, and she felt the impact of his take-no-prisoners gaze to her toes. “She left me at the altar.”
Chapter Two
After being ignored for days, Troy felt a measure of satisfaction at seeing Senada stare at him in shock. “I may not be the only one she’s left at the altar,” he continued, elaborating on his fabrication, “but I think I deserve some answers. Wouldn’t you?” He shot Juan a challenging glance. “She told me that all those stories about her ex-husband having to be—”
“Ex-husband!” Senada repeated, apparently finding her voice.
“—rushed to the hospital on their wedding night were just rumors.”
“The hospital,” she sputtered. “You’re lying.” She looked at Troy as if he’d lost his mind.
“You’re crazy. You’re—”
Troy nodded. “That’s right. Crazy for you. You stood with me at the altar, then left me. I deserve a chance to win her back.” He nodded at the men. “Agreed?”
Juan looked uncertainly from Senada to Troy.
A waitress gave Senada a searching glance. “Why’d you dump him?”
“I didn’t! He’s lying. I never promised him anything. He’s crazy. He just wants…” She took a breath, running out of words.
“He just wants what, señorita? Or is it, señora?” Juan added meaningfully.
“Can you honestly say you didn’t stand beside me at the altar?” Troy demanded, recalling Lisa and Brick’s wedding, where Senada had been a bridesmaid.
She paused, her eyes narrowing. “No, but that wasn’t our—”
“There you have it, boys. From her very own mouth.”
Juan motioned his friends backward. “A man deserves to claim his woman.”
Senada slammed the pitcher of beer down on the counter. “His woman, my fanny.”
“Appreciate your understanding,” Troy interjected with a nod.
She glared at him with enough heat to melt iron, then seared him with a rush of Spanish words for which he could only guess the meaning.
She narrowed her eyes. “You know, up until this moment, you just annoyed me,” she told him as she rounded the counter. “I had decided you were pushy because you were misguided. And if you were a little thick upstairs, it was probably just genetic, since the rest of your brothers seemed to be the same way. When people annoy me, I ignore them.”
She leaned closer to him, and Troy was amazed at the quick leap of response in his body. “Now, I really don’t like you,” she whispered in a voice that shouldn’t have been but was outrageously seductive. Her eyes were nearly black with emotion, and Troy felt himself sinking.
He closed his own eyes, blinking at the odd sensations inside him. Before he knew it, cold beer gushed down his head. Senada put the empty pitcher on the counter. He swore. His hair was drenched, his shirt wet. “What in hell—” He swore again, jerking away and shaking his head.
Senada smiled. “That’s what I do to people I don’t like. Don’t mess with me, Pendleton. You are out of your league.”
After his shower, Troy received a call from his brother Brick. “Nothing yet,” he said, toweling dry his hair. “I knew she was moody, but you could have warned me about her temper.”
“Lisa says she doesn’t like being told what to do. And she gets really upset if she thinks someone is trying to put one over on her,” Brick said.
Troy glanced at his beer-drenched shirt wadded up in the corner of his room and nodded.
“Yeah, I figured that out.”
“Well, if you screwed up, Lisa says Senada loves chocolate.” Brick lowered his voice.
“Personally, I’d recommend ducking. What do you think is wrong with her, anyway?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out. Even if it kills me,” he muttered, then asked about the farm. After a couple of minutes, he finished his conversation and gazed around his new living quarters. A vast improvement over the hotel, the two-room garage apartment was still too small and hot, but it was clean. After sizing Troy up, his elderly landlord had given him a list of rules a mile long and required two months’ rent in advance. But as they say in real estate, location is everything. His present location was perfect for his purpose.