“Who told you my parents are in town?” JC questioned.
His huge smile widened, fully defining the dimples in his red cheeks. His gaze teetered back and forth between the table across the room and JC. “I just heard from somebody in the bar who said that they saw her,” Codge stammered, holding back a full chuckle.
“What the hell is so funny?” She turned her attention to the table Codge observed.
“Nothing’s funny.” He crossed his arms across his chest, innocently raking his fingers through his goatee.
Her eyes caught glimpse of a man the size of Codge, only younger, sitting at the table. JC gasped, gaping at a set of solid wide shoulders. “Holy shit! Streaker!”
CHAPTER NINE
Everything around her came to screeching halt.
Every voice, every footstep, every clink of a glass, even the music rendered silent. Overcome by fear, she stood, paralyzed, as her pulse rampaged through the veins in her neck. JC stared at the man sitting at the table with his back toward her. She’d only seen one man who measured up to Codge’s size, and he’d swam naked in her pool last night.
Fear exploded into anger and aggravation, realizing she stood shaking in her boots while he sat enjoying himself with friends. Oh, that is it! I don’t fucking think so! I am not going to be afraid of you…or any other man!
Slamming her purse on the bar, she snarled at Codge, “Watch this for me.”
JC stormed toward the group of men ordering a round of drinks from the waitress. Her eyes narrowed and jaw clamped tight and she stopped directly behind the man. Other men at the table all took notice of JC staring viciously at the back of his head as if it were a dartboard.
A man sitting directly across the table surveyed her with wide, curious eyes. Clearing his throat, he mumbled something and nodded in JC’s direction.
Everyone at the table, now fully aware of her fury, watched as the large man glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder.
Her heartbeat pounded in her chest as their eyes met and locked.
He made a grim observation of the situation, slowly returning his gaze to the table, muttering, “Oh, hell.”
JC’s hands balled into fists, ready to take aim as he scooted his chair away from the table. “Oh, hell is right!” She demanded, “Why were you in my pool?”
Rising from the chair, he straightened to his full height, towering over JC. The enormous size of him made her stagger back a step. Blood rushed from her face, draining her of color. Anger welled up inside, pissed at herself for withdrawing.
“Change that to a shot of Jack Daniels,” he said to the waitress.
Finding her nerve, JC lifted her chest taking a bold step towards him, encroaching into his personal space. Her voice escalated three octaves higher. “Why were you naked in my pool? Were you trying to rob me? What are you? Some kind of burglar?”
“Make that two shots of Jack,” he called toward the bar, uneasily running his fingers through his dirty-blond hair. He turned back to the men sitting at the table. “’Scuse me.”
He held his hand out, politely gesturing JC toward the bar as if attempting to avoid an embarrassing scene.
“What’s the matter? You don’t want your friends to know you broke into my backyard?”
He cautiously touched his hand against the small of her back.
She flinched and swatted at his hand. “Don’t touch me!” she fumed, taking an aggressive stance, almost chest bumping him as she glared up into his eyes.
He gazed down, staring at her sympathetically with the most gorgeous ice blue eyes she’d ever seen. As he leaned in next to her ear, she recoiled when the stubble on his face briefly touched the skin near her temple. “Ma’am, I’d appreciate it if you’ll allow me to explain. I’m not a burglar. And I don’t need everybody in this bar thinking I might be one.”
JC blinked repeatedly, silently damning him for having such tender sweetness in his voice that dripped like honey from his tongue. An unfamiliar sensation rippled through her all the way down to her toes. Turning from his hypnotic blue eyes, she marched to the bar.
Codge’s elbows rested on the bar top, leaning his chin on his entwined fingers. A bottle of Jack Daniels and two full shot glasses sat in front of him on the thick slab of wood.
A light dampness of sweat covered her body from the adrenaline coursing through her body. Her chest heaved up and down with each breath. JC waited for her streaker to explain, but he seemed to be at a loss for words, only staring at her intently.
“Well, spit it out,” she snipped, impatiently placing her hands on her hips.
He reached for a shot of Jack and then another, extending a shot glass to her.