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She giggled but didn’t look. “He’s doing something silly, isn’t he?”
“You guessed it. He’s giving me the sign language for ‘kiss her.’”
“You have ‘work’ sign language for ‘kiss her’?”
He chuckled. “No. The fool is spelling it out.” He kissed her as he backed her into his tall chair, caging her against the backrest until she was out of breath and shaking like a leaf in the wind.
“Holy m–moly,” she whispered when he finally let her go.
“That was my thank-you for the dance earlier.”
“Which one, ours or my dance with the girls?”
“Both. And damn, woman, you were torturing us with those belly dancing moves. You all disrupted the entire club with that dance. Now I can see why Ben didn’t like it when Grace and the girls did that at the Pony.”
“Why?”
“When a knot of people forms, it’s hard to get through and deal with trouble. All the guys were crowding that side of the club. The only reason I didn’t come closer was because Heath and the guys were able to get to you before the song ended. A lot of single men come to this club.”
“Is that one of the reasons you all watch over the women?”
“It’s the reason.” He smiled. “But it was worth it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t get mad then. So Ben didn’t like that when the girls dance?”
Cody grinned. “I think it had more to do with one particular little dancer than with anything else at the time.”
“Camilla?” At his nod, she added. “I’d love to meet her some time. I heard from Lucy that she’s a new mom.”
His face lit up. “Yeah. Want to see a picture?”
She nodded and he pulled out his smartphone and thumbed through the screens until he found what he was looking for. Then he turned the phone so she could see.
“Aw,” she murmured as she gazed at the picture of Cody sitting in a hospital rocking chair with two tiny red-faced bundles in his arms. One baby was asleep with a blissful little smile on his face and the other was squalling. In the picture, Cody looked completely unperturbed and at ease as he held the tiny bundles.
He pointed to the screen. “The one crying is James. And the one sleeping is Joshua. This was taken the day after they were born. Camilla told the hospital staff we were family and got pictures with the three of us holding them. They were wrapped in heated blankets since they were still in the NICU, in incubators. They’re nearly three weeks old now.”
“They’re beautiful. I’ll bet you’re a terrific uncle.”
Cody met her gaze, his eyes warm. “Hope so. They’re so tiny. James is a bit smaller and fit in the palm of my hand, rump to head,” he said as he held his hand out to demonstrate how small the baby was. Maizy traced her fingertips over his large upturned hand and hers looked small in comparison.
They were talking about his new nephews but the tension, which wasn’t unpleasant, was growing between them over thoughts that were left unsaid.
Two giggling blondes waved good-bye to Cody and Ryan as they exited the club when closing time approached. Maizy stifled a yawn, knowing she was hours beyond her normal bedtime. Presley Ann left the club with one of the men Spencer had sent to dance with her, leaving her sister behind, which made Maizy think even less of Presley Ann. Leah exited the club five minutes later, looking resolute and unsurprised.
“Bye, Leah,” Heath said as he held the door for her. Leah smiled at him, glanced at Maizy, and gave her a small smile and nod before she exited. To Cody, he said, “I’m going to check the parking lot and make sure Leah gets to her car all right.” Cody nodded and Heath disappeared outside and rejoined them a few minutes later.
“For a Saturday it seemed like a pretty quiet night,” Maizy murmured as the last of the nightclub patrons left and the waitresses hurried around wiping down tables and tidying up.
The three men chuckled and Cody said, “We handled three near-fistfights, found a couple having sex in the housekeeping closet, the condom machine in the men’s room was ripped from the wall, we ejected a couple of assholes snorting coke at one of the tables, and two women got into a catfight in the ladies’ room.”
