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“Shit,” Ava murmured again, grabbing her beer, eyes behind Charlie.
“Seriously, don’t worry about it.”
“Shit,” her friend repeated, voice rising slightly.
Okay. Ava was taking this a little too far, even for her.
“Ava—”
“Oh my God, they’re coming over. He’s coming over.”
Good Lord, what the hell was wrong with Ava? Her voice had risen a couple octaves.
“I don’t give a flying crap, Ava. Jeremy Martin can kiss my ass.”
“Who’s Jeremy Martin?”
Charlie glanced over her shoulder and met a pair of dark chocolate eyes. For a moment she had nothing—and it was a rare thing for Charlie Samuels to be speechless—but she recovered nicely, arched an eyebrow and squared her shoulders.
“Jeremy Martin can kiss my ass is none of your business.”
“Jesus, Charlotte. That’s no way to talk to someone new in town.” Ava slid off her stool and held out her hand, eyes as wide as the smile on her face. “You have to be the new guy everyone’s been talking about. I’m Ava.”
“Rick,” he responded smiling at Charlie’s friend, though his eyes moved back to Charlie, and for one breathless moment, more zigs and zags than she could count rushed through her.
Um. What? Unnerved, she settled back onto her stool and took a moment. Then Charlie reached for her whiskey and swore when her fingers closed around an empty tumbler. Glaring at Angus the bartender, she held up her empty glass.
Davis slid up beside her and whispered near her ear. “Be nice.”
Jason Davis was her best friend. She’d known him all her life and he’d worked for her dad right out of high school. Now he worked for Charlie. At thirty, he was still single—which made no sense. With wicked blue eyes and a thick mop of blond curls, he had more women after him than he had time for. Funny as hell and loyal to the end, he’d been there for Charlie during her darkest days. After her father passed, she would have fallen apart if not for Davis.
“I’ll try,” she muttered, glancing toward Ava. But it was those chocolate eyes that she saw once more. Rick stared at her as if he could see right through her, and dammit Charlie broke eye contact. Okay, she really needed to get her shit together.
“You guys eat yet?” Davis asked.
“Yes,” Charlie said.
“No,” Ava replied at the same time. “You inviting us over, Davis?”
“That depends.”
“On what?” Ava asked.
“Whether or not you’re hooking up with Seth Rogers. The guy is a doorknob and I don’t have time to listen to his bullshit.”
“Since when do you care about Seth?”
“I don’t.”
“Whatever, grumpy pants. I’m here with Charlie. Alone.” She batted her eyes in an exaggerated manner. “And hungry.”
Charlie watched her friends, amused by their banter. Jesus, were they ever going to see how right they were for each other?.
Davis’s eyes narrowed a bit and he turned from Ava, leaning closer to Charlie. “Forget about Jeremy. Come sit with me and my new buddy Rick.”
“Since when are you and him buddies?”
“Since you overcharged him for the job this morning.”
