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“Great. He won’t see us come in.”
Tristan opened the door, and then he and Fuzz followed her in. She headed for the end of the bar, where she would be able to see the pool tables. He stopped next to her, close enough to feel his body heat and smell his spicy scent. He was distracting. She huffed an annoyed breath as she took a few steps away.
“Kyle’s at the second table,” Tristan said as he closed the distance she’d put between them. “Recognize the man with him?”
She sure did. What the hell was he doing here? She strode to the man she’d hoped to never see again. He was leaning over the table, cue stick in hand. “Why are you here, Danny?”
The man who’d tried to ruin her life lifted his gaze to her and had the nerve to smile. “Skye.” He dropped the cue stick, then came around the table, arms out as if he meant to hug her.
Not if he was the last man on earth. She held her hand up, palm out. “You touch me, and I’ll hurt you.”
“Aw, baby. You don’t mean that.” His eyes shifted to Tristan, who’d moved so close to her that their arms were touching. “Who’s he?”
“Tristan Church, Marsville’s police chief. And you are?” Tristan said.
“He’s nobody,” she said. “And he’s leaving. Go home, Danny, and don’t come here again.”
“I’m her fiancé,” her ex had the gall to say.
Tristan glanced at her. “I don’t think she agrees with you. Do you, Skylar?”
“Why don’t you butt out, man, since this is none of your business?” Danny puffed out his chest and moved into her space.
She should have left her gun in the car, then she wouldn’t be tempted to shoot him. When he put his hand on her arm, both Tristan and Fuzz growled. She rolled her eyes. Next, all three of them would be peeing on her to claim their territory.
When Kyle moved to the other side of her so that she was sandwiched between him and Tristan, she sighed. Men! She was the sheriff. She carried a gun. She could take care of herself, thank you.
“You!” She pointed at Danny. “Outside.” She narrowed her eyes at Tristan. “Wait here while I send that one back under the rock he crawled out from.”
He snorted. “Yes, ma’am.”
As she followed Danny out of the bar, she glanced over her shoulder. Tristan had turned to watch her, but he was staying put. If the roles had been reversed between him and Danny, Danny wouldn’t have trusted her to be alone with another man.
Not that she and Tristan were a couple, but chemistry sizzled between them whenever they were in the same room. If not for the jerk walking ahead of her and the games he’d played, she wouldn’t have been so skittish when it came to having some playtime with a certain hot police chief. But what if they gave into this thing brewing between them?
What if it turned sour and his true colors showed? You’re seeing his true colors. Don’t judge him by the way Danny treated you. Was she seeing the real Tristan, though? She’d never thought Danny could turn on her the way he had.
Danny stopped and held open the door for her. As she walked past him, Fuzz appeared at her side. She almost laughed. Tristan was respecting her wishes by staying put, but she hadn’t included his dog in her instructions. Fuzz wouldn’t leave his side without being commanded to do so, which meant Tristan had sent him to guard her.
“I’ve missed you, babe,” Danny said as soon as the door closed behind him.
“I’m not your babe.” She’d told him early on that she didn’t like being called babe, especially in front of her fellow cops, but he’d ignored her. She should have recognized that for the red flag it was.
When he reached a hand toward her, she stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “The faster you tell me why you’re here, the faster you can go back home.”
“Don’t be like that, Skye. I know I messed up, but we love each other. Come home with me. I promise, things will be different this time.”
“No. You don’t have it in you to be different.”
He’d cheated on her, and that was something she couldn’t get over. He’d do it again, given half a chance. When she’d caught him, he’d blamed her. “You’ve gone cold on me, babe,” he’d said. “She didn’t mean anything, but a man has needs, you know?”
Whatever. She’d been gone a year. Why was he showing up now? He didn’t do anything without a reason.
“Why are you really here, Danny?”
“For you, babe.”
Yeah, right. “I don’t trust you. I don’t like you. I don’t want you here. Go home, and don’t come back.”
