AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The muscular college boy on her opposite side had already earned Bobby Tom’s disfavor by wearing a Baylor T-shirt. When the kid caught Gracie by the hips and turned her in the right direction, Bobby Tom’s eyes narrowed.
She laughed and shook her curls. “I’ll never get it!”
“Sure you will.” The kid raised the beer bottle he was holding right up to her lips.
She took a drink and coughed. The boy laughed and started to give her another sip, but Bobby Tom had no intention of watching her turn into an alcoholic right before his eyes. Looping his arm around her shoulders, he glared at the kid and pulled her away.
The boy flushed. “Sorry, Mr. Denton.”
Mister Denton! That did it! He grabbed Gracie’s wrist and pulled her toward the fire exit at the back.
She stumbled slightly. “What’s wrong? Where are we going?”
“I’ve got a stitch in my side. I need some fresh air.”
He hit the bar on the back door with the heel of his hand and dragged her out behind the building into the gravel lot where the employees parked. A battered green Dumpster sat behind the motley collection of vehicles, along with a shed built from concrete blocks.
He didn’t smell anything more exotic than french fries and dust, but Gracie gave a contented sigh as she breathed in the air. “Thank you so much for bringing me here. I don’t know when I’ve had such a good time. Everybody’s been so nice.”
She sounded giddy and her eyes sparkled like Christmas lights, making her look so pretty it was hard for him to remember she wasn’t prime-cut. The air-conditioning unit hummed loudly, but didn’t quite drown out the music from the juke box. She pushed a strand of hair away from her cheek, then locked her hands behind her neck and leaned back against the building’s rough wooden siding, thrusting her breasts forward at the same time.
Where had she learned a trick like that? He suddenly wanted his old Gracie back, with her raccoon tail dress and lumpy hair. He’d been comfortable with his old Gracie, and the fact that he was the one responsible for her transformation into a honky-tonk hellcat made him even more peeved.
“Did it occur to you that I might not like my fiancée displaying her chest to everybody in town?”
She looked down at herself and her hand flew to her undone button. “Oh, my.”
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, tonight, but I think you’d better settle down right now and act like an engaged woman.”
Her eyes shot up to meet his. She stared at him for a long moment, clamped her teeth together, and flicked open the second button.
He was so surprised by her defiance that it took him a few seconds to find his voice. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“There’s no one around. I’m hot, and you’re immune to me, so what difference does it make.”
She was hot, all right, and so was he. He didn’t know what had gotten into her tonight, but he was putting a stop to it. “I never said I was immune to you,” he retorted belligerently. “You’re female, aren’t you?”
Her eyes flew open. It was a nasty crack, and he was immediately ashamed of himself. His shame grew as the stunned expression on her face changed to a look of concern.
“Your knee is bothering you, isn’t it? That’s why you’ve been so grouchy all evening.”
Leave it to Gracie to find an excuse for his boorish behavior. She only wanted to see the good side of people, a fact that made everybody in the world take advantage of her. Still, he wasn’t up to destroying her illusions about him by telling her that his knee was doing fine. Instead, he rea
ched down and rubbed it through his jeans. “Some days are better than others.”
She cupped his wrist. “I feel terrible. I’ve been having such a good time that I wasn’t thinking about anybody but myself. Let’s go home so we can put some ice on it.”
He felt lower than a snake. “I should probably keep moving so it doesn’t freeze up. Let’s dance instead.”
“Are you sure?”
“ ‘Course I’m sure. They’re playing George Strait, aren’t they?”
“Are they?”
He caught her by the hand and gathered her against him. “You mean to tell me you don’t recognize George Strait?”
“I don’t know much about country singers.”
