The men put down their pool cues and walked over. Cody made introductions for Ryker; apparently, everyone had met before. So he now knew Mallory Chapman, who owned a yoga studio. Nicki Vanderdorf was a florist, Jessie West worked at a nursery school, and Dawn Nailor was a cashier and student working on her master’s degree.
“Oh, this is Dani Ward,” said Mallory. A blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty looked over and blushed as she waved a finger at them. “She’s new in town and works at Spiritual Bliss.”
The guys acknowledged Dani. However, Ryker thought he’d met her somewhere. Her face was familiar. He sure would have remembered her. Dani was just his type. That is, when he used to have a type. Not anymore. Dani looked sexy in a pair of form-fitting black slacks, a short-sleeved lacy white top, and sparkly sandals. She’d pulled her blond hair into a ponytail.
“Hey, I know. Why don’t we play guys against girls? Winners buy a round,” Dex said.
Oh, no way. First off, the guys would win, and second, really? Were they in high school? But Ryker kept those thoughts to himself. He prayed one of the other guys would say no. But nooo. Colt took this time to open his mouth and say okay.
Crap. The women had been drinking. Ryker resigned himself to watching missed shots, scratches on the felt and lots of giggling.
“I’ll break,” said Cody as he racked the balls. “Can’t wait for my free beer.”
Cody made a show of chalking his cue, blowing on the tip, and studying the pool table. He looked over at the guys. “Are we playing eight ball or nine ball?”
“Come on, Cody, give the girls a break. Just eight ball,” said Linc.
Cody took the break shot. The first ball slipped into the corner hole, and the guys cheered.
He took another shot and missed.
“Damn,” Cody groused.
Ryker could only shake his head. This was either going to be a long, drawn-out game or a short one. He hoped whichever woman went next missed. Then Colt would take a turn and end this charade. Colt was an excellent player, as Ryker’s wallet could attest to.
“Dani, why don’t you show these losers how it’s done?” shouted Mallory.
“Oh, I don’t know,” said Dani. Ryker couldn’t believe she blushed even harder than before. “I haven’t played in a while.”
“Don’t worry, love. You’ll do fine.” Linc smiled at her.
Ryker had the strangest urge to punch him for calling her love. What the fuck? Linc didn’t even know Dani before tonight. He blew out a big breath. What was wrong with him? He had no claims on her.
Dani took her cue stick and chalked it. She walked around the table, looking at the balls’ positions. She took so long, Ryker hoped one of the other women would put her out of her misery.
“Okay,” she huffed.
Oh, good God. Dani leaned over and shook her ass. Ryker almost groaned. He noticed all the guys staring at her backside. Horndogs. They were all horndogs.
She hit a ball into a pocket, and the girls cheered.
Lucky shot.
Another ball went into a pocket.
The girls cheered.
Dani was lining up the eight ball for a corner pocket within minutes. She made it. The game was over. Over? How the hell did she do that? Ryker wondered.
“A ringer!” exclaimed Cody. He turned to Mallory and shook his head. “You set us up.”
“No, we didn’t,” said Mallory. “We’re as surprised as you are.”
“Where did you learn to play?” Linc asked Dani.
“Hmmm.” Dani bit her lip. “My husband taught me. He claimed I was a natural.”
Husband? Ryker looked at her left hand. Yup. Wedding band. That was disappointing. He felt connected to Dani, but he wasn’t coming on to another man’s woman.
“It doesn’t matter,” Dawn hooted. “We won. Pay up, boys.”
The girls crowded around the bar as Cody, or was it Linc, passed out beers.
Dani already had one mojito and was feeling good, not tipsy, just relaxed. She figured she would sip the beer. They would probably be here another hour, plenty of time for the alcohol to clear through her body. She’d never drive drunk.
When Mallory suggested they all go to the bar, Dani initially said no.
She hadn’t been out with other women in a while and never went to a bar. But Mallory worked on her and told her it was a family-friendly bar, and it was time to let her hair down. So she got Mrs. B. to babysit, and here she was.
One of the guys was whispering in Nicki’s ear. Oh, that was Cody. She remembered Nicki telling her that he was sweet on her.
The other men were gathered around and talking to the girls, light and easy laughs punctuating their conversations, except for the tall, sexy man with graying hair, serious blue eyes and tattoos who stood on the fringe, his beer cradled in both hands staring. Ryker.
Dani thought he looked familiar, but she had met so many people since moving to Florida, it was hard to remember if she had.
He appeared to be watching everyone with a keen eye. When he thought no one was looking, she felt his gaze linger on her. Her heart fluttered as she imagined what it would be like to be embraced by him, to feel his lips on hers.
She shook off the thought.
Dani hadn’t thought about being in another man’s arms—ever. Mason had been her first and only love. But Mason was gone now, and Dani had needs. She quickly shook her head and pushed away the thought. No matter how enticing it was to consider being in another man’s arms after Mason, it was too soon for her to date again.
A man’s arm slid past her waist, and she was startled. She turned her head quickly and saw Ryker step closer, then stop. It was only one of the guys reaching for a beer. For a moment, Dani thought Ryker would speak to her, but apparently not. She wondered if she should make a move. Probably not.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new in town?” asked Austin. Dani remembered he was the fireman.
“Yeah. I’ve been here a couple of months.”
“You work with Mallory, right?”
Dani nodded. Austin looked like he was going to ask another question but was accidentally pushed into another guy at the bar. Dani glanced over at Ryker, who scowled at Austin’s back but made no attempt to talk to her.
Ryker’s eyes were sharp and watchful, as if he was still in the military. All the men had that same look—back against the wall, eyes roving the room, guarding some unseen perimeter.
Yet, strangely enough, Dani felt safe. Not that she was in any danger.
At least not here.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ryker returned from a weeklong job chasing two young men who had stolen jewelry from their grandma.
She didn’t want the police involved, so it was a touchy situation.
It never ceased to amaze him how stupid people were. All he had to do was check with some pawn shops. The two imbeciles had sold the jewelry. The Brotherhood Alliance would reimburse him for the items he purchased back.
He had the asswipes’ names and address from the grandmother and took a side trip to talk to them. The conversation didn’t last long. Just long enough for the potential thugs to understand that stealing, especially from your family, was a big no-no and could have serious consequences. It didn’t hurt that he was a good foot taller and had a hundred pounds on them. The last he heard, they had contacted their grandma, who was dealing with them. They were still young, so Ryker hoped they’d turn their lives around.