Oh. Right. I was sitting here staring at him like an idiot, and now I knew for sure my face was beet red. “Ahem, this is my best friend, Autumn Archer, and her soon-to-be husband, Brian Stratton. Guys, this is Dylan Conrad, Blue Ridge Valley’s new police chief.”
“Welcome to Blue Ridge Valley,” Autumn said. “I’ve heard great things about you.”
Dylan sat back in his chair. “Oh?”
I kicked her under the table. That devilish gleam in her eyes meant she was up to no good.
“Yep. You have really pretty eyes, by the way. Jenn said they were the color of Tennessee whiskey, and she’s right.”
I kicked her again. Harder.
Dylan turned those beautiful eyes on me. “You been talking about me, Red?”
He was fighting a smile, so I knew he wasn’t mad. Still. “Nope. I hadn’t noticed what color your eyes were until now. One thing you need to learn about Autumn is that she likes to stir the pot.”
“That’s true,” Brian said.
Autumn punched his arm. “Hey, whose side are you on, anyway?”
“Yours, babe. Always yours.”
I hated when he called her that. Mostly because I’d heard him call other womenbabe.
Dylan glanced at me and winked, and what was it about a sexy man winking at you that made your heart flutter? Thirty minutes later we were all laughing like old friends, and I could tell Brian and Autumn liked him. I didn’t blame them. I sure did. The question was, what was I going to do about it?
“Isn’t this cozy?”
Well, hell, if it wasn’t Chad the Stalker. What a surprise. I glared at him. “Are you following me now?”
“Of course not. I just want to talk to you.” He scowled at Dylan.
Dylan put his arm around the back of my chair, pulling me next to him. “Jenny’s with me now, Mr. Perrine. I don’t take kindly to you harassing my girlfriend.”
Huh? What was he up to? Autumn glanced at me, the same question in her eyes. I shrugged, telling her I had no idea.
“Is that true, Jenn?” Chad said.
“Ah, yeah. It is.” Why not agree if it would make him go away?
“Is there anything else you wish to say, Mr. Perrine?”
Man, Dylan’s voice had gone stone-cold. So had his eyes. A little thrill shot up my spine. I’d never had a man step in as protector before. It was kind of cool in a medieval-knight-in-shining-armor way. I wondered if he had a white horse stashed away somewhere.
“No? Then I suggest you leave before I decide to arrest you for being a public nuisance.”
Chad’s fists clenched at his sides, and for a second I thought he was going to do something stupid like punch Dylan. But with one last glare at me, he walked away.
“Wow,” I said, watching Chad’s retreating back.
“That was crazy cool,” Autumn said. “You ever talk to me with that menacing voice, I promise I’ll skedaddle away as fast as my legs can carry me.”
Dylan grinned. “He didn’t quite skedaddle. Maybe I need to practice making it scarier.”
“That turn you on, babe?” Brian said. “I can talk plenty scary if that gets you off.”
Along with the way I’d sometimes catch Brian checking out my butt, that was another thing about him that rubbed me wrong. He was always making inappropriate comments.
Autumn punched his arm. “Behave.”
