“You said that on purpose.”
“Yes, I did.”
“You don’t believe me.” Now that they were talking, she was in better control of herself.
“No, I don’t.”
“Will you believe Cole if he tells you?”
“I don’t expect to hear that from Cole.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
“You sound like Marv.”
“Ah, Marv. Sorry about those two.”
“The barber twins? They’re a fixture in Mustang Valley. Everybody gets a kick out of them.”
“The barber twins, huh?” She chuckled. “I get a kick out of them, too. I just wish Marv would give up on this premonition thing.”
“Have you considered that he could be right?”
Her breath caught. “No.” She hesitated. Heck, might as well ask. “Have you?”
“Sure. I come from a culture that believes in destiny and the hand of Fate. What if we were supposed to meet five years ago, and now we’re getting a second chance at happiness?”
“Fate didn’t bring me here. I brought me here.”
“Because of a dream.”
“One that was driving me nuts. I was looking for the antidote.”
“How’s that working out for you?” He folded his arms over his chest and grinned, the rat.
“Not so great, smarty-pants. But I’m not blaming Fate or destiny for that.”
“What are you blaming?”
She lowered her voice. “You’re just too fudging hot.”
“Backatcha.” Then his attention shifted. “Here come Cole and Rio.” He lifted a hand. “Over here!”
“Saw you!” Cole called out. “Will you look at this short line? We should’ve gone over to the Raccoon for a cool one and come back now.”
“Yeah,” Rio said, “but we’d better get in Desiree’s line instead of gabbing. More people could show up any minute.”
“Chances are they won’t.” Luis scanned the area. “I think the rush is over. Go ahead and stand over there just to be safe, but I’ll bet you’ll still be the end of the line when we come out.”
Cole looked around, too. “You could be right. That’ll make it easier if we end up going to her table together. Then we can head straight over to the Raccoon to meet up with Mila.”
Jordan gave him a look and a shake of her head.
“I mean, or not. I guess that was supposed to be later. Never mind.”
Rio tipped back his hat. “What’s up with Mila?”
“It’s just a discussion,” Luis said. “The four of us need to… hash out a few things.”
