And locked tight.
The air pulsed with weight this time, and Roxie took a shuddering breath.
“Heads up, everyone,” Skeeter said loudly.“This is Billy.Billy Cannon, Roxie’s hubby.”
Chapter Two
“Ex,” Roxie said hoarsely.She was surprised she could get that much out.Her mouth had gone dry and her throat felt thick.“Ex-husband.”
Like the distinction mattered with her sisters looking at her wide-eyed in shock.Everybody in the place had turned to watch the spectacle.Everyone, including Whitey and Old Martha.
“You’remarried?”Lexie said.
Roxie gritted her teeth.She might as well have said, “You’re an alien?”Was it so surprising that she’d had someone in her life, too?Once upon a time… long, long ago…
“Divorced,” she said tightly.“Years ago.It was short-lived.”
“Not as short as you like to think,” Billy returned.
Billy.Every time she looked at him, her stomach squeezed, but it was nearly impossible to look away.That familiar old jitter was running through her veins—a hot spicy thrill that she couldn’t ignore.It was like this every time they came within fifty feet of one another.Always had been and probably always would be.The two of them had always been combustible together, like two firecrackers held together by a common wick.
Damn it, why was he here?He couldn’t be here, not tonight of all nights.She was feeling rocky enough as it was.He just might be more than she could take.
But damn, he looked good.
She bit her lip when he brushed off the seat of his pants, and her fingers itched.She knew just how that masculine backside felt.She remembered how it would flex when she ran her fingernails across it.How he’d buck into her and whisper what a bad girl she was…
Low down, her belly gave a delicious squeeze.Heat gathered in her cheeks, and she swore under her breath.
Blushing?Seriously?She rubbed her hand over her cheekbone, trying to brush it away.
Fortunately, Lexie didn’t see because she’d already swung around towards Cam.“Did you know about this?”
Maxie caught Zac’s arm.“You did a background check on her.”
Both men winced, and Roxie’s lip curled up in a snarl.When she’d shared her background info with Zac, it had been to prove that Maxie was her sister, not to let him pry into her life.And as for the Hatchet Man… Lexie’s in-charge boyfriend just liked to meddle.
“It was so long ago,” Cam said.
Zac tilted his head in apology.“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“Not relevant?”Lexie snapped.
Maxie jabbed a finger in Roxie’s general direction.“Does that not seem relevant?”
No, her marriage to Billy had never been irrelevant.
Roxie’s heart jumped when her ex took a step towards her, and the thrill inside her gave a sharp tug.Their gazes locked, and she fought not to dissolve.His green eyes seemed so deep tonight.They were sharper and darker than she’d ever seen them before.
The noisy bar drifted away until it was just the two of them.
Before she knew it, he was standing right in front of her.Her hair fell back as she looked up into his face.She could smell the musky scent of his cologne, even through the heavy smoke in the bar, and it sparked memories inside her.Memories of intimacy.Physical and emotional.
She remembered being with him.She remembered it being the two of them against the world.
And she remembered it all falling apart.
The ache in her chest moved up to her throat.
