“Just picking up some dinner,” Knox said, his eyes narrowing.“What are you doing here?”
“Oh.Um.”Shit, shit, shit.She looked down at the table, and the slice of chocolate cream pie in front of her.“I’m having pie.”
“By yourself?”Jesse asked, one dark eyebrow going up in question.
A superfluous one, since Sawyer’s coffee cup and his slice of blueberry pie sat across from her.“No, I’m here with…”
“Me,” Sawyer finished, coming up behind Jesse and Knox with two forks in his hand a smile on his face.
Jesse automatically shifted to the side, but Knox just turned his head and glared.And though Sawyer’s smile stayed polite, one heavy eyebrow inched up.“Excuse me.”
His scowl deepening, Knox took a step back, and Sawyer slipped smoothly into the booth.“Sorry it took me so long, sugar.They were busy at the counter.”
“It’s all right.”Taking the fork he held out, Chloe wished she could slide under the table and disappear.Since that didn’t seem to be an option, she cleared her throat.“Um, this is Sawyer.He’s…”
“A friend,” Sawyer supplied smoothly when she faltered, and winked before looking up.“And you are?”
“What?”Knox said, scowling, and Jesse jammed an elbow into his ribs.
“I’m Jesse,” Jesse supplied, his normally cheerful expression twisted in a frown.“This is my husband, Knox.”
“A pleasure,” Sawyer said smoothly and reached across the table to take Chloe’s hand again.Knox hissed.Sawyer smiled.“And how do you know Chloe?”
When Jesse just stared and Knox just glared, Chloe stepped nervously into the conversational breach.“They’re renovating the pub my aunts own.The Wild Clover?”
“I know that place.”Surprised pleasure lit Sawyer’s eyes.“Your aunts own it?”
Chloe nodded.He was doing that thing with his thumb on the back of her hand again, and it was distracting.“I work there as a bartender.”
“Well, then, I’ll have to stop in for a drink,” Sawyer murmured, lowering his mouth to her knuckles, and Chloe blushed.
Knox snarled, Jesse said, “What the fuck?”and up at the register, Carol shouted, “To-go order for Jesse!”
“Sounds like your dinner is ready, boys,” Sawyer said, not taking his eyes off Chloe.Then his gaze flicked up.“Nice meeting you.”
Chloe looked up at Jesse and Knox’s thunderous faces, then back at Sawyer’s amused one, completely at sea.Then Knox turned abruptly and stomped away, and after a moment Jesse mumbled, “See you later, Chloe,” and followed.
Chloe blinked after them, then looked at Sawyer.“I have no idea what just happened.”
“No,” Sawyer said slowly.“I can see you don’t.”
“Are you going to explain it to me?”she demanded.
He picked up his fork and flaked off a bit of golden, sugary crust.“If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?”
Baffled, and growing more annoyed by the second, she picked up her own fork and stabbed it into her pie.“Yes.”
“Were those two—what were their names?”
“Jesse and Knox.”
“Right.Were Jesse and Knox the candidates you told me about?The ones that aren’t available?”
She paused, a forkful of chocolate cream halfway to her mouth, then shoved it in and nodded.
His lips twitched.“And you determined their unavailability how?”
She swallowed.“What do you mean, how?”
