Jake grinned. Pocketed the phone. Got in the Range Rover and pulled out of the spot Anna kept clear for him even though the sign said customer parking only.
Emily Callahan figured he was trouble, and she was still thinking about coming tonight.
That was enough. For now, that was more than enough.
CHAPTER 4
The Anchor sat at the end of a gravel road with no sign out front, weathered wood and a deck overlooking the water and a neon beer logo that looked like it had been flickering since before Emily was born.
"This is it?" Claire pulled her car into the gravel lot. "It looks like it might fall down."
"It has character."
"It has tetanus."
Emily smoothed her dress. Blue, casual, the one Claire had insisted on after watching Emily change four times. She felt ridiculous. She felt nervous. She felt like a woman about to make a decision she couldn't take back.
"You ready?" Claire asked.
"No."
"Perfect. Let's go."
The deck was strung with lights, sunset painting the water orange and pink. Emily spotted Ray first, his bulk unmistakable at a table near the railing. A man she didn't recognize sat across from him, built like a linebacker, laughing at a joke she'd missed.
And Jake.
He was at the bar, talking to an older man with a beard and tattoos who moved like he'd seen some things. Jake had changed since this morning. Different jeans, different t-shirt, same backwards cap. The sunglasses were gone, hooked in his collar, and when he turned and saw her, his whole face changed.
He walked toward her like she was the only person on the deck.
"You came." He sounded pleased. Genuinely pleased. "I wasn't sure you would."
"I almost didn't. Three times."
"What changed your mind?"
Emily glanced at Claire, who was already moving toward Ray's table. "She wouldn't let me back out."
"Remind me to thank her." Jake fell into step beside her. "What are you drinking?"
"I don't know. What's good here?"
"Everything. But if you trust me, the margaritas will change your life."
"I haven't decided if I trust you yet."
"Fair." His expression warmed. "Let's work on that."
Ray stood as they approached, pulling Emily into a hug before she could object. "There she is. The woman who filed the motion that made Vance's lawyers lose their minds."
"They responded fast."
"They responded panicked." Ray's grin widened. "You rattled the right cage, Counselor."
Jake introduced her to Tommy, his friend since childhood, a detective with easy charm and a grin that said he'd never met a stranger. Then Gator, the owner, who looked at Emily with assessment before nodding once, like she'd passed some test she hadn't known she was taking.
The margaritas arrived. Emily tasted hers and understood immediately why Jake had promised they'd change her life. Tartand bright and perfectly balanced, the kind of drink you didn't realize was dangerous until it was too late.
