Simon couldn’t stop thinking about her. Thewoman sitting across from him had plagued his thoughts for the past few days, so he figured he might as well broach the subject. He wasn’t big on playing games, and he didn’t intend to start now.
“Elana told me nice guys aren’t your thing.”
Violet’s eyebrows arched toward her hairline.
“Unfortunately, that’s about as not nice as I get,” he admitted. While he had no interest in going out with the waitress—he might have if he hadn’t met Violet first—Simon refused to be rude. He didn’t have it in him. And if that made him a nice guy, so be it.
He watched as Violet poked at her food, her mouth partially open as though she was hoping words would simply tumble out.
Pushing his plate to the side, Simon put his elbows on the table. “Is this better?”
Her forehead creased. “Iswhatbetter?”
“I’m violatin’ table etiquette.” He lifted his elbow and put it back down.
Violet laughed, and the sound went straight to his cock. Jesus. He loved that sound.
“You think puttin’ your elbows on the table qualifies you for bad boy status?”
“Maybe.” Simon smiled. He couldn’t help it. “Is it workin’?”
“Not really,” she said with a straight face, but he sensed she was teasing him.
“Well, I’ll keep tryin’.”
Violet spooned some of her chili and blew on it. His brain processed the purse of her lips as the most erotic thing he’d ever witnessed, and it took effort to keep from groaning aloud.
“Why?” she asked after she swallowed.
“Why what?”
“Why would you keep tryin’?”
“Why not?”
Violet shrugged and took another bite, chewed, swallowed. “You’re only in town for a few days.”
“Probably longer,” he said before he could think better of it.
It was true; he hadn’t yet decided whether he would pursue this story. He had a meeting with Travis Walker, but not until tomorrow. If the man wasn’t opposed to it, that would only tip the scales. It wasn’t the deciding factor. Simon also had to weigh the cost of trying to get information from people who weren’t three sheets to the wind and ready to tell their family’s deepest, darkest secrets. He needed valid, reliable information, not gossip.
As a rule, Simon would only tug on threads for a short time before he expected something to come from it. There were far too many cases and convictions for him to dive into. He didn’t have to spend too much time on those with little substance. If this were anyone other than Holt asking him to look into it, Simon would’ve gone back to Dallas already.
Then Violet appeared, and suddenly, he was thinking about moving to Coyote Ridge.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t that far gone, but he would admit he was fascinated in a way that made absolutely no sense.
“What’s the draw of bad boys?” he asked, watching as Violet continued to eat. A lot of women he’d dated would’ve pretended they weren’t hungry. Not Violet. She was chowing down like this was her last meal.
And damn if he didn’t find that sexy as hell.
She set down her spoon and reached for her napkin. “It’s a curse.”
“Oh, that’s right. Elana mentioned that.”
“Exactly how long did you talk to my best friend?”
Simon liked the way her dark brown eyes glittered with amusement. “Long enough to carry a drunk cowboy out to her car.”
