Page 26 of Armed ’N’ Ready

“You’d be surprised at the skills I possess.”

While she processed his words, his gaze held hers captive with a potency that made her heartbeat thrum in her ears. She couldn’t tell if he was sending her a warning, boasting, or whether there was a double entendre tangled up there somewhere. In any case, there was definitely a challenging gleam in his eyes.

“We’ll see about that.” She pushed back her chair and grabbed the tray as she stood. “We’re open for lunch and dinner. Lunch starts at eleven thirty. Don’t be late.”

It took all her willpower not to glance over her shoulder as she walked away and pulled open the screen door. Once inside, she deposited the tray onto the bar and went directly to her office. She shut the door and fell into her desk chair. The stack of unpaid bills on her desk was getting higher.

Irritation had her grinding her teeth. She’d been manipulated into making a deal with the devil. Unfortunately, Satan came in the form of one very hunky, incredibly sexy state trooper.

Chapter Seven

Nick grabbed two beer glasses from beneath the bar and flipped down the tap’s handle. He’d been working at the cafe for three days now, and things had been quiet. Other than Andi, only Tess knew who he really was and why he was there. Tess was due in shortly, and Andi was busy helping Kara and Zoe with the dining room.

He glanced at the photo across the room on the Wall of Dog. It was a copy of the one that had been stolen from Myer’s house during the break-in. It shouldn’t, but for some reason the idea of Andi and Myer together annoyed him. More importantly, instinct and experience told him there was a bad reason why the photo was snatched. If unexpected shit went down, he’d be there front and center to stop it.

And Myer still hadn’t called her.

Unless she hasn’t told me.

He served up drafts to the two men in business suits at the end of the bar. Michael Sullivan and Stan Barrow were tax attorneys in Springfield. Despite the twenty-minute drive, they stopped in every day for lunch at the same time and both ordered the green chili burger with cheddar and two beers.

“Your burgers will be out in a few minutes,” he said as he cleared away dirty plates left by two female customers who’d just walked out the door.

“Thanks, Nick.” Michael lifted his glass in mock salute. “Nothing better than a DPC burger. Just don’t tell the wife. She says if I don’t get my cholesterol under one-eighty, she’ll divorce me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He held back a laugh. Michael’s cholesterol might be high, but he was about five-ten and couldn’t have weighed more than one-forty.

“Care for a beer?” Stan asked before taking a sip. “It’s on us.”

“Thanks, guys.” He began wiping down the bar with a dry cloth. “No can do. The boss would fire me for drinking on the job.”

“Nah.” Stan waved a dismissive hand. “Andi’s a good woman. All her employees love her. Everyone loves her.”

“I can see that.” And he had.

Since the lunch crowd had begun trickling in an hour and a half ago, no fewer than half a dozen men had made a point of personally greeting her. From the way their hands had lingered at her waist as they hugged her or kissed her on the cheek, they all wanted to get into her pants. Don’t have to be a cop to see that.

At first it was entertaining, watching her deftly maneuver and evade those who pushed too far. But seeing it day after day was beginning to irritate him. That pissed him off even more, and he didn’t understand why. Although, he had to admire the easygoing way she had with her customers, and her ability to make nice with those she clearly couldn’t stand.

He’d already identified the regulars Andi actually liked versus the ones whose pawing and slobbering she tolerated solely to be a courteous hostess. Frank Feldman and Meera Devine were on her A-list.

Frank had been hunkered down at the far end of the bar with Meera for the last twenty minutes. It was clear from the way he constantly leaned in that he was sweet on her.

Meera had already confided that she worked as a secretary, but Frank hadn’t been so open about his occupation. He’d come around, they always did. Eventually, everyone bared their souls to a bartender.

“Two more gimlets.” Frank raised his and Meera’s empty glasses.

“You got it.” He quickly mixed together the gin and Rose’s lime syrup, then set the drinks on the bar in front of Meera and Frank.

“You’re a welcome addition to the DPC,” Meera said, lifting her glass in a toast. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” He made his way to the other side of the bar to finish cleaning up after the two young women who’d just left, but Andi had already cleared things away.

She held out a napkin with writing on it. “I believe this is for you.”

He took the napkin and read the words neatly scrawled in flowing script. Nick, call me. Gigi. Instead of dots, Gigi had topped her i’s with little flowers and written down her phone number. When he looked back at Andi, she was smirking, which only served to draw his attention to her mouth, and the rosy pink lip gloss she wore. Not that he was thinking of kissing her or anything

She dipped her head to the napkin. “That must happen to you a lot.”