“What’s it to you?”
Rafe frowned. “Just asking. Reese has been pretty tight-lipped and I’m curious if she’s thawed toward you.” He let out an amused laugh and shared a look with Antonio. “It’s the damnedest thing, because Reese doesn’t really dislike anyone. It’s her worst quality.” He rolled his eyes, the smile one of pure affection but nothing else.
“It’s going okay, I guess. All I’ve done is chop onions and garlic and peppers.” I didn’t mind at all. As long as Reese was working, she warmed up and answered my questions.
“Offer to cut the fries for her.” He studied me for a long time before he shrugged and stood. “I’m gonna see what’s taking so long to pour beer.”
It was about damn time. The man was impossible to dislike, and that made me feel even grouchier.
“What the hell is your problem?” Antonio glared at me, his stern expression making his scowl look hella intimidating.
“I don’t have a problem.”
“Bullshit.” He folded his arms across his massive chest, looking like he was ready to brawl. I might be tall and lean, but I packed one hell of a punch. “You’re being a dick to Rafe, a guy it’s damned hard to be a dick to, and I want to know why.”
“Was I being a dick?”
“Absolutely.”
I shrugged. Rafe was a big boy, he could handle it. “Interesting.”
Antonio sat back in his seat and stared at me for a long time before a slow smile spread across his face, which was a disconcerting sight. “Is this about a certain barbecue magician?”
“You know, Vargas, I liked you better before you went and got a woman and became a dad. The old version of you didn’t pry.”
He laughed. “Now that guy was a dick.”
“He was all right.”
Eventually, a waitress dropped off our drinks, but Rafe hadn’t reappeared. “Reese was a quiet kid in school, kind of a weirdo, and she didn’t have a lot of friends growing up.”
“That was a long time ago,” I insisted, unable to believe the pretty, compelling woman I knew was anything close to being an outsider.
“Maybe so, but small towns are kind of clique-ish and it’s hard to outgrow who you were. Anyway, she and Rafe have become friends. Just friends. So, let this go, will you?”
Friends. “You sure?”
“I am.” Antonio took a sip of his beer and groaned in relief. “Besides, I don’t think Rafe is what’s standing in your way.”
“No? You know something.” It wasn’t a question.
“I don’t know a damn thing. It’s just a feeling I get.”
“A feeling, huh?” It sounded to me like he was fishing for information himself, so I shrugged and took a sip of my own beer. “What does this feeling tell you?”
“That something happened between you two.”
“And?” He stayed silent but his expression was serious. Sober. “And?”
“And you hurt her somehow.”
I snorted. “Yeah, even I gathered that much. Thanks.” It didn’t take a genius to figure that much out, but the question was, what did I do?
“Interesting.”
“Oh, shut… up.” The universe chose that moment to put Reese right in my line of sight as she and Ginger waltzed in. She looked the same as she always did, but even with the distance between us, I could see that she’d done something to her eyes and her mouth. Her hair was down in silky, touchable-looking waves.
“Something or someone on your mind, Detective?” The amusement that laced Antonio’s voice wasn’t lost on me.
“Shut up and drink your beer. We’re going to play pool.”
“What about Rafe?”
“If he hasn’t already found a woman, he’ll find us easily enough.” He and Reese seemed to have a radar for one another anyway. I stood and grabbed my half-finished beer with a smile. “Coming?”
“In a sec,” he grumbled and I took off without him, scanning the room to see where the ladies had gone.
I spotted them easily enough, at a table near the back waiting for a pool table to empty out. Their heads were tilted close together; the conversation looked intense, so I kept my distance.
Mostly.
“Seriously, girl, you are completely and totally oblivious to male attention.”
Reese scoffed, “Am not.”
“That guy just came over and asked to buy you a drink, right?”
She nodded. “I have a full drink right in front of me.”
“You could have told him he could buy the next round… while you get to know one another.”
“Oh.” Her shoulders fell for a moment and then she straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. “Oh, well. I’m hopeless, and that’s an established fact. So if he’s too scared to speak up or make a move, then we’re both totally screwed. Or not screwed, I suppose.”
“Just read the clues. No guy is coming to offer to buy you a drink because he thinks you’re thirsty. Or poor.”
I bit back a laugh at Ginger’s sarcasm but Reese glared at her. “Blah, blah, blah. I’m here, aren’t I?”