Dan chuckled. “But I can’t imagine a little filly like Lola here flying solo for long. ”
“Lola?” Eddie asked wide-eyed, and this time his eyes didn’t budge from hers. What was that look on his face?
Forget Eddie. Who cared what he thought, anyway?
She turned to Dan instead, giving him a withering look. “I hate when you call me that. ”
“It’s a nickname from her wilder days,” Dan explained.
“It’s not a nickname if you were the only one who used it. ”
“Laura was wild?” Eddie gave her a slow appreciative assessment—his expression had suddenly become readable, and she didn’t like it one bit. “I’d have liked to see that. ”
She was one second away from leaving these two to themselves. She slid her hands out from under Dan
’s and braced herself on the table like she might spring up. “Well, this has been fun,” she said in a voice thick with sarcasm.
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop teasing. ” Dan patted her arm. He probably felt how stiffly she held herself because he snatched her fist in his hands, prying it open to give her an affectionate jiggle and squeeze. “I’m just psyched to see you, and I guess it’s bringing out my inner twelve-year-old. I’ve thought about this day, Laura. ”
“You have?” She was dying to sneak a glimpse at Eddie.
“Oh, once or twice,” Dan said, playfully playing it down. “I’ve missed you. ”
That was it. She had to peek at Eddie. His eyes were waiting for her, staring, smoldering, a vivid, crystalline blue. His jaw was clenched. She glanced away quickly, unable to hold that look.
“I always wondered where you ended up,” Dan continued, “what you were up to, what it’d be like to run into you again. Although,” he added with a laugh, “I must say, I imagined reuniting in LA, or New York. Chicago maybe. But here we are…in the middle of nowhere. ” He looked up at the boar head looming high over the table and barked out a laugh. “It’s awesome. ”
“Totally awesome,” Eddie said flatly.
Shut up, she mouthed at him.
“Seriously,” Dan continued, unaware of the exchange. “I bet you don’t exactly get a lot of film crews out here. ”
Eddie nodded in mock amazement. “How will us country folk handle the excitement?”
“Shut up. ” And this time she’d said it aloud, scooting her chair back as she did, springing up. “I need some water. ” Mostly she needed to get away from both of these men.
Dan’s eyes lit. “Please tell me your water comes from a well. Or is pumped from a mountain spring or something. ”
“Daniel, this isn’t Little House on the Prairie. We have hot and cold running water. ” She stood over the table, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest. She’d been so happy to see him, but he was acting so oblivious. Couldn’t he hear how disdainful he sounded? This was her new life he was joking about. Her new priorities. She was reminded with a brilliant flash of clarity why she’d given up men.
Eddie chose that moment to get back in on the conversation. “I’ll bet in LA, you only drink organic bottled vitamin water shipped in from a Peruvian hot spring. ”
That was it. She stormed to the bar. She felt one of the men follow her, and somehow she knew it wouldn’t be Dan she saw when she turned around. She’d felt Eddie’s judgment from the moment he came in—as if he were one to judge.
She rounded on him. “What is your problem?”
Eddie assessed her quietly. “Just feeling a little protective, country girl. ” He paused a moment, his eyes focused on her, looking like he wanted to say something more.
She couldn’t look away. His eyes were a bright, unusual blue, and she’d never noticed how long his lashes were.
When he spoke again, he sounded sincere. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be an ass…” But then he spoke again in a voice like he was testing her, adding, “Lola. ”
He was baiting her, and she refused to bite. Instead, she kept her voice dead serious when she asked him, “Why are you even hanging around if you’ve got such a low opinion of everyone?”
“I came because…” A look of wariness crept over his face. “I have news, Laura. ”
“What news?” She curled her fingers into her arms, because now she read wariness and regret.