“Anyhoo, what have you been up to?” Suz asked once her vodka cranberry arrived. She took a dainty sip before toying with a strand of her hair. “I feel like it’s been ages since we met.”
“I know. We’re in crunch time for that huge anniversary bash. I swear, when did we become party planners? I’m gonna tell Parker to keep me on recon for the next few jobs. It’s way more fun than arranging for hotel rooms for out-of-town guests and helping Charlene go over the seating chart.”
“Charlene…that’s the chick Jack was sleeping with before Pepper came back to town?”
Dean nodded. “She’s cute. But she strikes me as the high-maintenance type.”
“Pepper’s better for him,” Suz agreed. “That girl is a firecracker.”
Damn straight she was. But he didn’t touch the remark—Suz was too perceptive for her own good, a master of reading between the lines, and if he said a single word about Pepper and how wild she was, Suz would pounce like a lioness.
Jack had threatened to break Dean’s neck if he breathed a word about the threesome to anyone. Well, Suz went beyond the anyone category. She was Lynn’s best friend, and Dean knew from experience those two didn’t keep any secrets. If he told Suz, Lynn would be next to know, the truth would then reach Parker, and then Dean’s head would be on the chopping block. Parker already wasn’t crazy about the fact that Jack was sleeping with his little sister. If he knew that Dean had, too?
World war fucking three.
Fortunately, Suz reached into her purse before Dean was forced to switch to a safer, non-Pepper-related subject. “Speaking of firecrackers.” She pulled out her vibrating phone and grinned. “My new BFF from last night just texted me a morning-after hangover pic.” She clicked a button, then peered at the display. “Oh for Pete’s sake. She thinks this is bad? Bitch.”
Suz slid the phone across the table. “Check this out—girl still looks like a supermodel, even after downing ten shooters.”
He picked up the phone mostly because he was curious to see the woman who’d out-drunk Suz, but the second his eyes focused on the screen, he froze.
No way.
No fucking way.
“She’s stunning, huh?” Suz smirked. “Apparently she’s half Chinese, half Native American. Look at that frickin’ combination. God. I kinda wish I did play for the other team even now that there aren’t pillows and college frat parties involved.”
Dean blinked. Then blinked again. The woman in the picture was stunning, all right. With her dusky complexion, catlike dark eyes, and full, pouty lips, she belonged on the cover of a magazine.
Or at least, that’s what he used to tease her…
“Earth to Dean Colter? Hello?”
He registered Suz’s hand waving in front of his face. “What?”
Suz practically cackled, her green eyes sparkling. “Oh man. Looks like someone is in lust with Emma. Maybe I should introduce you.”
His throat ran dry. “Emma?”
“That’s her name. Emma—”
Emma Lee.
“—Lee. I think she’s sticking around in town for a few more weeks. Should I ask her if I can give you her number?”
Swallowing was impossible—too much damn gravel in his mouth—so he swiped Suz’s drink and took a hearty sip.
“Hey,” she protested. “You have your own drink, you jerk.”
“It’s empty,” he answered as he slid the glass back. “I drank it while I was waiting for your late ass.” He pasted on a casual look, adding, “And naah. No need for any number exchanges. My roster’s pretty full these days.”
Luckily, she seemed to accept that at face value. “I know what you mean,” Suz said, sighing loudly. “It’s getting pretty hard to juggle all my suitors. So many men, so little time.”
“Poor Jonesy. I feel for you, I really do.”
But at that moment the only thing he really felt was stunned.
Emma Lee. Who the fuck could have guessed she’d ever cross his path again? Now the question remained…
Did he want to track down the only woman he’d ever given his heart? Or was he better off not poking into the ashes of the past?
Chapter Thirteen
Her friend had been strangely quiet ever since Pepper had gone to rescue her. Kendra stared out the passenger window with an indecipherable expression, her fingers toying with one of her blonde pigtails.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
Kendra snickered. “Penny. Hasn’t she caused enough trouble already?”
“Hey, I think she did pretty damn good. At least, it was fun while it lasted,” Pepper answered as she thought about her name decoy. Not having to constantly put up with the same jokes over and over again during college had been worth it.
But Pepper? That woman was living a pretty kickass life, and there was no way she wanted to miss a single second.