by Sarah Hegger
Noel stared Liz up and down and huffed out a breath. “I thought it was you.”
“And you were right.” Liz puckered up her red mouth. She wouldn’t be Liz without a little drama. “Did you want something?”
“Um.” Noel dug a hankie out of his pocket and swiped it across his beaded top lip. “Just to say hi.”
“Really?” Swinging around on her barstool, Liz’s knees forced Noel to take a quick step back, into the large man behind him.
“Sorry,” he muttered to the man before turning back to Liz. “Just thought I’d be friendly.”
“Hi, I’m Bella.” She stuck out her hand. The guy clearly felt uncomfortable.
“Noel.” His took hers in a clammy grip.
“My ex-husband.” Eyes glittering over the edge of her glass, Liz sipped her drink. “Of course, it’s hard to recognize him without his bimbo in tow.”
“Nice to meet you.” Because what else could she say?
“Likewise.” Noel nodded and mopped his top lip again. “You look good, Liz. And you, Bella.”
“Thank you.” She turned to her hovering drink buyers. “This is Adam, and that’s . . .”
“Parker,” said Parker.
The men exchanged greetings. Everyone was being so nice and friendly.
“Can I talk to you, Liz?” Noel blushed and jerked his head. “Maybe alone?”
Liz turned her back on him. “I’m with my friend.”
Bella knew Noel had left Liz for a younger woman, but he looked so defenseless and nervous, she felt sorry for him. “It’s okay. You can go and talk,” she said to Liz.
“We’ll take care of her for you,” said Adam, the blond on her left and the more talkative of the two. He’d already stolen her cell phone and put his number into it and then called himself so he had hers. So determined to see her again. See, when you spent your time squished into a mold, you missed out on what was standing right in front of you.
“I have nothing to say to Noel.” Liz motioned the bartender for another round.
“Please.” Seeming to grow taller and more present, Noel locked his stare on Liz.
Pursing her lips, Liz tossed her hair. “Fine!” She pressed Bella’s hand. “I’ll be right back.”
“No need to hurry.” Adam leaned one elbow on the bar, sent her a killer smile, and got closer. “So, Bella. That’s Italian for beautiful.”
Bella laughed and sipped her appletini. “But I’m not Italian.” She should really count how many she’d drunk because she had a bit of a drinking problem. As in, no filters when she drank. The line was corny, but Adam was trying.
“You sure don’t look Italian,” Parker said.
“Nope.” Bella flipped her hair back. “But that didn’t stop my parents from calling me Bella.”
Of the two, Adam was the better-looking. Tall, broad, and blond with chiseled, even features and melty brown eyes. Parker was taller and built bigger, and he had a frat-boy thing about him. Frat boys generally ignored her. Not tonight, apparently. She giggled at her own train of thought.
“There’s a story behind that smile.” Breath brushing her shoulder, Adam leaned in. He smelled of Armani.
Bella peered through her lashes at him, the way she’d read a heroine in a book do. She rather enjoyed the peering. It gave her an air of mystery.
Jo took her glass and wiped the bar in front of her. Nate’s sister worked here now, in one of the new bars that had opened as the area grew more developed. Prior to the opening of Whispering Pines, the only other choice for a drink out had been Ed’s, a dingy dive at the far end of town that even the rats approached with caution.
“Another?” Adam indicated her glass.
“Bella?” Jo stared at her meaningfully. The problem with Ghost Falls was that everybody was up and in your business. Like now; Jo was trying to warn her not to drink anymore. That was because Jo had her pinned as a good girl.
“Please.” Bella smiled at Adam. Cosmo said a girl should get him talking about himself. “So, what do you do?”
“Import and export.” Adam shrugged. “Right now, I’m here to enjoy the snow over Christmas.”
“No family?”
“No.” He grimaced. “I’m an only child and my folks passed on a few years back.”
“Lucky you.” Bella sipped her drink. Oops; that had come out a bit harsh, and her cheeks heated. Maybe Jo and her look had something. “What I meant was, sometimes family can be a bit stifling. Not that yours were, only that . . .” She needed a quick recovery. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
Over the edge of his scotch glass, Adam grinned. “I knew what you meant.”
He had the most dreamy, melty chocolate eyes she’d ever seen. Like Colin Firth, or better yet, Theo James. Pity Adam didn’t have a British accent; those were supersexy.
“So, tell me about your family,” Adam said.
“I’d rather not.” Bella wrinkled her nose. “I’m feeling way too happy right now to get into my family.”
With a bigger scowl at Adam, Jo put another drink in front of her.
Bella didn’t care. Tonight was for her, all hers. Bella of the ball.
* * *
Nate checked the address with dispatch. “Are you sure they didn’t say Ed’s?”
“Not unless your sister started working at Ed’s,” Gabby snarled back. What was it with the woman? Nate couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t sounded pissy.
“Okay.” Sighing, Nate pulled onto the main road going up the hill to the new resorts. He’d spent his day on the road between county headquarters and a few satellite offices like the one in Ghost Falls. Everywhere the same story: not enough money, not enough officers to cover the ground. Fifteen minutes to the end of his shift and Jo called in. Damn! Tonight, he had a date with the splash back in his kitchen. Renovating his house calmed him, gave him a sense of peace.
Twinkly lights dotted the crown of the mountain. Matt and his other brother, Eric, were printing money with those new resorts they had going up. They’d done well to integrate them into the town without screwing up the nice parts of Ghost Falls, but still, extra bodies meant extra work for the sheriff. Like now, a call from Jo asking him to stop into the bar at Whispering Pines when he had the chance.
High-end SUVs choked the parking lot to overflowing, forcing him to stop the cruiser in the emergency bay and leave the engine running. Cold winter air hit him as he left the warm cocoon of the car. The tourists came here for the winter wonderland and Ghost Falls threw everything it had at them. A heavy dusting of powder coated the ground and trees in a postcard landscape. White icicle lights lit up the façade of the bar like one of those New York City restaurants. He couldn’t think what Jo meant by calling him here. Did two drunken brokers get into a Twitter battle or something ?
Voices hit him in a dull roar as he pushed open the door. Two huge stone hearths at either end of the room shoved out enough heat to have him shrugging out of his heavy winter coat. Fresh pine scent underscored a hundred different expensive colognes and perfumes. Hung with more white lights and crystal ornaments, a huge real tree decorated the entrance hall. It was a far cry from the fiber-optic midget they had propping up the front desk at the station.
“Hey, Sheriff.” A drunken party girl in a tiny black dress batted her lashes at him. He made a note to send Gabby up here to card people. That would teach Gabby to get salty with him.
As he made his way to the bar, the crowd parted. Officially, he was already off the clock, and he’d seen the crowd at Blissful Meadows Retirement Community get more rowdy than this. He caught Jo’s eye and jerked his head at her. “What the hell, Jo?”
“Hey, Sheriff.” Another buzzed blonde with her cleavage spilling over the top of her dress got in front of him. “Did you bring the handcuffs?”
Yeah, like he’d never heard that one before. Nate gave her a polite smile and stepped around her and back up to the bar.
“God, you could cause a riot in here.” Jo gave him her wicke
d grin.
“I’m tired and I’m hungry, Jo-Jo.”
His sister rolled her eyes at him. “I thought you should know this.”
“Uh-huh.” He glimpsed a pack of thirtysomething women sidling over.
“Check it out.” Jo jerked her thumb to the other side of the horseshoe-shaped bar.
Nate recognized a fellow male on the hunt. “The blond guy is working his mojo.”
“Yes, he is, Sheriff Evans.” Jo dragged out the syllables of his name. “Look closer.”
“Some overdressed douche from the city and his . . .” He took a closer look at the blonde. “Shit!”
“Uh-huh.” Jo folded her arms over her chest and waggled her head. “Now I think he’s getting it.”
“Is that Bella?”
“Sure is.” Jo raised her brows. “Only Bella as I’ve never seen her before.”
City douchebag had Bella crowded against the bar as he whispered in her ear. He made his move with all the subtlety of an eighteen-wheeler pulling a three-point turn. Douchebag laid his arm on Bella’s shoulder in a proprietary move that set Nate’s teeth on edge. “You called me to see Bella dressed up like a slut?”
“You’re a dick.” Jo glared at him.
“Sorry.” Nate managed a tight nod. She was right; he was being a dick. Bella didn’t look slutty; she looked fucking smoking, and why the hell did that guy have to keep stroking her arm like she was his family pet? “Do you know him?”
Jo shrugged. “He comes in here every now and again. Doesn’t drink too much, tips well, and up until tonight, I’ve never seen him put the moves on anyone.”
He knew for a fact Bella was over twenty-one. “It’s a free country, Jo. Bella can date who the hell she wants.”
“She’s been drinking,” Jo said.
In the middle of turning toward the door, Nate stopped. “How much?”
“A lot.” Raising her brow, Jo flipped her bar towel over her shoulder. “Way, way past what she usually drinks, and Captain Smooth there keeps ordering her another.”
The guy had broken no law Nate knew of, but suddenly it made all the difference. Bella didn’t drink. Okay, maybe one or two glasses of wine every now and again. “How bad is she?”
“I called you, didn’t I?” Jo moved off to serve a customer.
Buying a girl a drink was perfectly legal. Buying her a few drinks to get her slightly buzzed? It happened all the time. He didn’t like it, but there you had it. Douchebag wouldn’t be the first guy to try to talk his way around a woman’s inhibitions.
Damn it! That wasn’t just any woman. Douchebag was moving in on Bella Erikson, Ghost Falls’s sweetheart and, as of yesterday, his friend again.
Nate threaded his way through the crowd toward them.
A couple of young guys caught sight of him, started, and then ducked out of his way. Oh yeah, Deputy Gabby definitely needed to get her grumpy ass up here to start carding.
Bella caught sight of him about halfway there, grinned, and waved.
She was toasted all right. The big, sappy grin all over her face told him as much.
“Nate.” Squealing, she threw herself off the barstool in his direction.
Nate caught her before she connected nose first with his chest. She had one helluva dress on tonight. Short enough to show off several above-the-knee inches and low enough to give him the sweetest view between her pert breasts.
“Hey, Bella.” He peeled her off him and put her on her feet.
“Are you here for a drink?” She tottered back to her stool and hoisted her ass back onto it.
Douchebag had turned and eyed him as if he recognized another rooster in his henhouse. Don’t bother, buddy. This girl ain’t for me, but then, she ain’t for you either.
“Come on, Bella.” He grabbed her arm and tugged her off her barstool. “Let’s get you home.”
“No.” Bella frowned at him and tried to pull her arm free. “I’m not going home. I’m having fun.”
She wrinkled her nose at him in a way that was seriously damn cute. “You’ll thank me in the morning.”
“No.” Bella shook her head slowly from side to side. “Because I won’t see you in the morning.” She spun about so suddenly he nearly lost his grip on her. “Have you met . . . Adam?”
“How you doing?” Nate gave a chin jerk in Douchebag’s general direction.
“And . . . ?” Bella frowned up at her other circling dog.
“Parker.” A second shark smiled down at her before turning to Nate. “How are you, Sheriff ?”
“I’m good.” Nate had pulled him over four nights ago for thinking his Porsche Cayenne operated on a different speed limit than the rest of the world. No way that guy got to put his moves on a drunken Bella. “Have you been buying her drinks?”
“Not me.” With a smirk, Parker raised his own glass. “I’m driving tonight. Strictly diet soda this side.”
“Is there a problem here, Sheriff ?” Douchebag’s money-boy, city-slicker voice oozed condescension. “The lady and I are having a good time.”
“Were having a good time.” Nate stared him down. “The lady is going home now.”
“No, I’m not,” Bella said.
Heads turned in their direction, and Nate hit his limit for stupid for one night. “Yes, you are. Now, you can walk out of here or I can carry you. That’s your choice, Bella.”
For a second he thought he might have to pull a caveman and upend her over his shoulder. Bella seemed to give it long and slow consideration. Then she rolled her eyes and huffed. “Fine. But you’re driving because I took a cab here.”
She slammed on the brakes with the door in sight. “Liz.” She turned her flushed face up to him. “I came here with Liz. I can’t leave without her.”
“Headlights?”
“Uh, uh, uh.” Bella waggled a pink-tipped finger under his nose. “You shouldn’t call her that. She’s very nice.”
Sure, if you weren’t packing a penis. “I’ll text her and let her know I’m taking you home.”
“No.” Bella’s head whipped this way and that as she scanned the bar. “No man gets left behind.”
God help him. Liz sat at a table close to the hearth. Was that her ex with her? Nate towed Bella in their direction.
Liz looked up. For once she kept her lashes from batting.
“Bella’s drunk, I’m taking her home.”
Getting to her feet, Liz gathered her things. “I’ll come with you.”
“No.” Noel caught her arm. “I’ll take you home later. Please. Stay for a bit longer.”
As Liz made up her mind, Nate counted the seconds. Then she nodded and sat down again. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bella.”
“See ya.” Bella waggled her fingers.
Nate loaded her into the back of the cruiser. Bella thought it was funny as hell, apparently, because she giggled and chattered on about handcuffs and being frisked. Then she took up singing, treating him to her “whip” and her “nae-nae” in the rearview mirror.
Damn, Bella was funny as hell when she was drunk. Funnier now that he had her out of the bar and safely on her way home. “What were you doing there tonight?”
“Hmm?” Bella stuck her fingers through the cage and sat forward. “Where?”
“At the bar?”
“Oh.” She pressed her face into the cage. “Do you have any music in here?”
“No. What were you doing at the bar?”
“I can see a radio,” she said.
“The radio is for official—”
“And I was getting laid.”
“What!” He took the corner into Buckhorn too fast.
“Oopsie!” In a flurry of legs and stripper heels, Bella tumbled against the rear left door. Using the cage, she clawed her way back up. “You needn’t sound so surprised, you know. I do like getting laid. Actually, I love sex. I miss sex.”
She launched into an off-key version of “Oops (Oh My).”
He raised his voice as she got to the shirt-c
oming-over-her-head part. “What the hell, Bella? Since when are you the kind of girl who goes to bars for a hookup?”
“Since now.” She shook her index finger at him. “You know, Nate Evans, just because you don’t want to do me doesn’t mean nobody else will.”
In that dress, pretty much any man alive, Nate would bet. This conversation had veered way off track. “You should know better,” he said, wincing as he sounded like a Sunday school teacher. “You don’t know those men. They could have been anyone.”
“I would have known them a lot better if you hadn’t interrupted.”
“And I’m not interested because I’m not good relationship material.” He felt the need to get that straight because Bella was cute and pretty and, tonight—fuckable.
“I never said I wanted a relationship.” Bella pressed her face against the cage. “Have you ever had sex back here?”
“No!” Her light floral perfume filled the cruiser. “And of course you’re a relationship girl.”
“Maybe I’ve changed.” She peered down the front of her dress. “I should get the girls out more often.”
“No, you should not.” There he went again, sounding like a tight-assed dick.
“Did you notice my girls, Nate? Adam noticed my girls. He couldn’t keep his eyes off them.”
Thank God, he’d turned into her street. Nate sighed softly as he made the right turn. “Adam looks like a creep.”
“No, he doesn’t. How come you never noticed my girls?”
He parked in her driveway and climbed out. Jerking open the back door, he motioned her out. “This is your stop.”
Bella shook her head. Her dress had ridden up, giving him a view of inches and inches of toned, smooth thigh. For a small girl, Bella packed some dangerous curves. “Not until you answer my question.”
Nate gritted his teeth. This was why Bella should stay away from the sauce. “I noticed your girls.”
“Really?” She perked up with a smile. “Did you think they were pretty?”
“Out!” He leaned in and got hold of her arm.
She came in a flash of pink silky panties, giggling so hard he had to hold onto her to keep her upright. Knowing it was probably a waste of breath, he still had to try. “Bella, you need to be more careful with men you don’t know. And you shouldn’t drink.”
