Page 144 of Summer Heat
“Nicola Garrison.” Nic for the point. That was good. He’d take it.
“Sister?”
“Not a chance, Sugar.” Nicola smiled, cold and frosty for the win, at least against Sugar. Nic still looked homicidal.
A door down the hall banged open. Jared walked in a second later and slammed to a stop. “You’re Sugar?” His mouth hung open. “Cash’s Sugar?”
Sugar made some sort of hell-yes noise. There was no Cash’s Sugar. The two of them were casual and occasional, nothing that allowed for possession, and all about blowing off some pressure, when it was
needed. And it hadn’t been needed in a while.
Jared slapped his thigh. “Well, fuck—”
“Shut up, Jared.” Cash didn’t have time for this shit. Sugar needed to get out. Fast.
Jared looked at Nic. Sugar looked at Nic. Everyone but Cash looked at Nic. He was content to shoot daggers at Jared. Rocco choked on his biscuit. Winters’s eyebrows rose as he caught on to Cash’s nightmare. Goddamn it.
Sugar sized Jared up, combat boots to jarhead cut. “You’re Jared?”
“I’m everything. Jared will do though.”
“Humble, I see.”
“You look like your name.”
“I look like a lot of things, Jared. Doesn’t mean you’re right.”
They squared off. Everyone was tense. Pissed off women were trouble. Pissed off at him was a disaster, as far as Cash was concerned. “Alrighty, Sugar. We have to get started.” If Jared wasn’t going to wrap up this meet and greet, Cash would. Sugar needed to get gone. Now.
“Soon as someone pays up, I’m outta here, cowboy.”
“Right. Let’s do this. Come with me.” Jared walked out, probably expecting Sugar to follow. He needed to learn a little more about her before he could make those educated guesses. Sugar did what she wanted, no matter who was looking or ordering.
“So, Cash, baby. You coming over after this job’s done?”
“He’s not. But thanks for inviting him.” Nic was on it, spitting sweet sarcasm. All Cash could do was watch.
“Not sure I was talking to you.”
“Not sure I care.”
“Sugar! Get out here,” Jared yelled from the hall. “I do not have time for this shit.”
Sugar walked over to Cash, and his stomach turned. Nothing good was about to happen. She went up on tiptoes and kissed his cheek, only because he took a step back and avoided the lip press. “Bye, cowboy. See ya later.”
Jared grumbled from the hall. “I told you assholes, no chick problems. I’m about to make it part of your contracts.”
Damn. Faster than Cash could take out a target with Miss Betty, this day had gone from for-the-records-book awesome to knee-in-the-nuts awful.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
That woman, all sex-in-heels, rolled out of the room. All the men save for Cash waved goodbye. At least he had some smarts.
Nicola sipped her coffee and ignored the male tongues hanging to their combat boots. Mia’d have to get the place wet-vacced for all the drooling they were doing. For the moment, it didn’t seem as if anyone thought about Cash’s girls being ready to knock knuckles. As for acting professional and making a good impression on her first day with a new team? Nicola’s morning had gone down in messy, gossip-worthy flames.
At least she’d tried to look nice this morning. She could have used an extra few minutes, but she didn’t look bad. Not perfect. Certainly not let’s-run-into-an-ex good.
Sugar was all va-va-voom and then some. Was that what Cash liked? All plumped up and plastic?
