Her laugh got his attention first.
Jared looked over his shoulder. Four women at a table. A blonde, a brunette, redhead, and the last had long wavy hair somewhere between blonde and brown.
Which had the laugh that intrigued him?
She laughed again and his eyes shot to the one in the corner, facing the bar.
They were all pretty, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her long, wavy locks.
Jared watched them talk, wearing a smile. He needed to see more of her body. Her purple shirt was tight and displayed large breasts. She was curvy. He could see it even from his distance at the bar. Not heavy by any means, but not his normal type.
Gorgeous.
Nowhere in sight was his usual wannabe supermodel. Too bad he couldn’t tell what color her eyes were.
“All right, dude, I need to hit the road.” His buddy’s voice made him jump. Amusement flashed across Pete’s green eyes. “You okay?”
Jared bit back a curse. “Yup.”
Pete probably needed to get home to his wife, Nikki. Jared’s partner, Cole, had left to head home to his wife and two kids, too. Cole was married to Pete’s partner, Andi. Both his fellow detectives had someone to go home to.
Envy made his gut heavy.
Since when do you give a shit about that?
Jared swallowed a groan. He needed to get laid.
Pete glanced at his watch. “See you in the a.m., then. Chief wants us all in for morning patrol briefing. Did Lucas tell you?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t say why.”
“Neither did the boss. We’ll find out in the morning.”
“Guess so.”
“Hope it’s not a long day. Hell, make that a long week.” Crane sighed.
“Everything okay?”
Pete made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Oh, yeah. My brother and Lee are coming in Wednesday with the baby for Thanksgiving. They’re staying through the end of next week. First time meeting my niece and all that. She’s two months old now, so I’d like to actually spend time with my family, ya know?”
“Ah.” Jared nodded. Yeah, he got it.
His adoptive parents were in Antioch, and his little sister away at school in Corpus, but they were all important to him. Although, Jared had no clue where his older brother was. He had Joe’s cell number, but he hadn’t talked to the guy in almost a year.
“So, I hope it’s not a big deal, is my point,” Crane said.
“We’ll deal, no matter what. It’s always tough before we get into the holidays. Hell, maybe he wants to talk the on-call schedule or some shit.”
Pete arched and eyebrow and smirked. “At seven in the morning? Doubtful. Gut says it’s a case. Hopefully Andi and I get to say not it.”
Jared laughed. “Me and Cole got your back. We can always make Sully and Jamison take it.”
“Not likely. They’re immersed in that crap they’re helping the county with.”
“Damn. That’s right. No worries. Me and Lucas can take it.” He thumbed his chest.
“Good deal.” Pete glanced at his watch. “I really gotta run. Pregnant wives get sorta grumpy when you’re late.” The guy’s expression belied his words. The detective was on cloud nine about becoming a father. Everyone knew he adored his wife, too.
“Tell Nikki I said hello.” Jared offered one last wave and watched Crane jog out of the bar.
Love?
Kids?
No thank you.
He liked kids all right—his partner’s boys were a blast to play with. Jared had got stuck with babysitting duty once or twice, but he’d enjoyed hanging out with five-year-old Ethan and sixteen-month-old Micah. However, he was grateful he got to return them to their parents.
That kind of responsibility wasn’t for Jared.
And diapers?
Ew.
He blew out a breath and surveyed the local cop hangout.
McAuley’s had been in Antioch before Jared was born. The boys in blue of the small Texas city had adopted it when a retired detective, Mike McAuley, had opened the doors back in the sixties. It was an Antioch Police Department institution.
He swept his gaze along the walls full of police paraphernalia, from antique to modern day. There were pictures of cops everywhere, too. A framed one of McAuley himself was mounted over the bar. He’d passed away when Jared was a kid. His three sons ran the place nowadays.
The girl laughed yet again. Jared’s eyes rested on the four women, but none of them were looking his way.
He grabbed his shot glass and gulped the Scotch, even though he didn’t need a fortifying drink to approach a woman. Never had problems with that. Perhaps that was the problem.
Oh shut up and do your thing.
“Ladies.”
Silence reigned as four sets of eyes looked up at him.
The blonde flashed a smile. Yeah, she was the hottest one at the table. Slender. Tight clothes. Pouty lips with bright red painted on them.
Red winked. She was cute, too. The brunette obviously checked him out, eyes roving his jeans and blue button-down before she smiled, too.
The last woman—the one Jared wanted to stare at him—looked away, breaking the quick eye contact.
He begged for her to look his way again.
She finally did after he cleared his throat.
Blue. Her eyes were like blue crystal.
Jared flashed his signature smile. The one old girlfriends had told him melted them on the inside and made them fall into his bed.
Even in the dim light of the bar, her pink cheeks were obvious. His stomach fluttered. Her beauty stunned him as much as the color on her cheeks pleased him. Her hair was more brown than blonde. Full of waves he wanted to run his fingers through. High cheekbones, creamy skin and plump lips. If she was wearing makeup, it was minimal, and she didn’t need it.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
She didn’t look away, but she grabbed the full bottle of beer in front of her. Didn’t tell him no, but her eyes did.
Jared swallowed a groan and shifted in his combat boots.
Since when are you uncomfortable in front of a woman?
Deeper crimson stained her cheeks. Endearing, but his gut told him she was uncomfortable. For some reason, he wanted to make her feel better.
She looked around, as if she wasn’t sure if Jared had been talking to her.
Odd, considering the eye contact.
“I’m Jared.” He shoved his hand out.
Show her you’re talking to her.
Her blue eyes widened.
He’d expected a smile. Not the look of abject horror she was wearing now.
The redhead to her right not-so-subtly jabbed her side and Jared’s intended jumped.
“Umm…hi.” Her voice was as enticing as her laugh.
He wanted to drag a chair over and sit next to her. His voice took a hike and he chided himself not to stare.
“Well, it’s getting late,” someone said.
Jared’s gaze shot to the blonde, just as she exchanged a look with the brunette.
The other woman nodded.
Blondie pushed her chair back and swung a Coach bag the size of Texas over her shoulder.
Brunette and Red also stood. “Yeah, I think I need to get home, too,” the redhead said.
The brunette agreed, grabbing her jacket. The shuffling of belongings and chairs combined with the clopping of high heels happened fast.
Jared blinked and they were headed to the door without a word to their abandoned friend.
But now we’re alone.
He looked down at her, but his smile stalled.
Betrayal dominated her expression. She glared when the blonde paused at the door of McAuley’s. The woman flashed a smile and wave that was obviously lost on the woman before him.
Jared cleared his throat. “Can I sit next to you?”
Her head whipped back around. “Why?”
He rocked back on the heels of his shitkickers.
Why?
Charm. Focus on being charming.
“I like to keep the company of a beautiful woman.” Jared smiled.
She frowned.
He stared. He couldn’t help it.
She frowned at a compliment?
Jared quirked an eyebrow and slid onto the chair next to hers, because she was never going to invite him to sit. And that made him want to join her even more. Intrigued the hell out of him. “What’s your name?”
Cocking her head to one side, she studied him. “Uh…Ren.”
“Wren like the bird? Cool name.”
“No.” Her cheeks reddened again and she looked away. “Umm…it’s…short for Renee.”
He watched her fidget before she’d meet his gaze again. His stomach churned at the thought of her being uneasy with him. He forced words out. “Can I call you Renee?”
Those eyes met his and he swallowed hard. Crystal blue, like a morning summer sky. Jared had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
“O-o-o-kay. I mean, sure.” More shifting, so he reached for her hand.
Touching her resulted in a zing of energy shooting up his arm. Their eyes locked. Her lips parted and his mouth went dry.
He wanted to kiss her.
No. Jared needed to kiss her.
Before he could even lean in, Renee gasped and moved away.
“Which one of them put you up to this?” she demanded. The suspicion in her voice made him rear back.
He blinked.
Wanting to kiss a woman two seconds after meeting her was fast…even for him.
Get it together, seriously.
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