I smiled at him. “Way good, hubby.”

He shook his head once then dropped it to touch his mouth to mine.

Then he murmured, “Go. See you later.”

“Later,” I agreed then I slid my hand up to his neck and curled my fingers around, holding his eyes and giving him something I hoped would carry him through having those two even close to his space. “You’re far and away the most beautiful man I’ve met and it isn’t just that you have the looks and the body but it’s a whole lot more, Ty Walker.”

Then I got up on tiptoe, kissed his jaw and avoided his eyes as I pulled out of his arms by turning and moving away.

As I strolled to my car, I smiled at the two gray-blue coverall covered men, my eyes moved to Wood and I called, “Hey, Wood.”

“Lexie,” he said, jerked his chin up and smiled at me.

I walked by him and to the car, my eyes on Stella to see her head turned to the Keatons but her eyes slid to the side more than once. Detective Chace Keaton was talking to her. Misty Keaton’s head was shifting quickly back and forth and back again between Ty and me, she had sunglasses on so I couldn’t see her eyes but the rest of her face I didn’t get. Surprise, maybe. Hesitation, definitely. But also I detected fear.

I hoped I detected right. I wanted the bitch afraid. She deserved fear and lots of it.

I got to the driver’s side of the Charger and Stella’s head turned my way so I smiled and waved.

“Hey, Stella!” I called.

“Hey, Lexie. How’s it goin’?”

“Awesome! Life is sweet,” I replied and she grinned.

“Good to hear, babe.”

My eyes moved to the Keatons who were both now looking at me and I gave them a friendly wave and a, “Hey!”

Chace Keaton’s eyes did a head-to-toe. Misty didn’t move a muscle. Neither of them gave me a “hey?? back.

Whatever. So they were dirty, skanky and rude. Not a surprise.

I turned around, opened my door, looked over the hood of the Charger and saw Ty disappearing into a bay. I got in, fired my baby up, backed out and resisted the urge to run down the Keatons. I might hit Stella and she was cool so that would be uncool.

Then I drove to the entrance of the garage, looked right then left then right again then something made me look left and I saw Bubba’s, the bar Tate and Krystal owned a few blocks down. I stared at it a second that slid to three. Then I turned right and headed home. I had groceries in the car I needed to unpack and put away because some of them needed the fridge.

But for some reason all I could think of was Bubba’s, Tate, the Keatons and my man forced to endure painful, bitter history delivering a sucker punch whenever Lady Luck was feeling sassy.

I drove home, parked in the garage, lugged up the groceries and put them away and still couldn’t quit thinking of Bubba’s. So I looked at the clock on the microwave over the stove and considered my wardrobe options, made a selection, calculated the time I’d need to gussy up and made a decision.

It might be stupid. It might be smart. It might piss off Lady Luck who’d make me pay the hard way.

But I had to try.

So I got in the car and drove back into town straight to Bubba’s. I parked out front and saw a line of bikes, about six of them and several other cars including a supremely beat up pickup truck. It was after three in the afternoon, not prime time drinking hours but Bubba’s looked relatively busy.

Good news for Tate and Krystal. Not so good for me. If Tate was there I didn’t want him to be busy and if I got an opening to do what I needed to do, I didn’t want anyone to hear.

I walked through the door to Bubba’s for the first time seeing immediately it was a biker bar. I knew this not because I was intimately acquainted with biker bars, in fact, this was the first one I’d ever been in. I knew this was because there were a bevy of biker-looking dudes in it. There were also wood floors, a long bar at the back surrounded by stools, tables and chairs in front and two big rooms off either side with two pool tables each. And I was correct, it was relatively busy.

Krystal was behind the bar, down at one end, gabbing with some patrons. Tate was also behind the bar, down at the other end, leaned into his hands on the bar and talking to Jim-Billy who looked surgically attached to his stool and was sitting at a corner and Deke who was standing at the opposite corner to Jim-Billy.

All eyes came to me when I came in.

“Hey, y’all,” I called and got a bunch of greetings back.

I moved to Tate’s side of the bar and slid on the stool next to Jim-Billy, putting my purse on the stool beside me.

“Good to see you, Lexie,” Tate said and I smiled at him.

“Yeah, you too,” I replied then slid my eyes around taking in Deke and Jim-Billy. “You guys been good?”

“Can’t complain,” Jim-Billy answered.

“Yeah, babe, things are good,” Tate answered.

Deke just stared at me. Deke was a communicator of the Taciturn Ty variety so I didn’t take offense.

“You drinkin’?” Tate asked.

“Yeah, though I’ll be doing it tonight at the celebration dinner Ty and I are having at The Rooster. I got a job at Carnal Spa today.”

“Good news, darlin’,” Jim-Billy grinned at me.

“Thanks,” I said to him then looked at Tate. “So, how about a celebratory Diet Coke with cherries in and I’ll buy the boys a round?”

“How about you let me cover your diet as a congratulatory gesture?” Tate returned.

“How about you let me buy a round considering you’ve already made a big gesture?” I suggested then pointed out, “It’s my turn.”

“’Preciate that, Lexie, but I got a bar that does a f**kload of turnover and this is a world where idiots jump bond frequently. You and Ty are gettin’ your feet under you so I’ll cover the round,” Tate rejected my suggestion and I knew this could go on and on and in the end one person was going to get their way and that would not be me.

“Do you guys take nice pills in the morning or is this natural?” I asked at the same time giving in.

He knew I was giving in so he grabbed a glass, dunked it in the ice, put it on the bar, aimed the soda gun at it and let fly while saying, “It’s a pop, babe, not givin’ you the deed to my house.”

“And a beer,” Jim-Billy put in.

“And a whiskey,” Deke added.

Tate’s eyes went to them in turn as they spoke then came to me when he said, “And a beer and a whiskey.”