Or was that her?
Emily blinked and the sudden urge to swat the woman’s hand away was as shocking as it was strong.
Surely, the woman wasn’t that thick. It was as clear as the frown on his face that he was not interested in her.
“What about you ladies?” Colby’s attention switched to her and her friends. “Do any of you need a refill?”
By the time the woman left with the orders and hustled toward the kitchen, Emily wondered if she’d misread the adoration in her eyes. The last glance the waitress had directed at Holden had just held the same normal friendliness she’d bestowed on everyone else.
Holden shifted back into the middle of his chair and blew out a breath
The loss of his heat was tangible. And it annoyed her that she’d noticed.
“Holy mother of what in the hell just happened?” Lyndsey blurted.
Sinjin shook his head. “She the one from last month Carter was going on about?”
One what, Emily wondered.
Holden nodded. “Yeah.”
“Sure hope she places our orders and not just Holden’s,” Hunter said.
Gabe muttered under his breath, “You seriously think she won’t?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“So, who the hell is she?” Isla asked, then slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Pardon my French.”
Emily, like everyone else, no doubt, was still too caught up in the Colby saga to even bat an eye at her sweet friend’s sudden potty mouth.
“She’s a waitress from a Houston honky tonk where we had lunch in August,” Hunter replied, scratching his temple.
Christa’s brows shot up. “You mean she isn’t an ex-girlfriend of yours, Holden?”
“No! Hell, no!” he exclaimed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “It’s like Hunter said. I was on a layover in Houston last month and met up with the guys for lunch at a bar near the airport before I headed home to Virginia. I never met her before or since.”
“That’s a strange coincidence,” Isla said, reaching for her drink.
Holden’s grunt echoed Hunter’s.
“No such thing,” Gabe said with a shake of his head.
Emily turned to Holden and cocked her head. “Looks like you might need a restraining order, not me,” she said, then inwardly cringed.
It had sounded funnier in her head.
He turned to her with a flare of frustration in his eyes. “I’m fine. I’m more worried about you.”
His concern was misplaced, but it didn’t stop the warmth from invading her chest.
“Holden.” Her lips twitched. “You don’t need a restraining order from me. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
A smile spread across his face, and it chased the clouds from his gaze. “Damn.”
The warm fuzzies that had suddenly enveloped her when she’d gazed into Holden’s eyes in the cat colony last Thursday returned for another round, this time, with vigor. Emily knew this wasn’t supposed to be good but couldn’t remember why. That would require brain cells, which were currently doing the backstroke in the sea of fog flooding her head.
As that fog rolled in, she was vaguely aware of their friends talking and whispering, along with a giggle or two. But Emily was acutely aware of every part of her body, especially the part that still tingled where their sides had brushed.
