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At her words, his mouth slammed shut.
“I’ve heard that a million times before and it just won’t work.” Jazz fiddled with her napkin, twirling the fabric round and around her fingers. “I love dogs, it’s just that having a dog in an apartment doesn’t seem that fair to it, ya know what I mean? They should have a yard, not a third-floor walk-up without anywhere to run and play.” When silence was her answer, she looked over where Leo was studying her.
“Yeah, I understand what you mean.” He reached over and slowly pulled the napkin out of her grasp, the lack of fabric taking away her opportunity to get rid of the excess energy she felt coursing through her body. “Want to get out of here? Maybe go to that apartment that’s sitting all alone right now?”
Her mouth dried at the suggestion.Dear lord.This was the exact temptation she’d been mentally struggling with all night, and she wasstillundecided.
When she hesitated, he reached for her hand. With large fingers, he traced the slender line of her wrist up and over the back of her hand. “No expectations. Just two friends catching up and figuring out if there might be more there.”
“That sounds good.” Turning her hand around so they were palm to palm, Jazz linked their fingers. She knew it wasn’t smart, but she wasn’t ready for this to end just yet.
Chapter 7
Leo held Jazz’s hand in his as they walked through the banquet hall. He didn’t care who saw them leaving together. In fact, he hoped they were seen together. The sooner word got around that Jazz was with him, the better off it would be for everyone—especially the fuckers Will had said were interested. They’d lost their chance with her now that he was here. If they’d been smart, this gorgeous lady would have had a ring on her finger by now.
“Where you guys off to?” A voice asked so loudly it startled the woman next to him.
“Hey, Sam! How have you been?” He reached out with his free hand for a shake.
“Good, man. Looks like I got here just in time for dessert and drinks. Did I miss anything good?” he asked.
Leo didn’t know Sam that well, but they’d become quick friends at the station. His coworker was the type that never seemed to know a stranger. He talked to anyone and everyone if you stopped long enough to chat.
“A couple of the guys acted like assholes and brought a few pole bunnies as their dates,” he shared with a wince. “They caused some issues with Winter and Will had to step in.”
“No way, man…I thought the guys were smarter than that.” Sam’s eyes were wide as he searched the crowd for the offenders. “I bet it was Russo. It was Russo, wasn’t it? That guy can’t think with the head on his shoulders for the life of him.”
He nodded. “Russo was one of them. I think Jack and Rico brought a couple as dates too. At least that’s what it looked like from where we were sitting.” Leo held up the hand linked with Jazz’s and lifted his chin toward the door. “We were just getting ready to head out. You know Jazz, right? She’s driving tonight since my bike got scraped up in the parking lot.”
“Your bike got hit too? See, this is what happens when I’m late. I miss all the good stuff,” he grumbled, as if he had walked into the middle of a scene from his favorite soap opera. “You takin’ it to the Iron Seeds?”
“Yeah, one of my buddies brought over his trailer and picked it up already. It looks like I am going to be driving the truck this week,” he said sadly.
Sam chuckled and slapped him heavily on the back. “You act like it’s the end of the world when you have to drive your truck. That big blue beast of yours is not too shabby at all, man. In fact, that little lady there would have a hard time climbing into that monster truck of yours.”
“I got new running boards on the truck a month ago. Even you can climb into Betty now without a boost,” Leo joked with a laugh, dodging Sam’s big fist as it swung toward his arm. He gestured past his friend to the storm clouds they could see rolling in through the large hotel windows. It was past time for them to get out of here. “C’mon, sugar. We better get going. The weather’s getting worse.”
“See you two!”
As the pair made their way to the doors, a loud rumble of thunder vibrated the building. Jazz’s eyes widened as the lights flickered. “Damn, I didn’t expect the storm to pass through until early tomorrow morning.”
“How about we head to my place?” he suggested. “I have a finished basement, a fridge full of beer, and enough movies to last us until it passes.”
Leo hoped she’d say yes. He not only wanted her to see his home, he also wanted to make sure she was safe tonight. Kansas storms were nothing to mess around with and he doubted her apartment was the best place to be if a tornado did happen to pop up.
Jazz chewed her lower lip, obviously thinking it over.
“No pressure,” he promised.
“Sounds better than my third-floor apartment if we end up getting a tornado warning. Wanna drive my car?” Jazz held them out for him to take if he wanted. “It’s not a bike or your big blue beast, but it has four wheels and never fails me when I need it.”
Leo took the keys gently from her fingers and then gestured for her to precede him out the doors, the sky now almost pitch-black.
“I have a room at the house in case you want to stay over…” His words trailed off as the wind whipped by them harshly. The weather was getting bad fast.
“Let’s see how it goes and I may just take you up on that,” she answered, raising her voice to be heard over the gusts.
Leo opened her door for her, making sure she was safely inside before closing the door and moving around the front of the car to take his seat in the driver’s side. The cab was eerily silent compared to what was happening outside.
