Molly sat on the patio at an umbrella-bedecked table, facing the entranceway so she could see Buddy. They’d had a good discussion that morning, even though she had a sneaking suspicion that Buddy knew she wasn’t being completely honest about her relationship with Boone. She planned on rectifying that little lie of omission during dinner; after all, it was only fair for Buddy to be prepared for whatever ridiculousness Boone was going to throw in his way, since Boone Cash was exactly the sort of person to take his frustrations out on someone who had absolutely nothing to do with the situation.

Simmer down, Molly. Otherwise, you’re going to be a big, sweaty, spazzy mess by the time he gets here, she told herself. Hell, she was already sweaty. The fall afternoon had warmed up considerably from when they sat on the sidewalk outside the doughnut shop. She plucked her shirt away from her chest and fanned herself with the menu until she caught a glimpse of Buddy as he came from the parking lot. She waved to him, hoping desperately that she merely glistened, as opposed to resembling a drowned rat. He grinned at her and disappeared around the corner to come into the restaurant.

Molly choked on her sip of water as Buddy strode through the door, all self-confidence and alertness. If she didn’t know better, Molly would swear that Buddy was ex-military. He possessed that watchfulness she’d come to associate with that kind. And he moved like a military man, but she supposed that was the fighter in him: light on his feet and lightning quick. He’d taken her breath away during a few demonstrations in her self-defense class with his speed. He was so fast. She remembered one particular day when Colin had been explaining how fast someone could overpower you if you weren’t paying attention. Molly had been in the first row, watching the big former champion pace back and forth across the front of the classroom, and Buddy had come up behind her, put a hand on her waist, and whispered, “Boo!” in her ear as he wrapped a big hand around her throat. She’d screamed and almost wet herself with fear. She’d also forgotten every technique she’d learned during the previous weeks until she finally recovered and stomped on his foot. He’d grunted and then murmured, “Good girl,” in her ear.

Those two words made her panties wet for a totally different reason, and Molly began to fan herself again, remembering the hard heat of his chest against her back and his warm breath on her neck. She shifted in her chair as he moved toward her. He was a very handsome man. Who knew olive drab could look so good? That T-shirt pulled across his broad chest just right, and those jeans? They molded to his muscular thighs. His muscles rippling underneath the dark blue denim completely mesmerized her. It was a wonder she wasn’t drooling.

“Hey.” She swallowed hard. Actually, she might be drooling, because he arched an eyebrow at her when she locked eyes with him as he lowered himself into the seat next to her.

A rumbly chuckle escaped him. “Hey yourself, Molly.” He leaned back in the chair and crossed one arm over his chest, which made that T-shirt stretch even tighter over his pecs.

Oh, sweet Jesus. You have got to get a grip, Molly.

She pulled herself together while Buddy got a waiter’s attention, and had regained some semblance of proper deportment by the time he’d ordered a drink and an appetizer. They sat in silence until the waiter put a glass of iced tea in front of Buddy.

“So, I didn’t tell you the whole story this morning,” Molly began.

“I know.”

“What? You do?”

Buddy chuckled again. “Darlin’, you don’t make your living pairing up people if you can’t read them, and every little thing about your body language this morning told me that while you weren’t lying, you sure as hell weren’t telling me the truth.” He took a sip of tea. “Mmm. That’s good iced tea. Now, you gonna tell me the whole story about that jackass Boone Cash?”

Molly sighed, but then Buddy took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. “Tell me, Molly.”

So she told him, not leaving anything out—not one ugly, humiliating detail, including their confrontation after the Fall Funfest. She watched Buddy as she recounted all the craziness that resulted from her relationship with Boone, and the more she told him, the more furious the man sitting next to her became.

When she stopped talking, he didn’t say anything for a moment, but then, in a quiet, deadly voice, he said, “Let me see your legs.”

Molly hiked up the legs of her jeans, showing him the cuts and scrapes. Buddy grasped one calf and gently lifted it up, closely examining her injuries before moving to the other leg and doing the same.

“It’s not too bad. I mean, I don’t need stitches or anything.”

“Has he done anything to make you need stitches?”

She shook her head, her face flaming. God, this is so humiliating. “No.”

“Good.” He inhaled deeply and blew out a big breath before cupping her face in his hands. “You didn’t cause any of this. You know that, right? This is all on that asshole, one hundred percent.”

“Come to my house,” Molly blurted before she lost her nerve. “I want you to come to my house. Right now.”

By the look on his handsome face, she thought he was going to say no, but then he grinned. Buddy stood up and took a few bills out of his wallet and threw them onto the table. Then he held out his hand and motioned for her to take it.

“Sure thing, darlin’.”

They walked to the parking lot, and Molly was very conscious of Buddy’s hand on her lower back, and even more so about the finger that stroked the strip of bared skin right above her waistband. She shivered, and Buddy stopped.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Excellent.” He nodded at a beat-up pickup truck. “This is me. The fact that there was a parking spot right next to you is a sign, I think.”

With that statement, all Molly’s misgivings melted away, and she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Buddy touched the spot where she kissed him. “What was that for?”

“Because.” He arched an eyebrow at her, questioning, and she just shrugged a shoulder. “Just because. I’ll see you at my place, okay?”

“Oh yeah, sure thing.”