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around his shoulder and his hand rested on her waist.
    “What would you like to drink?”
    “Beer is fine.”
    “So where is Jess tonight?”
    She frowned while her gaze swept the bar. “I don’t know. She’s being so difficult. She won’t tell me where she’s going or what she’s doing. The only thing I do know is that she’s not here.”
    “You can’t fix everything, Carrie. She’s almost old enough to make her own decisions.”
    A sigh rushed from between her lips. “I know, but I just wish she would think about things before she does them. Just like getting pregnant. She obviously didn’t think it through when she slept with your friend a couple of months ago.”
    He cocked an eyebrow in her direction while he wondered what it would take to make her lose control, throw caution to the wind and go to bed with him. “Sometimes thinking isn’t part of the equation.”
    “Well, it should be. With as much birth control and stuff that’s available now, getting pregnant when you don’t want to shouldn’t be happening.”
    He leaned over, pushing her hair away from her ear when he nuzzled it with his nose, and his hand caressed her hip. “Haven’t you ever lost control? Just did something you know you shouldn’t have because it felt good?”
    “I…uh…”
    Pulling back with a devilish grin, he said, “We’ll have to explore that.”

    * * * *

    Damn, the man can turn my insides to mush with nothing more than a whisper. What was I thinking coming here? She took a long drink of the beer in her hand. You are in way over your head, Carrie, her head whispered.
    A man hopped up on the stage when the band took a break. “Hey y’all. Someone wants to make an announcement. Come on up here, Joey.”
    “Shit,” she grumbled and pulled away from Cole side.
    “Carrie, sweetie. Come here, honey.”
    She shook her head, and she felt Cole stiffen beside her.
    “Come on, baby. We need to make this official,” Joey coaxed from the stage.
    Anger reverberated through her as she stomped toward the platform. “Get down, Joey.”
    “Nope.” His drunken stare turned from her and she sighed, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Hey, everybody. Carrie and I are gettin’ married.”
    Applause resounded through the crowd mixed with laughter, and she tried to grab the man’s hand and pull him down from the stage. He held on, tugging her up with him and wrapping his arm around her waist. She pushed him away and headed for the edge of the plywood, but when she lifted her gaze to the bar where Cole had been standing, he was gone.
    She searched the crowd until she finally caught sight of him when he reached the door. He turned and looked back a moment before he pushed through the doorway and the wood panel slammed shut behind him.
    Jumping down, she dove through the throng of people until she reached the outside door. She saw him just as he reached his truck. He stopped and braced his hands against the bed, giving her enough time to reach his side.
    “Cole.”
    He spun around, anger bright in his eyes. “You could have told me, Carrie.”
    “There isn’t anything to tell.”
    “Are you trying to say that guy didn’t ask you to marry him?”
    “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”
    “I don’t mess with married women,” he growled before he pulled the door open.
    She grabbed his arm before he could get inside and slam the door. “I’m not married, never have been, and I’m not going to be any time soon that I’m aware of.”
    “He said you were gettin’ married.”
    “Joey has been my friend since I was a baby. He’s been askin’ me to marry him for the last five years. Didn’t you see everyone laughing? Everybody who lives around here knows it’s almost a joke, and they know it ain’t happenin’.”
    “You aren’t gettin’ married?”
    “No.”
    His arm snaked around her waist so fast she didn’t have a chance to react, before his mouth swooped down on hers. He stole her breath away and gave it