Recovering as someone bumped into her, Molly forced herself to move deeper

into the converted warehouse and waved aside any attempts to stop her for mindless

conversation. A stool was selected and slid onto, tugging at the hem of the

uncomfortable red dress. Thanks to the mound of cover-up, she felt comfortable enough

to remove her jacket then immediately regretted it at the attention drawn to her. At least

two offers were made to buy her a drink within the time it took to drape said jacket over

her knees.

A drink being placed in front of her was met with a shake of her head. “I didn’t

order this.”

“But he did.” The bartender pointed down the bar to a familiar yet unexpected

face. His hand came up to wave as she scowled, sliding back off the stool, jacket in

hand. One hand grabbed the glass then moved down to where Parker sat with his usual

annoying smirk.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, putting the drink down beside his

beer along with her jacket. “Are you following me now?”

“I’m not. Jeremy mentioned you were lookin’ into a new lead alone, and he was

worried so I volunteered as a stand-in,” he explained before sweeping his gaze over

her. “Gotta say you in that dress does not disappoint, Mols. I’ve never been much for

brunettes, though, or a faceful of make-up.”

Despite feeling a blush at his compliment and that appraising look, Molly folded

her arms over her chest. “Why?”

“‘Cause a single woman in a bar lookin’ like you do is gonna spend her entire

night avoidin’ strange men,” he said as an arm hooked itself around her waist and

tugged her against him. “With me here, you might actually see somethin’ useful.”

Her hands came out to stop the move forward except they wound up on his

surprisingly broad shoulders. Their faces were almost close enough for their noses to

touch. A hint of mint was caught on his breath as well as aftershave. It took her a minute

to step back, but she was far too aware of his hand resting on her thinly covered hip and

how his arm was snug against her lower back.

“This doesn’t make you a sentry.”

Parker sighed. “Can’t I just wanna help outta the goodness of my heart?” A laugh

met her look before he added, “And I wanted to see you in a dress, okay? Sue me. I

may never get this opportunity again.”