The Gamble (Colorado Mountain #1)(94)

I didn’t know what to do with that as it gave me nothing to go on but I didn’t have a chance to do anything because Max curled me back to his side and led us to Mindy and Brody.

When we stopped and Max’s hands moved to take my coat, I announced boldly, “You should know, Max and I are fighting and I won’t be speaking to him throughout dinner. I hope that won’t ruin anyone’s night.”

Mindy’s eyes got huge and Brody stared at me a second before he burst out laughing. Max, the jerk, could be heard chuckling behind me. Then he put a hand in the small of my back and pushed me into our booth.

I watched him hand our coats off to a white shirt, black pants, long black tie, long white apron wearing waitress and then he sat beside me, not delaying in sliding his arm along the booth behind my back. I unwound the scarf from around my neck and tucked it next to me with my clutch when Brody spoke.

“Well,” Brody started, still smiling, “this’ll make an already rocky evening even more interesting.”

“What?” Max asked and Mindy, sitting on the inside of the booth across from me, leaned forward.

“Kami’s here,” she whispered.

I leaned forward too and whispered back, “Oh my God.”

“It’s worse,” Brody declared. “Shauna’s here too.”

Mindy nodded to me and I repeated, far more appalled this time, “Oh my God.”

“And… get this!” Mindy said. “Harry!”

“Shit,” Max muttered and it took all my control not to look around the room.

“Where?” I asked Mindy.

“We’re the center,” Mindy explained. “Kami’s at one o’clock, Shauna’s at five and Harry’s at nine.”

“We’re surrounded,” I murmured, my voice horrified.

“Yep,” Mindy agreed and sat back.

Max’s arm curled around my shoulders, his other hand coming to my jaw and he turned my body and face to him.

Then he suggested bizarrely, “Feel like makin’ out?”

“I’m sorry?” I replied snottily, forgetting from his strange suggestion that I wasn’t talking to him.

“It’ll piss Shauna off,” Max answered. “Kami too, I figure.”

This idea had merit and therefore I considered it.

This was a mistake because Max knew I was considering it, he found this amusing therefore he burst out laughing, pulled me even closer and kissed me hard but not long, doing so even while he was mostly laughing.

His mouth broke from mine and he was spared the edge of my tongue as the waitress returned and asked, “Get you some drinks?”

“Vodka martini, up with an olive and lose the vermouth, please,” I ordered, she nodded, bent her head and scribbled and Max gave me a squeeze, gaining my attention.

“Duchess, you’re in altitude.”

“And?”

“And you had a glass of wine at home. You gotta be careful with booze when you’re not used to altitude.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You weren’t fine when you had a bottle of wine last night. You were out like a light.”

“I was tired. It was late. Now, it’s six thirty.”

“It wasn’t late, it was nine at night.”

My brows drew together and I asked, “It was?”

“Yeah, honey, it was.”

That was news; it seemed a whole lot later.

“Oh,” I muttered.

“Take it easy, all I’m askin’,” Max said on a squeeze of my shoulder.

“All right,” I agreed and Max turned to the waitress.

“Coors,” he ordered, she nodded and wandered away.

“Lucky man, Max, seein’ as Nina’s silent treatment lasts about two seconds. Most women I know can hold onto it for days,” Brody told Max but his eyes were on me and I could tell he was teasing.

“Not quite, she was silent most of the drive here,” Max shared.

“I could never do the silent treatment, I get too wound up,” Mindy added.

“What are you two fightin’ about anyway?” Brody asked nosily.

“Nothing,” I replied immediately.

“Nina movin’ here,” Max said over my word.

“Max!” I snapped, twisting my neck to look at him.

“You’re moving here! Awesome!” Mindy screeched very, very loudly and many of the other patrons turned to look.

In fact, when I swept my eyes self-consciously across the restaurant, I spotted Shauna who, from the look in her eyes which were glaring ice daggers at me, heard every word.

As embarrassed as I was, since she was with another man thus rubbing Harry’s nose into her betrayal further, I forced an expression of surprised delight on my face, lifted my hand and gave her a happy, “Hey, I know you!” wave.

She turned away.

“Christ, you’re cute,” Max muttered and I looked at him then caught Brody and Mindy both turning back from checking out Shauna, Mindy giggling, Brody grinning.

Our menus, at that point, arrived. Our drinks came not long after.

Kami came after we’d placed our food order and were enjoying a basket of fresh, warm, delicious bread.

She stood at the end of our table, her eyes were locked on Brody and she said not a word of greeting to her brother, Mindy or me.