Something Sparked-nook Read Online Free PDF Page B

truck near the front door and looked at her with surprise. “You’re kidding?”
    “Nope. This isn’t really my scene. It’s always seemed sort of shady.”
    Luc chuckled as he climbed out of the truck, and then reached in to help her down. “Oh, it’s a dive, to be sure. But it’s not dangerous. Besides,” he said, his hands lingering on her waist, “the only shady characters you need to worry about tonight are us.”
    She fought to keep her breathing steady, hoping Luc couldn’t sense how much his hands on her waist were impacting her. Equal waves of nervousness and excitement clamored beneath the surface. There was no way she was going to make it through the night. Both men seemed intent on dragging her close, touching her. Even now, Diego was tugging her away from Luc, her hand held securely in his large, warm palm.
    Before they made it to the front door, Jeannette was overwhelmed by the sheer noise of the place. Fast, ear-piercing music thumped out a heavy beat as people fought to be heard, laughing and talking loudly. There was a large crowd of people sitting in front of a long bar and the dance floor was packed, a huge mass of bodies stomping in time to some country music line dance.
    Jeannette wasn’t sure what Hell looked like, but she sort of imagined it would be a lot like this. Despite her large companions flanking her, no less than four people bumped into her, the last spilling beer on her boots before they made their way to a table.
    “Hey, Diego, Luc, over here,” a man called out. “We’re just leaving. You want our spot?”
    Diego smiled and nodded. As they got closer, Jeannette recognized Colby as the speaker. He grinned at the men, the smile freezing when he realized she was standing with them.
    “Nettie?”
    “Hey, thanks, Colby,” Diego said, putting a proprietary arm around her shoulders and tugging her close. “I was afraid Jeannette was going to be crushed there for a minute. This place is crazy tonight.”
    She noticed the way Diego stressed her name, and while she appreciated his efforts, she was still on the verge of freaking out. For one thing, she wasn’t used to such large crowds, and secondly, she wasn’t used to a man holding her so closely.
    “Yeah. We got here early and Jeremiah sort of overdid it. Couple of my buddies took him outside to get sick while I settled up the tab.” Colby looked at Jeannette again as if trying to convince himself it was really her. “Y’all have fun.”
    With that, Colby left. No doubt he and his friends would have a field day discussing the fact she was out with Diego and Luc. She estimated it would be less than ten minutes before the texts from her cousins and sister started arriving. She hadn’t told anyone about her plans for the evening because she’d been ninety-nine percent sure she’d bail. She reached into her purse and muted her phone. Tonight was going to be hard enough without her phone chiming every ten seconds with another OMG, WTF text from a relative.
    Luc pulled out one of the tall stools for her, and then claimed the one next to it, pushing it closer to hers. Diego followed suit on the other side until she felt caged in and sheltered. Every single thing about the evening was an experiment in insanity as opposite emotions battled within her. It was as if she was locked in a constant game of tug of war with herself.
    Diego waved the waitress over and ordered three beers. For the first time since she’d entered the bar, Jeannette had a chance to really look around. There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, as well as quite a few people she’d never laid eyes on.
    Cruisers was positioned just off Exit 57 on the highway, so she suspected it pulled in a lot of people from surroundings towns or tourists passing through. God knew the club spent a fortune on billboard signs, with advertising starting as much as fifty miles away in both directions. Clearly the promotion paid off.
    Once again, Luc’s arm found its way to