He missed her looking at him the way she did at Duke. Easy, no tension. Open.

He didn’t miss the way Alan looked at her, that much was certain. He should have gone back to his office to update their calendar to accommodate the ’58 Chevy Alan had just agreed to pay them quite a bit of money to customize. But he stayed close enough to hear instead.

PJ showed Alan several different shades of green and a few of purple and orange. They all went out, presumably to look at the vintage Schwinn bicycle she’d recently finished. It was tangerine orange with an orange metallic banana seat and acres of chrome. A birthday present for the teenage daughter of a local tattoo artist. PJ had outdone herself with the color. The paint had been expensive, but it was the coolest bike Asa had ever seen.

It was right as they came back inside that Alan made his move and Asa saw red.

Alan listened to PJ, but at the same time, Asa noticed the guy checking her out, and he knew PJ would notice that too. Alan got closer and she stepped back. Before Asa could get up and punch Alan for not giving her space, Duke returned to them and thanked PJ and then called Alan’s attention back to where they’d been working on putting together the plan for the job.

She looked at Asa and waved.

He could have gotten up and gone to her. Should have. The thought of her going out with a fucknut like Alan burned in his belly. But he stayed and she turned, leaving.

But not before she shot him a look that said she knew he’d seen that business with Alan. The pierced brow slid up and he couldn’t help but smile at her. She shrugged and left, and he didn’t stop watching the sway of her ass until she’d gone back inside the painting bay.

“He’s here.” Audra cruised over and handed PJ a drink.

PJ knew Asa would be at this event. Lots of hot women. Cars. Tattoos. Bikes. Plus Twisted Steel was one of the sponsors, so there was that too.

She was so glad she’d opted for something soft. Her dress was a figure-hugging navy blue summery number that hit her mid-thigh. Audra had given her a braid crown, but her hair hung loose in the back.

“You’re like fresh-faced catnip. It’s disgusting and awesome all at the same time.”

PJ snorted. “Come on then. I see someone I need to talk to.”

Audra shrugged. “Okay then. He’s totally watching you, by the way.”

“Good. Dumbass.”

She schmoozed and drank and flirted for another hour or so before she allowed herself to think about Asa. And once that happened, she couldn’t do anything but look for him.

That connection zinged between them when he glanced up from his drink and locked gazes with her.

“Here he comes,” Audra murmured.

It was like her skin knew he approached, like a caress that got more definite the closer he got as he stalked across the room to her.

He was so intense, his focus totally on her. How could he pretend this thing between them didn’t exist?

He stopped well inside her personal space. She looked up at his face, captivated by the sight. Asa was arrestingly attractive. Not pretty. Not even handsome. But absolutely a person who drew your eye. He carried himself with a confident masculinity she found sexy and charming all at once. He might have a New World face, but he had an Old World manner.

It made her feel… safe. Like she could say anything to him. And then he’d gone and been dumb.

“Hi,” PJ said.

He could have kissed her if he hadn’t been an ass. Instead he gave her a look that singed, realized it, tried to school himself, and annoyed her in the process. Why would he hide how hot he was for her?

Clearly there was backstory she didn’t know. The problem was that she wasn’t sure he’d let her close enough to share.

“Hey. Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He tried to do one of those hand-at-the-small-of-your-back things to escort her to the bar, but she stepped out of his reach. He could have touched any part of her he wanted, but he’d blown her off, so he got to not touch her.

Asa wasn’t the only gorgeous man on earth. He wasn’t even the only one at this party. So if he wanted her to move on, he should understand what her moving on looked like.

She knew he’d noticed it when she was at Twisted Steel the week prior and one of their clients had hit on her. She knew he thought about her because he’d shown up at the photo shoot she was in over the weekend and pretended he wasn’t looking at her.

She ordered a rum and Coke and he got a beer, and they headed off to a quiet corner.

“That day.” He paused. “You came to Twisted Steel and had just had this important thing happen in your life, and I added to what was probably pretty heavy already. I’m sorry. That’s not what friends do.”

While he avoided looking her in the eyes for longer than a few seconds, he tried very hard not to look at her boobs. And failed. Ha.

“It’s fine. It’s over and done. I got the message.” Because he deserved to suffer, she flipped her hair back behind her shoulder and straightened enough to stress the material at the front of her dress.

“I may have sent a message I didn’t mean to. If I’d known about you leaving Colman I would have acted differently.”

“Like how? Hm? You’d have fucked me in your break room and then told me a week later that I was too young and didn’t know what I wanted?”

If only. She’d have totally liked the first part of that plan. It was the rest that sucked.

“That’s not what I said.” He looked so miserable she felt sorry for him for a few moments before she hardened her resolve.