But he liked his little Jessie Ann. More than he’d realized. And now she was gone forever.

Jessica Ann Ward sat in the passenger side of one of the Pack’s Hummers and stared out the window. She knew it was coming, she simply didn’t know when. Leave it to Phil to break the ice.

She heard him turn in his seat to face his wife, Sabina.

“Golly gee, darlin’,” he said in what had to be the worst rendition of a Southern accent Jess had ever been forced to listen to. “You sho’ look good in them fine shoes.”

“And you are... I can’t quite place you,” Sabina responded in her Russian accent that was suddenly that much thicker.

“Why, I’m the young man you once had a big ol’ crush on and I’ve now grown into a manly buck of a wolf. Don’t you remember?”

“Um... no.”

Finally, Jess couldn’t take it anymore. She burst out laughing, her Pack joining with her.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” she playfully yelled at Phil. “I wasn’t that bad.”

Danny, May’s husband, stopped at a red light. “When you walked over, he was like this.” He held his hands out at least eleven inches apart. “But when you were done, he was like this.” He held his forefingers about two inches apart.

Jess covered her face with her hands, her laughter causing tears to flow down her cheeks. “Stop it!”

“Sweetie, it went brilliantly,” Sabina cheered. “You crushed him.” She always said that sort of thing with so much relish. And Phil always looked so turned on by it.

“What y’all missed,” May added, “was all the chest thumpin’ he was doin’ with that big cat.”

“Big is right,” Phil agreed. “Now that was a big head.”

May laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe you said that about his head.”

“Well, it was large!” Jess argued to the four people she was closest to in the universe. The original members of their forty-strong Pack.

“I mean that thing was huge. I’d sit there... under the bleachers... hiding, terrified... and I’d think to myself, ‘If he tips his head to the side, will he completely fall over? Like the Elephant Man?’”

“Oh, my God, Jess!”

“What? You ask a lot of weird questions when you’re hiding under bleachers.”

Danny found a fabulous parking spot right outside the diner.

“You guys think I’ll see him again?”

“No,” they answered in unison.

Jess sighed in relief. “Good.” She waved at her outfit. She’d borrowed the dress and fur coat from Sabina, but unfortunately, she’d paid good money for the shoes.

“I can’t keep this up on a regular basis. And I hate these shoes. My feet are freezing and I fellon my ass in the bathroom.”

“Those shoes make that outfit,” Phil complained. “So suck it up.”

“Give me my sneakers, May.”

“You’re going to put sneakers on with that dress?”

“When did you become Karl Lagerfeld?”

Phil leaned into his wife. “They’re being mean to me, my love. Destroy them.”

“I’m hungry,” Sabina said. “I want waffles and I want them now. Or someone will pay dearly.” She looked at Phil and they all knew she meant that “someone” was him.

“Okay. Okay. My little Russian love bug. Calm yourself.”

While the others got out of the Hummer, Jess pulled on her sneakers. Yeah, it was over. No matter how good Bobby Ray Smith might look, she was over her little “wait until he sees me now” moment.

Christ, though, the man did look good. Tall with mile-wide shoulders and his entire body rippling with muscles under his black midlength leather jacket, black turtleneck, and black jeans. And those watchful, amber eyes staring out under that dark brown hair, most of which reached to his collar. Probably a relief after so many years in the military.

Yeah, the man still looked damn good.

She wished she could say she truly had no idea he’d be attending this party, but her Pack never did business with anyone they hadn’t thoroughly investigated. And although she knew Mace through his sister and their mutual charity activities over the past five years, it wasn’t until Danny gave her the information on his business that she saw Bobby Ray Smith’s name listed as his partner.

At that point, she knew what she had to do. As childish and ridiculous as it seemed even to her, she couldn’t resist. And, as always, her Pack had been more than willing to join in.

But now it was over. She’d showed him exactly how far she’d come, and it felt great. Yet, she had more important things to deal with now, moving Bobby Ray Smith officially into her past.

Although there definitely remained a part of her that still wished she’d gotten a chance to kiss him that night in the gymnasium. Just so she could stop wondering what it would be like. By now she felt certain she’d built it up to gargantuan proportions the poor man could never live up to.

The passenger side door opened and Jess grabbed hold of Danny’s hand so he could help her from the huge vehicle. Now that she was back in her normal footwear, she didn’t need the help, but she wouldn’t turn it down either.

Laughing and happy, the Pack walked into the diner to feed.

Chapter 2

Smitty sat back and watched the high-powered activity of the busy kitchen. He always loved hanging out at this restaurant. The chef, first cousin of the Van Holtz Pack Alpha Male, always made him feel welcome and, more important, fed him.