As if she could tell this man no when he was looking at her like that. But she refused to let him off easily; teasing him was too much fun.

“I have to be honest: that public display felt rather affectionate.”

“Can you please go back to your own table now?” Kellen said to the pair of young women who were still harassing him about going to a bar that would close in less than an hour.

The waitress looked apologetic as she set their food before them. “Should I get the manager to remove them from the premises?” she said quietly, as if the young women wouldn’t be able to hear her.

“That won’t be necessary,” Owen said. “I’ll take care of it.”

The waitress nodded and took her leave again.

“So how are you ladies getting home tonight?” Owen asked them, selecting a potato chip from his plate and munching it.

“Lisa’s car is parked across the street.”

Owen nodded. “I see. How would you like to go for a ride in a limo?”

“What?” the one who wasn’t Lisa said.

“We have a limo parked outside. Want to go for a ride?”

Caitlyn was too busy trying to figure out what Owen was thinking to touch her cheesecake.

“Owen, I don’t think…” Kellen gave the girls pointed looks.

Owen ignored him. “You don’t believe we have a limo, do you?”

“I’d have to see it to believe it.”

“All right, I’ll show you.” Owen slid out of the booth and helped the two wobbly ladies to their feet. He leaned across the table and whispered, “I’ll be right back,” to Caitlyn.

Befuddled, she watched him escort the two women out of the diner.

She exchanged a confused look with Kellen. And then Kellen’s scowl softened. “Wish I’d have thought of that,” he said.

“Thought of what?”

“Hey, hey, hands off the merchandise,” Owen shouted just before the diner door shut behind them.

“Is he leaving with them?”

“When he has you?”

“Then what?”

Before he could answer, Owen was headed back in their direction.

“What was that all about?” Caitlyn asked.

“Neither one of them had any business driving,” Owen said, “so I had the driver take them home. They were too excited about riding in a limo to be upset that they weren’t getting into Kelly’s pants tonight.”

“And how are we supposed to get back to the hotel?” Kellen asked.

“The driver will be back before I finish my sandwich. Their place is only a couple of miles from here. They told me so when they were trying to get me to go with them.”

Caitlyn squeezed his knee under the table. “That was a really nice thing you did.”

“What? Rescuing Kellen from two drunk girls?”

“Making sure they got home safely.”

“Everyone is happy,” he said, and took a huge bite of his sandwich. “Especially me,” he added, talking with his mouth full. “Good stuff.”

Kellen grinned as he used the edge of his fork to cut into his cheesecake and took a bite.

“Better than pie?” Owen asked.

Kellen shook his head. “Too sweet.”

Owen devoured his sandwich while Kellen decided he’d rather steal the chips off Owen’s plate than finish his cheesecake. It was indeed decadent—moist and creamy with cherries in thick, sweet syrup. After only three bites, Caitlyn was full, but there was no way she was going to let something that delicious go to waste.

“How far is it from Houston to Beaumont?” Kellen asked.

“That’s a weird question,” Owen said.

“Less than two hours,” Caitlyn said, “depending on traffic.”

“Why do you care?” Owen asked.

“I was thinking of spending tomorrow night in Galveston and meeting up with the rest of you in Beaumont later.”

“If you take the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Peninsula, you can miss the Houston traffic,” Caitlyn said.

“Thanks for the tip.”

Owen shifted uneasily. “Don’t go. It never makes you feel better.”

Kellen shrugged. “I don’t go there looking to feel better. I just like the ocean.”

Caitlyn was missing something, but she didn’t want to pry. Kellen’s trip to Galveston probably had something to do with the lover Kellen had lost. Everything that caused tension between the two men seemed to have something to do with her.

Both men stared at the table in silence for several long, uncomfortable minutes. Caitlyn tried to think of something that would lighten the mood again.

“So you’re in Owen’s band too, right?” she finally asked.

“Owen’s band?” Kellen lifted an eyebrow at his friend. “Did he tell you it was his band?”

“Where would the band be without me?” Owen said.

“Bassists are a dime a dozen.”

Ouch! Caitlyn glanced at Owen, expecting him to look hurt or offended. He was grinning.

“You’re over-paying, Kelly. I can easily get you a dozen bassists for a nickel.”

“Bargain basement bassist.”

“What instrument do you play?” Caitlyn asked Kellen. And because she’d learned her lesson with Owen, she added, “Or are you the singer?”

“I play guitar,” Kellen said, still not out of his funk.

“You’re so matter-of-fact about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Kellen said. “It’s a fact.”

“It seems so foreign to someone like me, that you can make a living playing music.”

“Do you work?” Kellen asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Too much. But I’m doing what I love, so I don’t mind the long hours.”

“She has her own company,” Owen said. “She’s the boss.”

He sounded proud of her.

She snorted on a laugh. “Yep, I’m the boss.”

“What kind of company?” Kellen asked, sipping from his water as he waited for Owen to finish his sandwich.

“Alternative fuel sources. We started with solar panels and wind turbines, but recently started branching out into fuel cells. R and D is finally over, next is production and marketing. My two business partners are in charge of that stuff. I’m the main geek of the triad. So things have slowed down a bit for me while I wait for the next big idea to smack me upside the head. You can have a very fulfilling career discovering new technologies, but it sure won’t make you rich. It’s a good thing I have Peter and Lillian to find my markets.”

Owen paused with his nearly finished sandwich halfway to his mouth. “So you’re not only brilliant, good in bed, and hot, you’re also rich?”

She flushed. “I’m sure I’m not as rich as you are.”

“Your husband must be a complete tool,” Owen said.

“You’re married?” Kellen asked, looking scandalized for the first time that night.

“Divorced.”

“Her husband—”

“Ex-husband,” Caitlyn interrupted.

“Her ex-husband cheated on her.”

“Maybe he was lonely,” Kellen said.

“Kelly,” Owen admonished.

“I’m sure he was,” Caitlyn said. “I’ve been working eighty-hour weeks for several years now. Sometimes we didn’t see each other for days.”

“He could have made an effort,” Owen said.

She leaned against him and squeezed his arm. “Then I wouldn’t have had a reason to hook up with you.”

“Thank God he’s a thoughtless idiot.”

She smiled and couldn’t resist stealing a kiss. His lips tasted salty. They went well with the sweetness still on her tongue. When he licked her upper lip slowly, she moaned and curled her fingers into his shirt to tug him closer.

Kellen cleared his throat uncomfortably. She could have sworn he grunted, “P-D-A.”

Caitlyn drew away regretfully. “We need to get to the hotel,” she said.

Owen tossed the rest of his sandwich on his plate and signaled the waitress for their check.

The car was waiting for them when they left the diner. Kellen made Owen check the back seat for stowaways before he agreed to get in. Caitlyn did nothing to hide her laughter.

“Geez, Kelly, those girls weren’t that bad.”

Caitlyn and Kellen exchanged a look of agreement. Those girls had been pretty bad. Caitlyn wondered if Owen and Kellen had to deal with women like that on a regular basis. She supposed some guys would like that kind of girl; she suspected Owen might be one of them. If she hadn’t been with him, she wondered if he would have gone off to join their party.