Chapter 345

They sat outside under palm frond umbrellas, and the food was pretty good. It helped Jake sober enough not to want to haul Emma down the beach and molest her. They had all moved on to drinking cocktails thanks to Leila and her crazy huge knowledge of all things cocktail. The girl had once run a little bar somewhere exotic for fun a few years back and seemed to retain the recipe of every drink known to man. She was always handy in teaching Jake new drinks to impress the ladies, and right now, his knowledge of Emma’s preferences was helping him keep her in a steady supply of drinks she was happily downing. He liked seeing her relax this way, sitting beside him and fully leaning back in her chair without any hint of defensiveness.
He was more than aware of how the three of his so-called friends honed in on Emma with her new hair. Warning glares at them had proven futile, and Daniel smirking hinted that he was heating up to start trying to goad Jake. The guy got a kick out of it. Jake shifted uneasily, ready to defend her with his life if that’s what it took. He wouldn’t let any of them make even a tiny hint at trying for her.
“What motivated this?” Daniel reached past Jake, scooping a strand of Emma’s hair, and Jake batted his hand away aggressively.