Operation: Endgame by Christi Snow Page B

him puzzled. “Ricky?” She laughed. “No way. He’s completely in love with his girlfriend Molly. He talks about her all the time. He’s just a serial flirt. He can’t help himself.” She looked over at Ricky and smiled at him. Ricky smiled back. “He normally works the morning shift during the week, so he provides me with my caffeine to keep me going after my run. He also gives me my morning dose of self-confidence that any girl can appreciate. Every gal needs a guy like Ricky in their lives to continually tell them how gorgeous they are. He’s fun and harmless.”
    Jake scowled and grumbled, “I don’t understand why you would need someone like him giving you shallow compliments. You have a mirror. You can see how gorgeous you are.”
    Cassie gave him a scowl right back. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, although I really can’t understand why a little harmless flirting has your hackles all up. Come on, let’s head home. I have work to do tonight to get ready for this week’s finals and I think you’re about to miss the kick-off of the Cowboys game.”

Chapter 20
     

    Cassie was sitting at her kitchen table working on her laptop doing last-minute preparation for finals. She could see Jake’s profile as he watched the football game in the living room. He’d been quiet ever since the trip to The Mocha Mermaid, but she still couldn’t figure out why he’d gotten so upset about Ricky. So, Ricky was flirting. Ricky flirted with every female that walked through the doors. They all knew it and quite honestly, that was part of his charm. Jake’s ego wasn’t so fragile he couldn’t handle another guy getting attention. If that was the case, then he would never have been friends with Chris and Colton all these years. Girls fell all over themselves for her brothers, not that Jake was a slouch either. Her three guys had never had any issues with lacking female attention that was for sure.
    As she looked over at his him, she could see his jaw clenching from where she sat. Seriously, the guy needed to relax. “So, what’s the score?” she asked him.
    He looked up at her as if awakening from a daze. “What?”
    “The game…what’s the score of the game?”
    Jake looked back at the screen. “Oh,” he glanced up at the corner where the score was conveniently displayed for him, “21-7. The Cowboys look like crap, as usual.”
    “Hmm.” He couldn’t fool her. He had no idea what the Cowboys looked like because he was just sitting there in front of the screen dwelling on something else. “Well, in that case, let’s go out in the backyard and enjoy this warm weather we are having. I need a break from paperwork.” She stretched her back like it was aching.
    One of the best things about living in West Texas was the temperate, mild winters they usually got to enjoy. Today the temperature was hovering in the upper 60’s. It was definitely nice enough to go out in just a sweater or light jacket. You learned to take advantage of these days because they tended to precede huge blizzards that moved across the plains with ferocious winds and blowing snow.
    They sat down at the bistro table on the back deck and Cassie looked at Jake. “So what’s up with you? Why are you all of a sudden so grumpy and moody?”
    Jake scowled at her. “I’m not grumpy and moody…just thinking.” He looked at her, wondering about how to proceed with this conversation. “It just occurred to me this afternoon I probably haven’t been the best friend and I’m not just talking about the last six months.” He shook his head. That wasn’t the direction he wanted to go with this conversation. He did not want to talk about what happened six months ago.
    Cassie started to speak, but Jake held up his hand to forestall her. “No, hang on. I’m just trying to organize my thoughts. I always assumed you already had two brothers and didn’t necessarily need another one getting into your business, but things have changed.