All Wrapped Up (A Pine Mountain Novel) by Kimberly Kincaid Page A

lookslike you’re in luck though. There’s one seat left at the end of the bar over there. Feel free to grab it while you can.”
    “Thanks.” Ava zeroed in on the same spot at the end of the bar where she’d taken up residence last night, moving with purpose toward the empty bar stool. The seat was fairly out of the way—likely why it was the last stool standing right now—but Ava didn’t mind. She’d chosenit last night for its good vantage point on the rest of the bar. Sometimes gathering facts meant watching twice as much as asking, and even though she’d had only the one brief exchange with Nick last night, Ava had still learned plenty.
    He might not have given anyone a story, but everyone in Pine Mountain wanted a piece of Nick Brennan.
    “Oh! There he is. There’s Brennan!” The excited murmurcame from somewhere in the growing crowd, and Ava’s gaze shot involuntarily to the swinging door behind the opposite end of the bar. Her pulse tapped out the Morse code equivalent of yes, yes, yes at the sight of Nick emerging from the kitchen, falling into step to take drink orders alongside the same tall redhead who had been behind the bar last night. They orbited around each other with precisionand an ease that suggested they not only worked well together but were friends, and Ava watched him covertly as he interacted with various customers.
    His movements were smooth and decisive, right down to the stretch of lean, corded muscles over his forearms as he reached for a chilled pint glass to fill it expertly at the tap in front of him. Every motion had purpose, and the unwavering controlbuilt in to his stubbled jawline sent a quick streak of envy through Ava’s gut. While it quickly became clear from Nick’s deadpan expression that there was a reporter or two in the bunch asking questions, he took the attention from the other people at the bar in polite stride.
    Until he landed in front of her, anyway.
    “You’re back,” he said, his dark eyes going wide. For just a sliver of asecond, there was nothing between them but high-octane intensity, and it shot down Ava’s spine in a bolt of pure want.
    “I, ah, thought I’d give dinner a try.” She held up a menu, trying like mad to remain unaffected by both her mutinous libido and the sudden scowl spreading over Nick’s darkly handsome face. He snapped a clean bar towel from a stack beneath the counter, putting it to use on thepolished wood between them.
    “Have you ever heard the expression let sleeping dogs lie? ”
    Her snort was soft but inevitable. “Yeah, I’m a reporter. I poke the dogs.”
    “I’m not giving you a story,” he said, his tone completely devoid of emotion, but two could dance to that song. It was obvious she was going to have to chisel out whatever leeway he’d give her, and she was nothing if not persistent.Plus, he had a hell of a smile, and damn it, Ava really wanted to see it again.
    “Okay. Then could I please have a cheeseburger with waffle fries, hold the tomato, and extra fried onions?”
    Nick’s brows winged upward, but hell if he didn’t step up to the plate. “Not planning on kissing anybody later, I take it?”
    The heat that had flared through her only a minute ago went on a massive comebacktour, but going soft wasn’t on her menu of options. “That’s kind of a personal question, don’t you think?”
    Ava got the smile she’d been after, and great God in heaven, the sweet and seductive pull of Nick’s mouth could render an otherwise intelligent woman totally useless.
    “How’s that shoe fit when it’s on the other foot, Spitfire?”
    A shocked laugh popped past her lips without her brain’spermission. “You did not just call me that.” The nickname he’d given her seven years ago had settled into the dusty recesses of her memory, but it curved right back into her ear as if it had never left.
    “You’re changing the subject,” Nick said, sliding a scoopful of ice into a pint glass with a clink .