Glory handed out beers to and took money from the astonishingly thirsty—and solvent, judging from all the cash shoved at her—crowd. She craned her head, but she could see that Eli hadn’t emerged from Glenn’s office yet. But every now and then a woman returning from the bathroom would glance toward Franco and do a violent double take and nearly trip over her own feet.
Glory could almost see the moment she decided that there was no way that guy was actuallytheFranco Francone. That maybe she should drink a little less.
Finally Glory was able to pay him a swift visit. “Anything I can get for you, Franco?”
“You already know what I want, Glorious.”
“If you also want a Sierra Nevada Porter, I can makethatwish come true right away.”
He grinned at her. Another woman strolling by caught the reflected dazzle from his teeth and walked straight into a wall.
“Oof,” she said. Rubbing her forehead.
Glory winced.
“Is the porter any good?” Franco hadn’t even noticed.
“Sure. I like it.”
“Then the porter it is. What’s up with the missing band?”
“Bus broke down.”
“Bummer.” And then he glanced up and froze. And his face darkened so abruptly Glory spun around.
Eli was standing right behind her. “Francone,” he said flatly.
“Deputy,” Franco drawled.
The air pulsed with so much dislike Glory was tempted to wave her arms about to dissipate it.
Nobody said a word for an absurd moment.
“Think the band is going to make it, Eli?” she said evenly.
He hesitated. “I did what I could,” he said carefully. “I’d say give it ten minutes. Then go talk to Glenn.”
He was looking just past her shoulder. As if he couldn’t bear to look at her full on, with Francone standing right next to her.
She didn’t know what had happened in that office, but she had a hunch that Eli had come to her rescue again.
And her heart leaped.
But then he just kept walking away, shouldering his way toward the end of the counter, where Bethany’s face turned up toward his like a flower, and he ducked his head to talk to her.
That pose. It was so masculine and solicitous and possessive. So...claiming. And Glory felt instantly nauseous.
So maybe he’d made an emphatic decision in that office, too.
Whatever. She could cope.
“What did he mean by ‘give it ten minutes’?” Franco’s mood hadn’t quite rebounded from eye contact with Eli yet.
“I’m not sure,” Glory said tautly.
That wasn’t quite true. She knew exactly what it meant.
She gave it seven minutes.