Free Baby It's Cold Outside by Addison Fox

from behind her as he pushed her through the door.
    Suddenly nervous, Sloan wasn’t sure how to handle the attack of nerves that began dive-bombing her stomach. “No one misses much up here, I guess.”
    “I think it has less to do with up here and more to do with the fact that Indigo is a small town.”
    Sloan thought of her own relatively small town and the individuals who fought for dominance there. “Too true. There are no secrets in small towns.”
    Dark eyes narrowing, Walker’s voice was a husky mix of desire and—annoyance? “Are you interested in keeping this a secret, Sloan?”
    “It was just a kiss.” Was it? Even as the casual response left her mouth, she was regretting the words.
    “Of course. Here you are. And there’s Skate Mac-Intyre.” Walker pointed in the direction of a big guy looking determinedly through the now dwindling pile of coats in the corner of the lobby. “He probably wants his coat back.”
    Did no one in this town have a real name?
    Before she could ask or say anything else, Walker had moved away to help his grandmother with her coat.
    Shrugging quickly out of the oversized wool, she offered a small smile to the man standing there with an expectant smile. “Skate?” At his nod, she continued. “Sorry about that. I ran outside for something and realized I should probably layer. I just grabbed the nearest one I could find.”
    “No problem, ma’am.” Skate nodded his head, a dark red flush creeping up his neck even as he smiled broadly. “You warmed it up for me.”
    She glanced down at the coat in her hands, thrusting it at him as if it had suddenly turned into a snake. “Oh. Sorry.”
    His large bear-sized hand closed over the collar of the coat, his fingers just brushing hers. “I’m not.”
    “I hope you enjoyed this evening.”
    Before he could say anything, she excused herself and crossed the room toward where Grier stood at the bar with Avery.
    “Someone’s quickly making an impression.” Avery smiled as she handed a bill across the bar.
    “What?” Sloan clamped down on the impulse to screech when she saw the total on the bill.
    “The town’s bachelors certainly seem taken with you. Skate’s notoriously shy, but there he was, talking you up.” As if reading her mind, Avery added, “And while the Indigo Blue appreciates your patronage, I figured you’d like me to call it quits after the bill hit a grand. Otherwise a few more might have gotten up the courage this evening.”
    “The bill’s for almost fifteen hundred.”
    Avery smiled broadly. “I said I figured you’d like me to quit after a grand. Then I called last call and everyone got busy. I did throw in a few freebies, I’ll have you know. Susan won’t mind a few free bottles of wine in exchange for a bar tab like this one. Oh, and gratuity’s included.”
    “How thoughtful,” Sloan said drily as she reached for the pen Avery had laid beside the bill. On a small mumble, she added, “Besides, I only had his coat.”
    “What’d you have of Walker Montgomery’s?” Grier added in a slightly tipsy voice.
    “G!” Sloan whirled on her friend, midsignature on the bill.
    “It’s a fair question.” Avery made a good show of collecting glasses off the bar, but Sloan didn’t miss the broad smile that lit up her face.
    “More than fair.” Grier waved a hand as she reached for a bottle of water. “I saw your face when you walked back in that door over there. Fess up. The man charmed your panties off, didn’t he?”
    “Grier!”
    Avery held up a hand and Grier smacked it with the age-old high-five motion. “Told you.”
    “Do not tell me you two were betting on this.”
    “’Course not,” Avery added. “I don’t take bets I’m sure to lose and that absolutely would be one. But I can tell you that man is fuckalicious and he’s got his eye on you.”
    “What have the two of you been up to in here?” Sloan wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t seem to conjure the proper emotion as