Her distrust rose. He was being evasive. “Where’s your home base?” Ginny asked.
“Charlotte. What about you?” he asked.
“I’m here visiting family, my grandmother,” she said ad-libbing. Better he think she had someone who would miss her if she disappeared unexpectedly.
They made small talk for another few minutes, then she decided to broach the real reason she’d met him. “You don’t look like you’d have trouble meeting women,” she said. “Do you engage in a lot of online dating?”
He chuckled. “I don’t have trouble,” he said. “But I’m looking for a specific type.”
Her skin prickled. “And what type is that?”
A flicker of interest sparked in his eyes. “Someone quiet. Humble. Women these days are flashy and forward. They don’t appreciate a man taking care of them.”
She barely resisted slugging him. He sounded like Robert. “Have you dated anyone else from Whistler?”
His smile disappeared. “What does that matter?”
“Just wondering if there’s an old flame around who’d get jealous if she saw us together?”
“No one at the moment.” His eyes darkened. “It pains me to say the last woman I was seeing died suddenly.”
Ginny bit her lip to stifle a reaction. “Oh, my goodness. You weren’t seeing that pretty woman named Joy, were you? I arrived in town the day after she died in that horrible fire.”
The ice in his drink clinked as he lifted it for a sip. “Did you know her?”
She shook her head. “No, I just saw the news. I heard she liked to play around.”
His hands tightened into fists on the table. “That’s what I’m talking about. Women who aren’t faithful. I can’t tolerate that.”
If the woman he’d dated was Joy, he’d just confirmed a motive for murder.
He reached for her hand and stroked her fingers. “But you wouldn’t be like that, would you, June? You wouldn’t lie to a man?”
She had had enough. He wasn’t Robert, but he was despicable anyway. She pushed away from the table and stood. “You know, Karl, I don’t think this is going to work.”
He tightened his fingers around her wrist so hard she winced. “What? Aren’t you going to give me a chance?”
She gritted her teeth. “I just don’t feel like we’re right for each other.” She yanked at her hand to pull free, but his grip grew more intense.
“That’s not fair, June. Sit back down—”
“Let the woman go.”
Ginny gritted her teeth as she looked up and found Griff staring down at her and Karl with a lethal expression on his chiseled face.
* * *
NOTHING RILED GRIFF more than a bully manhandling a woman. And this creep looked as if he’d gone from friendly to psycho possessive in seconds.
The man released Ginny’s wrist then angled his head and shot Griff a venomous look. “Who the hell are you?”
Griff fisted his hands by his sides. Resorting to physical force wasn’t his style, but if it meant protecting Ginny and he was provoked, he wouldn’t back down either. This jerk was decent-size, but he could take him in a skinny minute.
“A friend of the lady’s,” Griff said coldly.
Ginny shot him an irritated look and absentmindedly rubbed at her wrist, which was red from the man’s tight grip.
“I can handle this, Griff,” she said stiffly.
He arched a brow in challenge. Did she know this jerk? Was she actually going to defend him?
Karl shoved his chair back. “What is this? Some kind of hustle?” He narrowed his eyes at Ginny. “You plan a date, then your boyfriend jumps in for fun?”
Shock flashed across Ginny’s face at the implication. “No. But this date is over.”
She snatched her purse, threw it over her shoulder and brushed past Karl and Griff.
Karl stood as if to go after her, but Griff blocked his path. “You heard her. It’s over. Touch her again and you’ll answer to me, someone more your size.”
Karl squared his shoulders, anger radiating from him. “Don’t worry. She’s not my type anyway.”
Griff barely resisted the urge to punch the jerk. Instead, he stepped back and went after Ginny himself. The music blared louder from the bar area, and a line dance had kicked up, boots pounding the scarred wooden floor.
He hurried out the door and searched the parking lot. Ginny was climbing in her car, so he jogged over and caught the door just before she could close it. Her eyes widened, a sliver of fear darkening the depths that made him feel like a heel. He threw his hands up to indicate he meant no harm.
“Are you okay?” he asked gruffly.
Her breathing rasped out. “Yes. And by the way, I had the situation under control.” Stubborn pride laced her voice.
“Of course, you did,” he said. “But when I see a man roughhousing a woman, I can’t help but step in. My father taught me to respect women.”
His comment seemed to soften the defensive expression on her face. “Then thank you. But I really was fine.”
He leaned closer to her in the open doorway of the car. “What was that about anyway? I thought you were just visiting town. Did you know that man?”
She cut her eyes away, avoiding him, then flexed her fingers around the steering wheel as if debating on how to respond. Finally, she sighed and looked back at him. “I don’t want to talk about it here. Meet me back at the inn.”
She bit her bottom lip, then started the engine. But she scanned the parking lot as she pulled away. Was she afraid the man inside would follow her?
Or was she was running from someone else?
* * *
GINNY DROVE TO the inn, relieved to see that Karl Cross didn’t follow her. As stern as she might have been, Griff was much more intimidating.
Although why had he come to her rescue? She didn’t think he liked her or wanted to talk to her. Had he followed her to the bar?
She parked and climbed out, her nerves on edge. Had Robert snuck back inside the room?
Griff parked behind her and walked over to her car. “Let’s meet in the parlor,” Ginny said. “There’s wine and coffee at the buffet in the evenings.”
Griff walked beside her as they made their way up the path to the porch. The earlier rain was dissipating, yet the wind had picked up again, blowing leaves across the lawn and sending the wind chimes on the porch into motion. The tinkling reminded her of the holidays when she and Tess had been children and had enjoyed their mother’s endless litany of jingle bells that she strung everywhere. Her mother bought them silly Christmas socks every year to wear for their annual Christmas pajama photo by the tree. When she was six and Tess was four, they’d separated to choose each other’s presents and ended up buying each other the same book of paper dolls.