Until now.
He was about to pound on Pretty Boy's face and he had no idea why.
She'd been on his fucking shoulders. With her crotch jammed in his neck. The tight threesome seemed quite enchanted with her win--not to mention he was a bit amazed at the four horse himself--but it was the expression on her face that made him want to go apeshit.
Happy. For the first time in a long time, she looked happy.
And it wasn't because of him.
Now, where had that weird stuff come from? Wolfe narrowed his gaze as the college dudes looked at each other nervously and took a step back. Before David, Wolfe had been known to double-date with Gen and speak briefly about their other relationships. They'd agreed on the rules beforehand. No crazy sex stories. Sure, he liked to tease her, but they were usually made up to get a rise out of her. They stuck with minor details, some emotion, and a lot of humor. After David, she began to clam up fast, and he'd lost her within the year. It hurt, and he was pissed, but he kept telling himself if she was happy, it was his duty to swallow the disappointment. He just usually . . . missed her. But not in an unkempt, raw type of way.
Right now? Yeah, not so much.
He had no time to ponder or question the strange mess bubbling up inside. Gen rolled her eyes. "Wolfe, you're scaring them." She jerked her head toward him and spoke to her crew. "Wolfe's not my boyfriend, just a friend. You're not gonna get body slammed. This is Ed, Tom, and Steve."
The dudes relaxed and tried to do that friendly bonding ritual, but he remained cold. Gen was vulnerable, and he wasn't about to have her played by some guys on a weekend to get laid. One of the guys raised a hand but didn't come forward. "Hey. Nice to meet you."
Gen's navy blue eyes actually sparkled. Damn, she was pretty. He'd forgotten the old Gen and her bubbly personality. She loved practical jokes, bawdy humor and having fun. A pang pierced him deep. He'd really lost her these past two years. Only now he was beginning to realize she had just been a ghost of her former self.
"Got nervous when I couldn't find you. Thanks for keeping an eye on her." He nodded at the guys and motioned her forward. "Let's cash that ticket of yours."
She bounced toward him, grabbed his hand, and spoke to her admirers. "Ed also won, so we should go together. Hey, why don't you join us? Wolfe got a picnic table, and you can help me with the next race."
Irritation flowed freely, but their enthusiastic reply cut him off.
"Thanks, that sounds great!" Ed announced.
Steve and Tom heartily agreed. "Maybe some of your beginner's luck will rub off on us."
Wolfe remained silent as they headed to the ticket counter and collected their winnings. Seemed like Ed and Gen had bonded, since they both did a little dance with their money in hand. How sweet.
Suddenly she pressed two bills into his palm. "Here you go. Two hundred dollars, ten percent for the loan. I don't think I'll need any more money from you today, so thanks."
Uh-oh.
In seconds, the mood chilled. Three guys gazed at him as if he was the scum of the earth.
"You made her pay interest?" Ed asked. "I thought you guys were friends."
He refused to shift his feet. "Just a joke."
Gen laughed. "Yeah, right! You never joke about money--you probably would've sicced a loan shark on me."
Shit. Tom fisted his hands, and Steve practically spit in disgust. "That's lame, man," Tom said. "Ed was short this week so I lent him money. No interest though. But I guess friendship means different things to different people."
Gen shrugged it off, completely clueless to the pissing contest currently going on in her honor. "Nah, it's okay. Millionaires are kinda tight with their money anyway."
Steve choked. "You're a millionaire?"
Double shit. This was going nowhere. Wolfe glared, giving Steve the intimidating look he saved for his business meetings. "Forget it, I'm not explaining. Gen and I go way back."
"I bet." Ed glared, not the least bit intimidated, and hooked his arm through Gen's. "Come on, I'll buy you a hot dog."
"But I won more money than you."
"Score another race and you buy the beer."
"Deal. Coming, Wolfe?"
"Yeah. Coming." He trailed behind the chattering group and wondered how the day could get worse.
THREE HOURS LATER, WOLFE realized he shouldn't have asked such a question to the universe.
He sat alone, racing form in his lap, and watched the growing crowd at the picnic table. Mostly men. Surrounding Gen. Not sure how it had happened.
She'd won race two with another long shot on Magic Dude. He'd followed her to the rail, watched another of his horses lose, but managed to keep her off Ed's shoulders. Or Tom's. Or whoever the hell they were.
Somehow, in all her excitement, she had managed to recruit two new followers. One with a military cut and roving eyes, the other his skinny sidekick, who looked harmless. Wolfe already knew it was impossible to win three races in a row on raw luck, so he stuck to his original plan. He picked Hammering Halo at three to one, since they were racing on turf and the horse had the best grass trainer in history.
Gen scored again on a ten-to-one shot.
After that, time blurred. The men pegged her to have a magic touch, and every time she stood on line to place a bet, more people followed her back to the table. The latest recruits had some girls in it, but they seemed more interested in Gen's ability to attract all the single men at the racetrack.
He tried to control his temper and be happy she was finally eating again. Seemed Ed and she had become close foodie buddies, plowing their way through fish tacos, hot dogs, beer, and pretzels.
He'd never been good at speaking with strangers or making friends. Wolfe fought off the urge to grab her and go home, where it was just them and they could settle back into a quiet conversation and general teasing. But he also realized she was distracted, and the moment she left the track she'd remember the shitstorm she'd left behind. He couldn't stand the idea of the sadness leaking back into her eyes, or the disappearance of her smile, which always squeezed his heart and made him happy. No. He'd just keep an eye on her and try to enjoy her excitement.
Ed whispered something in her ear. Gen tilted her head up, laughing. His arm came around her shoulders and he pulled her in for a fast, hard hug, strangely more intimate than a full mouth-to-mouth kiss. WTF?
Wolfe jumped up.
"Time to go!" he declared loudly.
All gazes turned toward him.
Gen blinked. "We're only on race four. What's up?"
Everyone kept staring. He hadn't been this off-kilter in years. "Figured you'd be tired and we'd head home early?"
Ed piped up. "She can't leave when she's on a roll! Doesn't that mess with juju or something?"
"I think that's baseball, dude," Steve said. "If you wanna head out, we'll make sure she gets home safe."
Wolfe's voice iced. "Don't think so. Gen doesn't leave my sight. Get it?"
Gen gave a sigh. "You're losing, aren't you? Are you getting cranky?"
For God's sake, he suddenly felt like a toddler. "No, I'm not losing. Listen, if you want to stay, that's fine. Just didn't want you to lose all your money."
She gave a blinding grin with perfect white teeth. The woman could do a Trident commercial. "Not gonna happen. I'm rich today!"
The crowd closed back in on her, getting her take on the fourth race, and he went back to his picnic table. Alone. Just the way he liked it. No interruptions or distractions.
Cool.
He lost the next two. Gen won. So did everyone else, since half of the park realized she was on a blessed run and wanted a piece of the action. He left to get a beer, and when he came back, she'd officially lost race six. Sad faces surrounded her, so he went to check if they were packing up for the day. About time. He'd never heard of anyone with such a long winning streak.
"Sorry, sweetheart. Happens to all of us eventually."
Ed patted her shoulder. "We'll get the next one."
Gen was already studying the form in front of her, leafing to the next race. "I had a bad feeling about the last one. Should've held back. My skin is tickling again, so I think we can do this."
Wolfe put up his hands in surrender. "Your call. Let me know. I'm here if you have any questions."
She was already back to ignoring him, seemingly entranced by the field of six running in the next race. Wolfe went back to his table, caught between amusement and irritation at how quickly he'd been replaced at the track. Seemed to be a pattern. She was finally out of David's clutches, and had now recruited a whole new batch of men to be her friends. Seemed she gave them a hell of a lot more attention than she had given him these past two years.
The spiteful thought made his temper even darker.