Not a good sign.

Stifling the unwanted anticipation, Iris turned to thank the mystery man and send him about his business. Instead, her lower lip slackened as the party crasher withdrew his hand. At close range, his chin and cheeks were chiseled like the local mountains while his nose bent a little to the left, as if he’d broken it once. Dark hair curled slightly around his ears, and a day’s growth of beard carpeted his jaw. The smell of leather and oil and desert dust clung to him.

“Personally, I’d rather see your hair down,” he said.

“It’s an awkward length, tends to look mussed up.” Wait-had she actually responded to such a personal remark?

A slow grin crinkled his blue eyes. “I’ll bet it looks fine mussed up. I bet you do, too.”

What an absurd thing to say-even for a come-on. No good would come from that gleam in his eye, or the way his upper lip curved. “Do we know each other?”

“No need to get frosty on me,” he said, the smile unchanged. “As a matter of fact, your dad introduced us in passing about a month ago.”

Any curiosity about him ended right there. Her gaze darted toward the door. “Cosmo’s not with you, is he?”

“No, ah, I saw him earlier tonight.”

David spoke up over her shoulder. “Iris, is everything all right?”

Iris shot the crasher a glance, daring him to make this situation anything less than perfect. She smiled at David. “Everything’s fine.”

“Friend of yours?” All three tuxedo-clad businessmen had followed David over and, from the tone of his question, the chubby one was hoping for a scene.

“No-” The single word came from Iris and Cosmo’s friend at the same time.

Surprised, Iris paused. She’d rather not mention her father’s name as it tended to ruin her evenings with David. Maybe it was best if this guy explained his connection to Cosmo.

“Not a friend. I’m her cousin, Mickey, and you must be David. Oh, I’ve heard all about you.” He offered his hand.