She leaned over the bar, doing her best to remember how to flirt. “I manage.”
He held out his hand. “Joe O’Brien.”
She shook his hand. “Jenna Riley.”
“Nice to meet you, Jenna.”
“So what do you do, Joe?”
“I’m a doctor. Resident, actually, and new in town. I just moved here from Massachusetts, so I’m trying to find new places to spend what little free time I have. My friends and I decided to pop in here since it’s close to the hospital.”
She grinned. “Welcome to St. Louis. I think you’ll love it here. Are you a native of Massachusetts?”
“No. Originally from Pittsburgh. But I’ve heard great things about Washington University, so I’m anxious to do my residency there.”
“It’s an awesome hospital.”
They chatted awhile. She liked this guy, though she couldn’t help but catch sight of Ty in her peripheral vision.
He was playing pool. He looked up to occasionally glance at her talking to Joe.
She wondered if he was jealous. Not that she cared. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if he walked over and put himself in the middle of her conversation.
Except he didn’t. Not even when she and Joe started laughing.
It was obvious Joe was flirting with her.
Really, really obvious.
Just as it was obvious Ty was watching them. But he continued to play on, even ordered food and more drinks. From Amber.
He didn’t once come over to the bar. Not even to chat with her.
“So, Jenna. Since I need a tour guide for your great city, and since you’re a native, would you be up for a date? I could buy you dinner, and you could show me around.”
She’d been concentrating on Ty and had almost forgotten about Joe. His question startled her. “Oh. What?”
He frowned. “I’m sorry. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Me? No. Not at all. I’m sorry. Occupational hazard here. I was keeping an eye on my customers.”
Liar. You were watching Ty.
Which was going to have to stop. Right now. “I’d love to go out with you, Joe.”
Maybe she’d said that a little loud. Lowering her voice, she tried again. “Yes, I’d love to go out.”
They worked out a date when they’d both be free, which was Friday night.
Perfect.
She had an actual date, with a good-looking doctor.
And even better, with someone who didn’t play sports.
After Joe left, she busied herself with bar and manager duties. She wandered around to visit with her customers and to make sure everyone was happy, which also required her to mingle with the Ice players who’d apparently made Riley’s their home. Keeping them happy was good for business. She needed to make sure they kept coming in.
“How’s it going, guys?”
Eddie Wolkowski watched Ty line up to take his shot at the table, then grinned at her. “We’re doing great, Jenna. How are you?”
“Perfect. You guys are smokin’ up the arena lately. Making us all proud.”
“Doing our best. Thanks for the burgers, by the way.”
“You’re welcome. By the way, Victor, you have a gaggle of female fans across the room dying for an autograph.” She motioned with her head toward table seven, where about a half dozen women in their mid-twenties had zeroed in on Victor when they first came in and hadn’t stopped looking at him since.
Victor Putinov was their left-winger on the Ice. His platinum blond hair and patrician good looks always sent the women swooning.
Victor lifted his chin. “I will go see them. Sign their papers.”
“I’ll bet you’ll sign their papers,” Ty said without looking up from the pool table.
Victor arched a brow. “It is my duty to keep female fans happy.”
Eddie laughed. “Yeah, with your giant dick.”
Jenna shook her head.
“I see you got yourself a new boyfriend.”
She stopped and turned to face Ty, who’d taken his shot and leaned against the end of the pool table. “Not a boyfriend. A date.”
“New guy?”
“None of your business.”
“He’s not your type.”
Irritation skittered along her nerve endings. She put her hands on her hips. “Really. And why would you think that?”
He shrugged. “No chemistry between you.”
“There’s plenty of chemistry between us.”
He reached up and grasped a strand of her hair, gave it a gentle tug.
Her breath stilled, and a tingle shivered down her spine. Everything she hadn’t felt between her and Joe sizzled between her and Ty.
“Between you and me? Yeah. There’s chemistry.”
She lifted her gaze to his. He was right. An explosion bombarded her senses. Her br**sts tingled, her lips parted. She went damp and she all but gave him an invisible road map to the promised land.
Whatever was between them was combustible, and very dangerous.
But he wasn’t on her list of acceptable males to date. Or to do anything with, for that matter.
“There’s nothing between you and me,” she said.
“Isn’t there?”
She liked Joe. She was going to go out with Joe.
“I have a date on Friday.”
He let her hair sift through his fingers and took a step back, but still the shadow of a smile remained on his lips. “Have a good time.”
“I will.” She pivoted and walked away, figuring she’d feel a sense of triumph.
All she felt was empty.
A DATE? SHE WAS GOING OUT WITH THAT LOSER?
Why?
Ty stood back and watched Eddie take the shot, but his mind wasn’t on the game anymore.
Not that it had been 100 percent on the game ever since he’d caught sight of Jenna talking to—what had she said his name was? Joe?
He took a quick glance at the bar. She was wiping it down with a cloth and laughing with one of her customers.
He liked her laugh. It was deep and gravelly, the kind of sound that got into every one of his nerve endings. He wanted to make her laugh like that. Actually, he wanted her na**d and laughing.
Hell, he just wanted her na**d.
He wanted more than that. He just didn’t know why. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, so why the hell did he care who Jenna went out with?
Except that Joe guy wasn’t for her. He could tell right away it was the wrong kind of match, but if she wanted to go out with the guy, it wasn’t like he had any claim on her. They hadn’t even dated.
If she kept going after the wrong guys, Ty would never get a chance.
Not that he planned to give up. He’d just let her play her games with losers like Joe, and when the right time came, he’d swoop in.
Feeling better, he picked up his pool cue, ready to take his shot.
SIX
TWO DAYS LATER, JENNA STOOD IN FRONT OF HER MIR-ror, inspecting her just to the knees, long-sleeved black dress and black peep-toe pumps.
She chose dangling silver earrings and a long silver chain to complement the outfit.
Simple, yet sexy.
Joe told her to choose a restaurant—an upscale one so he could treat her to a nice meal since she was going to be his tour guide. He said he’d heard Italian food was good in this city.
He’d heard right. She chose Tony’s on Market Street, even though the best Italian food was on the Hill, in her opinion.
Their reservations were for eight o’clock. It was almost seven. Joe said he’d pick her up at seven and they’d have cocktails in the bar before dinner.
She’d spent the day picking up the house, or at least the living room and kitchen, which had been a war zone. She’d vacuumed and dusted and put away the clutter so it didn’t look like an insane person or a hoarder lived there.
Her stomach fluttered. She was nervous. How crazy was that?
Relax, Jenna. She really had to start going out more.
The doorbell rang and she hurried out of the bedroom, stopping at the mirror for one last quick look to make sure she didn’t have lipgloss on her teeth.
Everything in order, she spiked up her hair and went to the door, taking a quick, calming breath before opening it.
Joe stood there with flowers in his hand.
Nice touch.
“Hi. Come on in.”
He smiled at her and handed her the flowers. Roses. How utterly…unoriginal. But still, sweet.
“These are for you. Thanks again for offering to show me around.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for the flowers. Let me put these in some water.”
He slipped off his coat. He wore dark slacks, a white shirt, no tie, but a jacket. Kind of relaxed, but still dressy. He looked incredible.
He was a good-looking guy. A really good-looking guy.
So why wasn’t she tingling?
Likely because she was starving. She’d had a busy day, had run into the bar to see to a few things, do some bookwork, make sure everything was set up for tonight with her assistant manager before rushing home to clean the house and get ready for her date. And she might have forgotten to eat lunch.
So she was stressed. And really hungry.
She put the flowers in a vase of water, then came out. Joe was standing in her living room, looking around. Grateful she’d cleaned up the mess, she wandered over to him. He was examining the art on the wall.
“This is nice.”
“Thanks. It’s one of my favorite pieces.”
“Original?”
“You could say that. Shall we go?”
“Sure.”
He took her coat and helped her with it. The drive downtown didn’t take long. They’d had a dusting of snow earlier in the day, so it was cold. Thankfully he used the available valet parking the restaurant provided, so she wouldn’t have to worry about maneuvering the snow in her heels. They dashed inside where it was warm and cozy.
He led her to the bar and they ordered drinks.
For once it was nice to be on the other side of the bar, receiving rather than serving.
She sipped a martini and tried to settle in for a night of fun. It was time to relax and enjoy her gorgeous date, who turned his panty-melting brown eyes on her.
“So tell me what there is to do in your fine city.”
“Everything. There’s art, music, and theater, if you enjoy those things. There’s also sports as you probably noticed from Riley’s. We have a football and baseball team as well as a hockey team.”
“Not much into sports, but I could get into the art museums.”
Not into sports and good looking? She should be swooning by now.
“Do you like music?”
He shrugged. “Not much time to listen to music, so I’m not a big fan.”
Her heart crumbled. Still, she decided to keep an open mind.
“So what do you do for fun?”
He laughed. “I’ve been in medical school for the past twelve years. I haven’t had any fun. When I haven’t been working or studying, I’ve slept.”
“You’re right. You haven’t had any fun. What’s your specialty?”
“Cardiology.”
“Big undertaking.”
“Yes, but I’m excited about it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Being a doctor has been my dream since I was a kid.”
“A family dynasty thing?”
He laughed. “Not at all. My father worked in construction his whole life. My mom worked as a secretary.”
He was so interesting, so vast, so smart. He was dedicated, motivated, friendly, and definitely not at all bad on the eyes.
They moved into the restaurant for dinner, and he captivated her with his conversation, made her laugh with his stories about medical school and the horrors of life as an intern. He didn’t just talk about himself, though, but engaged her and asked her about herself and her family and her goals and dreams for her own future.
He was almost the perfect man.
After dinner she drove him around and told him about her favorite places. He seemed fascinated with the history of the city, then told her what he was interested in doing.
“Will you settle here?”
“I’ll be here for a few years. I don’t know where I want to end up.”
“Probably somewhere near your family, don’t you think?”
He pulled up in front of her condo, shut off the engine. “I’m a big boy. I don’t need to live so close to home anymore.”
She laughed. “I guess to me family is so important. I can’t imagine ever being far away from them.”
“That’s what makes people so different, Jenna. I like the freedom to live my own life. You like being close to those you love.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Then the conversation was over, and he leaned in.
She waited for the swell of heat, the explosion of sensation.
His lips brushed hers and he enveloped her in his arms. She went willingly into the kiss, tangled her fingers in his hair.
His tongue swept across hers.
It was…nice.
Dammit. It was nice. Pleasant. No fireworks. Nothing in her body was going off like a rocket.
This guy was gorgeous, successful, funny, and she’d just had a great night with him.
And there wasn’t a single hormone in her body that wanted to jump his bones.
How disappointing.
He broke the kiss and smiled at her. “Who’s the guy?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Who’s the guy you were thinking about when you were kissing me?”
“There is no other guy.”
He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t buying it. “I’m a doctor, Jenna. I might not know everything, but what I do know is biology and basic chemistry. You and I got along great.”
He held out his hand. “Joe O’Brien.”
She shook his hand. “Jenna Riley.”
“Nice to meet you, Jenna.”
“So what do you do, Joe?”
“I’m a doctor. Resident, actually, and new in town. I just moved here from Massachusetts, so I’m trying to find new places to spend what little free time I have. My friends and I decided to pop in here since it’s close to the hospital.”
She grinned. “Welcome to St. Louis. I think you’ll love it here. Are you a native of Massachusetts?”
“No. Originally from Pittsburgh. But I’ve heard great things about Washington University, so I’m anxious to do my residency there.”
“It’s an awesome hospital.”
They chatted awhile. She liked this guy, though she couldn’t help but catch sight of Ty in her peripheral vision.
He was playing pool. He looked up to occasionally glance at her talking to Joe.
She wondered if he was jealous. Not that she cared. It wouldn’t surprise her at all if he walked over and put himself in the middle of her conversation.
Except he didn’t. Not even when she and Joe started laughing.
It was obvious Joe was flirting with her.
Really, really obvious.
Just as it was obvious Ty was watching them. But he continued to play on, even ordered food and more drinks. From Amber.
He didn’t once come over to the bar. Not even to chat with her.
“So, Jenna. Since I need a tour guide for your great city, and since you’re a native, would you be up for a date? I could buy you dinner, and you could show me around.”
She’d been concentrating on Ty and had almost forgotten about Joe. His question startled her. “Oh. What?”
He frowned. “I’m sorry. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Me? No. Not at all. I’m sorry. Occupational hazard here. I was keeping an eye on my customers.”
Liar. You were watching Ty.
Which was going to have to stop. Right now. “I’d love to go out with you, Joe.”
Maybe she’d said that a little loud. Lowering her voice, she tried again. “Yes, I’d love to go out.”
They worked out a date when they’d both be free, which was Friday night.
Perfect.
She had an actual date, with a good-looking doctor.
And even better, with someone who didn’t play sports.
After Joe left, she busied herself with bar and manager duties. She wandered around to visit with her customers and to make sure everyone was happy, which also required her to mingle with the Ice players who’d apparently made Riley’s their home. Keeping them happy was good for business. She needed to make sure they kept coming in.
“How’s it going, guys?”
Eddie Wolkowski watched Ty line up to take his shot at the table, then grinned at her. “We’re doing great, Jenna. How are you?”
“Perfect. You guys are smokin’ up the arena lately. Making us all proud.”
“Doing our best. Thanks for the burgers, by the way.”
“You’re welcome. By the way, Victor, you have a gaggle of female fans across the room dying for an autograph.” She motioned with her head toward table seven, where about a half dozen women in their mid-twenties had zeroed in on Victor when they first came in and hadn’t stopped looking at him since.
Victor Putinov was their left-winger on the Ice. His platinum blond hair and patrician good looks always sent the women swooning.
Victor lifted his chin. “I will go see them. Sign their papers.”
“I’ll bet you’ll sign their papers,” Ty said without looking up from the pool table.
Victor arched a brow. “It is my duty to keep female fans happy.”
Eddie laughed. “Yeah, with your giant dick.”
Jenna shook her head.
“I see you got yourself a new boyfriend.”
She stopped and turned to face Ty, who’d taken his shot and leaned against the end of the pool table. “Not a boyfriend. A date.”
“New guy?”
“None of your business.”
“He’s not your type.”
Irritation skittered along her nerve endings. She put her hands on her hips. “Really. And why would you think that?”
He shrugged. “No chemistry between you.”
“There’s plenty of chemistry between us.”
He reached up and grasped a strand of her hair, gave it a gentle tug.
Her breath stilled, and a tingle shivered down her spine. Everything she hadn’t felt between her and Joe sizzled between her and Ty.
“Between you and me? Yeah. There’s chemistry.”
She lifted her gaze to his. He was right. An explosion bombarded her senses. Her br**sts tingled, her lips parted. She went damp and she all but gave him an invisible road map to the promised land.
Whatever was between them was combustible, and very dangerous.
But he wasn’t on her list of acceptable males to date. Or to do anything with, for that matter.
“There’s nothing between you and me,” she said.
“Isn’t there?”
She liked Joe. She was going to go out with Joe.
“I have a date on Friday.”
He let her hair sift through his fingers and took a step back, but still the shadow of a smile remained on his lips. “Have a good time.”
“I will.” She pivoted and walked away, figuring she’d feel a sense of triumph.
All she felt was empty.
A DATE? SHE WAS GOING OUT WITH THAT LOSER?
Why?
Ty stood back and watched Eddie take the shot, but his mind wasn’t on the game anymore.
Not that it had been 100 percent on the game ever since he’d caught sight of Jenna talking to—what had she said his name was? Joe?
He took a quick glance at the bar. She was wiping it down with a cloth and laughing with one of her customers.
He liked her laugh. It was deep and gravelly, the kind of sound that got into every one of his nerve endings. He wanted to make her laugh like that. Actually, he wanted her na**d and laughing.
Hell, he just wanted her na**d.
He wanted more than that. He just didn’t know why. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, so why the hell did he care who Jenna went out with?
Except that Joe guy wasn’t for her. He could tell right away it was the wrong kind of match, but if she wanted to go out with the guy, it wasn’t like he had any claim on her. They hadn’t even dated.
If she kept going after the wrong guys, Ty would never get a chance.
Not that he planned to give up. He’d just let her play her games with losers like Joe, and when the right time came, he’d swoop in.
Feeling better, he picked up his pool cue, ready to take his shot.
SIX
TWO DAYS LATER, JENNA STOOD IN FRONT OF HER MIR-ror, inspecting her just to the knees, long-sleeved black dress and black peep-toe pumps.
She chose dangling silver earrings and a long silver chain to complement the outfit.
Simple, yet sexy.
Joe told her to choose a restaurant—an upscale one so he could treat her to a nice meal since she was going to be his tour guide. He said he’d heard Italian food was good in this city.
He’d heard right. She chose Tony’s on Market Street, even though the best Italian food was on the Hill, in her opinion.
Their reservations were for eight o’clock. It was almost seven. Joe said he’d pick her up at seven and they’d have cocktails in the bar before dinner.
She’d spent the day picking up the house, or at least the living room and kitchen, which had been a war zone. She’d vacuumed and dusted and put away the clutter so it didn’t look like an insane person or a hoarder lived there.
Her stomach fluttered. She was nervous. How crazy was that?
Relax, Jenna. She really had to start going out more.
The doorbell rang and she hurried out of the bedroom, stopping at the mirror for one last quick look to make sure she didn’t have lipgloss on her teeth.
Everything in order, she spiked up her hair and went to the door, taking a quick, calming breath before opening it.
Joe stood there with flowers in his hand.
Nice touch.
“Hi. Come on in.”
He smiled at her and handed her the flowers. Roses. How utterly…unoriginal. But still, sweet.
“These are for you. Thanks again for offering to show me around.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for the flowers. Let me put these in some water.”
He slipped off his coat. He wore dark slacks, a white shirt, no tie, but a jacket. Kind of relaxed, but still dressy. He looked incredible.
He was a good-looking guy. A really good-looking guy.
So why wasn’t she tingling?
Likely because she was starving. She’d had a busy day, had run into the bar to see to a few things, do some bookwork, make sure everything was set up for tonight with her assistant manager before rushing home to clean the house and get ready for her date. And she might have forgotten to eat lunch.
So she was stressed. And really hungry.
She put the flowers in a vase of water, then came out. Joe was standing in her living room, looking around. Grateful she’d cleaned up the mess, she wandered over to him. He was examining the art on the wall.
“This is nice.”
“Thanks. It’s one of my favorite pieces.”
“Original?”
“You could say that. Shall we go?”
“Sure.”
He took her coat and helped her with it. The drive downtown didn’t take long. They’d had a dusting of snow earlier in the day, so it was cold. Thankfully he used the available valet parking the restaurant provided, so she wouldn’t have to worry about maneuvering the snow in her heels. They dashed inside where it was warm and cozy.
He led her to the bar and they ordered drinks.
For once it was nice to be on the other side of the bar, receiving rather than serving.
She sipped a martini and tried to settle in for a night of fun. It was time to relax and enjoy her gorgeous date, who turned his panty-melting brown eyes on her.
“So tell me what there is to do in your fine city.”
“Everything. There’s art, music, and theater, if you enjoy those things. There’s also sports as you probably noticed from Riley’s. We have a football and baseball team as well as a hockey team.”
“Not much into sports, but I could get into the art museums.”
Not into sports and good looking? She should be swooning by now.
“Do you like music?”
He shrugged. “Not much time to listen to music, so I’m not a big fan.”
Her heart crumbled. Still, she decided to keep an open mind.
“So what do you do for fun?”
He laughed. “I’ve been in medical school for the past twelve years. I haven’t had any fun. When I haven’t been working or studying, I’ve slept.”
“You’re right. You haven’t had any fun. What’s your specialty?”
“Cardiology.”
“Big undertaking.”
“Yes, but I’m excited about it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Being a doctor has been my dream since I was a kid.”
“A family dynasty thing?”
He laughed. “Not at all. My father worked in construction his whole life. My mom worked as a secretary.”
He was so interesting, so vast, so smart. He was dedicated, motivated, friendly, and definitely not at all bad on the eyes.
They moved into the restaurant for dinner, and he captivated her with his conversation, made her laugh with his stories about medical school and the horrors of life as an intern. He didn’t just talk about himself, though, but engaged her and asked her about herself and her family and her goals and dreams for her own future.
He was almost the perfect man.
After dinner she drove him around and told him about her favorite places. He seemed fascinated with the history of the city, then told her what he was interested in doing.
“Will you settle here?”
“I’ll be here for a few years. I don’t know where I want to end up.”
“Probably somewhere near your family, don’t you think?”
He pulled up in front of her condo, shut off the engine. “I’m a big boy. I don’t need to live so close to home anymore.”
She laughed. “I guess to me family is so important. I can’t imagine ever being far away from them.”
“That’s what makes people so different, Jenna. I like the freedom to live my own life. You like being close to those you love.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Then the conversation was over, and he leaned in.
She waited for the swell of heat, the explosion of sensation.
His lips brushed hers and he enveloped her in his arms. She went willingly into the kiss, tangled her fingers in his hair.
His tongue swept across hers.
It was…nice.
Dammit. It was nice. Pleasant. No fireworks. Nothing in her body was going off like a rocket.
This guy was gorgeous, successful, funny, and she’d just had a great night with him.
And there wasn’t a single hormone in her body that wanted to jump his bones.
How disappointing.
He broke the kiss and smiled at her. “Who’s the guy?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Who’s the guy you were thinking about when you were kissing me?”
“There is no other guy.”
He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t buying it. “I’m a doctor, Jenna. I might not know everything, but what I do know is biology and basic chemistry. You and I got along great.”
