Midnight Kiss (Virgin River #12)(3)

This was the best part about this place. He’d only been up here maybe a half dozen times in the past couple of years, but Jack never forgot anyone. For that matter, most of Jack’s friends and family never did either.

He reached a hand across the bar in greeting to Jack. “How’s it going, Jack?”

“I had no idea you were up here!” Jack said. “You bring the family along?”

“Nah, I was with the family over Christmas and came up to get a little studying done before I have to get back to residency. I thought I’d better escape the girls and especially the baby if I intend to concentrate at all.”

“How is that baby?” Jack asked.

Drew grinned. “Red-headed and loud. I’m afraid he could be a little rip-off of Marcie. Ian should be afraid. Very, very afraid.”

Jack chuckled. “You remember my wife, Mel.”

“Sure,” he said, turning toward the town’s renowned midwife and accepting a kiss on the cheek. “How are you?”

“Never better. I wish we’d known you were up here, Drew—I’d have made it a point to call you, invite you.”

Drew looked around. “Who knew you folks ripped up the town on New Year’s Eve. Is everyone here?”

“Pretty good number,” Jack said. “But expect this to change fairly quick—most of these folks will leave by nine. They start early. But I’m hanging in there till midnight,” he assured Drew. “I bet I can count on one hand the number of Virgin River residents willing to stay up for a kiss at midnight.”

And that’s when he spotted her. Right when Jack said kiss at midnight he saw a young woman he’d be more than willing to accommodate when the clock struck twelve. She was tucked back in a corner by the hearth, swirling a glass of white wine, her golden hair falling onto her shoulders. She seemed just slightly apart from the table of three women who sat chatting near her. He watched as one of those women leaned toward her to speak, to try to include her, but she merely nodded, sipped, smiled politely and remained aloof. Someone’s wife? Someone’s girl? Whoever she was, she looked a little unhappy. He’d love to make her happier.

“Drew,” Jack said. “Meet Nate Jensen, local vet.”

Drew put out his hand, but didn’t want to take his eyes off the girl. He said, “Nice to meet you,” but what he was thinking was how long it had been since just looking at a beautiful woman had zinged him in the chest and head with almost instant attraction. Too long! Whoa, she was a stunner. He’d barely let go of Nate’s hand, didn’t even catch the guy’s response because his ears were ringing, when he asked Jack, “Who is that blonde?”

“That’s my niece,” his new acquaintance said. “Sunny.”

“Married? Engaged? Accompanied? Nun? Anything?”

Nate chuckled. “She’s totally single. But—”

“Be right back,” Drew said. “Guard my beer with your life!” And he took off for the corner by the hearth.

“But…” Nate attempted.

Drew kept moving. He was on automatic. Once he was standing right in front of her and she lifted her eyes to his, he was not surprised to find that she had the most beautiful blue eyes he could have ever imagined. He put out his hand. “Hi. I’m Drew. I just met your uncle.” She said nothing, didn’t even shake his hand. “And you’re Sunny. Sunny Jensen?” he asked.

Her mouth fixed and her eyes narrowed. “Archer,” she corrected.

Drew gave up on the shake and withdrew his hand. “Well, Sunny Archer, can I join you?”

“Are you trying to pick me up?” she asked directly.

He grinned. “I’m a very optimistic guy,” he said pleasantly.

“Then let me save you some time. I’m not available.”

He was struck silent for a moment. It wasn’t that Drew enjoyed such great success with women—he was admittedly out of practice. But this one had drawn on him like a magnet and he was unaccountably surprised to be shot down before he’d even had a chance to screw up his approach. “Sorry,” he said lamely. “Your uncle said you were single.”

“Single and unavailable.” She lifted her glass and gave him a weak smile. “Happy New Year.”

He just looked at her for a moment, then beat a retreat back to the bar.

Jack and Nate were watching, waiting for him. Jack pushed the beer toward him. “How’d that work out for you?”

Drew took a pull on his beer. “I must be way out of practice,” he said. “I probably should’a thought that through a little better….”

“What? Residency doesn’t leave time for girls?” Jack asked with a twist of the lip.

“A breakup,” Drew explained. “Which led to a break from women for a while.”

Nate leaned an elbow on the bar. “That a fact? Bad breakup?”

“You ever been around a good one?” Drew asked. Then he chuckled, lifted an eyebrow and said, “Nah, it wasn’t that it was so bad. In fact, she probably saved my life. We were engaged, but shouldn’t have been. She finally told me what I should’ve known all along—if we got married, it would be a disaster.”

“Bad fit?”

“Yeah, bad fit. I should have seen it coming, but I was too busy putting titanium rods in femurs to pay attention to details like that, so my bad. But what’s up with Sunny Archer?”