Only His (Fool's Gold #6)(51)

“The perfect man,” Cat told her.

“He is,” Nevada said. “He’s exactly who Montana needed and she certainly saved him.”

“No one for you?” Cat asked her.

“No.”

She thought about the time she and Tucker had spent in the trailer that afternoon, but told herself not to read too much into it. So far Cat hadn’t mentioned him, but that didn’t mean anything. For all Nevada knew, Tucker was upstairs waiting in Cat’s bed.

The thought and the visual that went with it stabbed her in the stomach. She took a deep breath and told herself to get through the evening. She would deal with the Cat–Tucker issue later.

“I don’t have anyone, either,” Cat said. “There are men, of course. Everywhere. But no one is special. I’m beginning to think I’m chasing a rainbow. I’ll never find my pot of gold.”

She picked up her glass of wine. “When Nevada and I met in Los Angeles we had so much fun together. I remember that Hollywood party we went to. Do you?”

“Yes.” She glanced at her sisters. “I was completely out of my element. There were plenty of famous people and I kept expecting someone to ask me what I thought I was doing there.”

Cat smiled at her. “You were charming. It’s hard for me to trust people, but I trusted you right away. You were a good friend and I never forgot that.”

Nevada found herself oddly touched by the admission, even as she wasn’t completely sure she believed it. Who was the real Caterina Stoicasescu? The proud, narcissistic artist who did her best to suck all the oxygen from the room, or the beautiful, slightly tragic woman who lived her life very much alone?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE DOOR TO THE BAR opened and two couples walked in. Jo scowled at them. The place was already crowded. Could they go somewhere else?

She shook her head and knew she was in real trouble when she complained about too many customers. Seriously, she had a problem and she was going to have to fix it. Knowing how was a detail she hadn’t worked out. But, as usual, the source could be traced back to a man.

Everyone blamed Eve for the whole being thrown out of Eden thing; but Jo preferred to think Adam had some culpability. The man could have said no. But no one ever talked about that. If his friends had said to go jump off a cliff, would he have done that, too? Although, since technically Adam and Eve were the first two humans, according to the Bible, Adam wouldn’t have had any friends.

A lovely mental distraction, she thought as she dropped ice into the stainless steel container, put on the top, then shook the martini into submission. But it didn’t get to the heart of the matter, which was Will.

One of the many problems with him was that she couldn’t make up her mind. She knew what she should do. That was easy. Avoid him and say no when she couldn’t. It was a philosophy that had worked for her for years. Yet, when she was around Will, she found herself wondering what it would be like to give in. Just the one time. Except it wouldn’t be one time and then there would be all kinds of trouble.

The truth was men were bad for her. Or she was bad for men. Or both. Smarter to stay alone. Safer. She loved her life here—did she really want to risk screwing that up?

She mixed drinks, took orders and directed her weekend staff. Around eleven, the front door opened again. She felt it rather than heard it, then without even turning around, she knew.

Will.

She told herself that he’d probably come by to tell her that he was done playing games. That she’d had her chance and he was finished. While that would make her sad, it would be for the best. She drew in a breath and turned around.

Will was standing at the far end of the bar. Their eyes locked. He looked good, she thought, telling her heart to stop pounding so hard. Really good.

Still watching her, he crossed the line no customer crossed and stepped behind the bar. Purposefully, he moved toward her, intent dark in his eyes.

“This is bullshit,” he told her, then grabbed her upper arms, pulled her close and kissed her.

She felt the contact all the way down to her toes. Long-dormant nerve endings raised their heads and gave a little giggle. Her lungs stopped working, as did her brain. There was only the warm, sexy feel of Will’s mouth on hers.

In the back of her mind she was aware of the bar going completely silent. In all the years Jo had lived in Fool’s Gold no one had ever seen her with a man. And for good reason—she hadn’t been on a date, let alone kissed anyone.

He drew back. “Go ahead,” he said. “Yell at me.”

A second later, conversation resumed around them. She was sure it was mostly forced, as people tried to listen without listening.

“I don’t yell,” she told him, then walked toward the storeroom.

He followed.

When they were inside, she flipped on the lights then closed the door, giving them a little more privacy. He moved toward her, but she held up her hand to stop him.

“Wait.”

“No.” He sounded firm and his expression was determined. “I’m not going anywhere, Jo. I’m not that kind of guy. I like you. I’m just asking for the chance for you to like me, too.”

He spoke as if he meant it, which was damned unfair. How was she supposed to resist a line like that? Except it wasn’t a line, which made the whole thing worse. And amazing.

“You are going somewhere,” she reminded him. “When the resort is done, you’re leaving.”