by LuAnn McLane
“Well, I was supposed to be following Devin to the bar for a martini.” Cat craned her head over Jeff’s shoulder.
“You don’t want to do that,” Jeff said.
“I like a good martini now and then.”
“He’s a player, Cat.”
Her chin came up. “I can take care of myself, Farmer Jeff. I don’t need your protection. Is that why you grabbed me? To save me from Devin?”
“No, I wanted to win a bet.”
She frowned. “What kind of bet?”
“Snake bet me he could get a girl to dance with him before I could. I win.”
“Grabbing someone and dragging her onto the dance floor without asking isn’t winning. You totally cheated.”
“So why are you still up here with me?”
“You took me by surprise. Again.” She danced closer until she was close to his ear. “And because people are watching.” Cat backed away and then gave him a tight smile.
Jeff danced closer and said, “And why do you care?”
“We’re performing here tomorrow night, re-mem-ber? I’m being professional or else I’d toss a drink in your face.”
“You don’t have a drink in your hand.”
“I would have had a chocolate martini in my hot little hand by now if you hadn’t stopped me with your high school nonsense.” She did a slightly off-balance spin move that had Jeff reaching for her waist to keep her from bumping into other dancers. She chuckled and he found her ability to laugh at herself cute. There simply wasn’t anything practiced or pretentious about Cat and it was so hard not to be amused by everything she said or did. “I mean, who makes bets like that, anyway?”
“Snake. And you already know I can’t back down from a dare. Come on, be a good sport and help me.”
“And what’s in it for me?” Cat asked, seemingly unaware that his arm was still around her waist. But Jeff was aware. He liked that she was tall and would fit perfectly against him.
And just like that a slow song came on.
When their eyes met, Jeff gave her a look of challenge.
“What are you doing?” she hissed in his ear. “I didn’t agree—”
“You’re right. People are watching.” He pulled her closer and took her hand in his. “I’m creating a little preshow buzz.”
“I’m about to do a preshow kick to your groin.”
“Well, now that would create some buzz,” Jeff admitted with a slight grin. “But please don’t.”
“Give me one good reason not to.”
“Because you like me.”
“You wish,” she said near his ear. The moist warmth of her breath had him swallowing hard. It occurred to Jeff that onlookers were getting a much different impression about what was going on and he had to hide a grin. Damn, she smelled good, like flowers but with a hint of something sultry. When she turned, her hair brushed against his cheek and he longed to bury his face in the sweet scent and tug her even closer. “Come up with something better, Farmer Jeff.”
“Okay, how about because I’ve rescued you twice. You owe me. Help me win the wager.”
“Are you serious? I’m about to stomp on your foot. And you totally messed things up for me with Dev.” She nodded toward the bar. “He just gave my martini to another girl.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“I’m sure he’s pissed that I didn’t follow him as I promised and instead I’m dancing with … you.”
“You can thank me later.”
“Ha. All because you wanted to win a silly bet. What else is involved? A kiss?”
“Yes.”
Cat gasped.
“You asked.”
“I was joking.”
Jeff shrugged.
“That’s despicable. And you’re calling Dev a player? You’d ask some innocent girl to dance and then snag a kiss all because of a bet? Who does that?”
“All of this was Snake’s idea.”
“Who is Snake, anyway?”
“The drummer in my band.”
“What kind of name is Snake?”
“You’ll find out. So are you gonna help me out and kiss me?”
“Not on your life,” she ground out.
“Chicken.”
“Just how old are you?” Cat sputtered. She put her hands on his shoulders and gaped at him. “And do you really think that lame approach will work?”
“No.” Jeff laughed. “I just enjoy the hell out of getting you riled up.”
She leaned in close. “You need a new hobby. Take up knitting or something.”
“But this is so much fun,” Jeff whispered in her ear. “And you make it so easy. Admit that you like me. That’s why you kissed me.”
Cat pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. “You know full well that I didn’t instigate the kiss in the woods.”
Jeff hesitated for just a fraction. This bad boy thing was way more fun than being Mr. Nice Guy. Who knew? “Yeah, actually, I do,” he admitted in a more serious tone. Her eyes widened and at first she seemed confused.
Snake’s words reverberated in his head. Why not just go for it. But was the attraction on her end as well? The kiss in the woods was … spontaneous, almost accidental. What would happen if a kiss was deliberate? Longing stirred inside him at the very thought of sliding his mouth against hers.
“But you did kiss me back,” he challenged. But when she made a move to turn away, he grabbed her hand and started swaying to the music. “Admit it, Cat.”
She sucked in a breath. “I’ll admit no such thing,” she sputtered, and started to stalk off the dance floor.
11
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
IN HER EFFORT TO ESCAPE FROM THE DANCE FLOOR CAT forgot that she was holding Jeff’s hand, so instead of getting away she was all but dragging him with her. She knew that people were watching, so she smiled as if she were having the time of her life. Cat caught Mia’s wide-eyed look of question as Cat hurried past her with Jeff in tow. When they were at the back of the room, she tried to let go of his hand, but he stubbornly hung on and followed her out the door and onto the outdoor deck.
Because it wasn’t quite summer season and the nights were still cool, the deck area remained deserted. Shaking off his hand, Cat took a deep breath, thinking she smelled rain in the air. Good thing no one was out there, because she was about to give Jeff Greenfield a piece of her mind. Cat wasn’t quite sure just what she was going to say, but it was going to be … scathing.
She could be scathing, right?
The problem was that Cat really wanted to kiss him, which was going to make the whole scathing thing rather difficult to pull off. She walked over to the corner of the deck beyond the visibility of the bar, turned, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“Kiss you.”
“Kiss me?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Cat raised her hands skyward. “So you win the stupid bet. That’s the deal, right? The dance and now the kiss.” Cat held up two fingers. “I’ll do those two things for you. Consider it payback from me, and then we’re even.”
Jeff looked at her for a long moment. “Okay.”
“Good.” She tried not to feel disappointed that the dance and kiss were just about winning a silly dare. Maybe she should give him a hot kiss that would knock his socks off. That would show him! “And remember—then we’re even.”
Jeff gave her a slow smile that turned her to liquid. “But something tells me you’ll need rescuing on a fairly regular basis.”
“A regular basis, huh?” She tapped her foot. “Right.”
He nodded slowly. “As in, daily.”
“We’ll cross that kiss—I mean, bridge when we come to it.” She really needed to get a grip on her slips of the tongue.
Jeff nodded. “Fair enough, I suppose. So, does that mean that every time I come to your rescue, I get a kiss in return?”
“I … uh …” This wasn’t goin
g as planned. Was he flirting or poking fun at her? Cat wasn’t quite sure. She was going to teach him a lesson of some sort, wasn’t she? Cat frowned, trying to remember what that lesson might have been.
Jeff took a step closer, making her heart pound.
“Well …” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Just what in the hell was she doing, thinking about kissing him? Why did her good sense have to take a holiday every time she was near him? She’d blame it on the beer, but she’d had only one. Cat looked up into the night sky—nope, the moon was only a sliver, not full. Maybe it was in her horoscope. “Maybe …”
“What?”
“Maybe if I agree to this crazy-sauce notion of yours, I’ll be more careful and not get myself in trouble.” She lifted her chin. “Yes, I suddenly think it’s a wonderful preventative idea. You’re on, Farmer Jeff. And thank you in advance.”
“Okay, then. I’m ready,” Jeff announced and stood very still.
Losing whatever misguided nerve that had gotten her into this mess in the first place, Cat leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. The slightly abrasive stubble made Cat’s lips tingle. Oh, and she had the urge to do it again, but lingering and a little to the left.
“Um … no, sorry, Cat, but that won’t do.”
“What do you mean?” Cat backed up but came up against the wooden railing.
“Snake made it clear that the kiss had to be the real deal.”
“How will he even know?”
“Scout’s honor.” He tapped his bottom lip and then stepped even closer. “Plant one right … here.”
“This is ridiculous.” Her attempt at a stern tone was a complete fail. Her heart pounded and her gaze dropped to his mouth.
“I’m just following the rules. This is your payback, remember?”
“Whatever.” Cat made a show of rolling her eyes. “If I didn’t want to pay you back and get this off my list, I—”
“List? You have a list?”
Cat swallowed hard. “I’m forgetful, remember? I always have lists. Grocery lists, to-do lists …”
“What else is on your list? Other than kissing me.”
Several steamy ideas popped into her brain all at once. She wanted to see him shirtless, touch her tongue to his earlobe, and grab his ass with both hands. “Nothing,” she replied, hoping that her warm face wasn’t glowing in the dark.
“We could make one.”
“Punching you in the face is ranking way up there,” she said, but he only laughed. “Seriously, do you wake up in the morning trying to think of ways to piss me off?”
“Yes, actually.”
“I believe you.” Leaning in, she brushed her mouth lightly to his but made a smacking sound. “There.” She tried to scoff, but her voice came out low and breathless. She got a whiff of his aftershave and almost dipped her mouth for another taste of his mouth. “You won the bet.” She made a shooing motion with her fingers. “Now go and collect your winnings. Oh, and remember—we’re even.”
When Jeff’s gaze lingered on her mouth, Cat’s heart started to pound so hard that she felt a little bit light-headed. He put one hand on the railing behind her, but just when she thought—okay, she hoped he’d swoop in for a hot, bone-melting kiss, he abruptly pushed back and stepped away. “Until the next rescue. Unless of course you want to pay it forward?”
“Ha,” was all she could manage. A cool breeze replaced the warmth of his body, making Cat long to reach up, grab his shirt, and pull him back where he belonged. She’d never understood those scenes in movies where the couples basically rip at each other’s clothes, but damned if she didn’t have that urge right now. She wanted to tug at those mother-of-pearl snaps, expose his chest, and put her mouth—
“There you are!” called a deep male voice. Cat looked past Jeff’s shoulder to a tall, lanky guy with shaggy sandy blond hair. “I wondered where the— Oh,” he said, spotting Cat behind Jeff. “Was I … interrupting something?” His voice sounded innocent, but Cat was on to Snake’s game. He wanted to interrupt the potential kiss. These guys were serious about winning.
“Yes,” Cat said, drawing a curious look from Jeff. She cleared her throat and then gave Jeff what she hoped was a sultry look, but then thought she was getting in way over her head. “But maybe I should just get going.”
“What the hell do you want, Snake?” Jeff demanded, but without waiting for an answer turned back to Cat. “Wait. You’re going home?”
“I might after I say good-bye to Mia. I have a heartache—I mean headache.” She rubbed her temples lest there be any mistake. “Headache. My heart is actually pretty healthy. I eat Cheerios.”
Snake cleared his throat. “Look, I’ll just—”
“You must be Snake,” Cat said brightly. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here,” Snake said. He gave Jeff a little shrug and stepped forward. “My real name is Wes Tucker but …” He lifted his arm and showed her the snake curled around his biceps. “I’ve been Snake ever since I got this work of art.”
“Oh … um …” Cat frowned at the odd-looking snake with the lopsided forked tongue and eyes that were too big. “Interesting.”
Jeff chuckled, drawing a frown from Snake.
“I know it actually sucks, but …” He shrugged and gave her a rather charming grin. “It’s part of who I am.”
“Sometimes you just gotta own it,” Cat said and his grin widened. “Oh, and by the way, you lost the bet,” she said and then breezed past them.
“Wait, Cat,” Jeff said, but she kept on walking. She opened the door with a whoosh and ignored the curious stares. Being watched or whispered about was nothing new, and she took it all in stride with a smile on her face. But the effort really did start to make her head pound, although heartache might actually be closer to the mark. When it came to Jeff Greenfield, her entire body reacted by going full steam ahead when her brain wanted to put on the brakes.
“Well?” Mia demanded when Cat slid back onto her tall stool. “Are you going to tell me what just happened out there?”
Cat sighed. “If I fully understood, I’d tell you.” She felt a little tug of emotion. “But I really don’t know. For a minute I thought Jeff was flirting, but I think teasing might be more like it.”
Mia shook her head. “No way. Jeff is really into you, Cat.”
“Why would you think that? Glancing my way doesn’t really mean much in my book.”
“Well, then it’s written all over his face. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.”
“What does that even mean?” Cat asked with a chuckle.
Mia laughed. “I overheard Myra over at Wine and Diner say it one day while I was eating lunch. It means it’s true whether you like it or not. I’ve been wanting to use it ever since.”
“You’re totally wrong.” Cat placed her palms on the table and leaned forward. “Mia, he only grabbed me to dance so he could win a juvenile bet with … with Snake.”
“The drummer in his band?”
“You know him?” Cat asked. She took a swig of her lukewarm beer and wrinkled her nose. She put down the bottle and grabbed a cold one from the soupy ice.
Mia nodded. “Even though South Street Riot broke up shortly after high school, I got them to do a reunion concert at the Cougars stadium a couple of years ago. By the way the girls reacted, you would have thought it was the Backstreet Boys.”
Cat laughed. “Backstreet Boys? Somehow I don’t think they would like the comparison to a boy band.”
“You know what I mean, though. Apparently they were super popular in high school.”
“Yeah.” Cat could envision girls going gaga over Jeff.
“You know, I really think that concert is what started them thinking about getting back together with Jeff. Regardless, you get the picture. Chicks still dig them.”
“What are the rest of the guys like?”
“Snake is the bad boy drummer. Colin Walker plays keyboard and does solo gigs at Wine and Diner. Women young and old swoon when he sings
. Jackson Pike, or Jax as they started calling him because he looks like Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy, is one of those scruffy but somehow sexy guys who doesn’t even have to try. Sam Slader, bass guitarist, is as smooth as they come.”
“And then you have Jeff as the front man. No wonder they don’t want me to mess with the formula. Not that I want to,” Cat quickly added.
“You just want to mess around with the front man.”
“Mia!” Cat picked up a celery stick and swiped it through the ranch dressing.
“Wait. So what was the so-called bet anyway?”
Cat explained and waited for Mia to be disgusted, but her face split into a grin. “That’s hilarious!” She leaned closer. “So who won?”
“Jeff.” Cat felt her cheeks grow warm. “See, the only reason he wanted to dance with me was to win. Can you believe it?”
Mia waved a dismissive hand. “I’m around baseball players all day long. Believe me—boys will be boys. They do dares and practical jokes all day long. And for the most part they’re just having a little harmless fun.” Her eyes widened. “And the kiss?”
“Ha—just a little peck is all he got. I only wanted to pay Jeff back for, you know … helping me out.”
“So all you gave him was a little ol’ peck when you had the chance to get a full-blown kiss? Are you crazy?”
“Yes, it’s a known fact.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Will you just let this go?” Cat looked down at the platter of bad-for-them food and realized she’d lost her appetite but picked up a saucy wing anyway. She waved the little drumette at Mia. “Seriously, Mia.”
“I am serious. You have to know that Jeff was just using the bet as an excuse to get a kiss from you.”
“Yeah, right,” Cat protested, but wondered whether Mia could be right. “I just happened to be within handy reaching distance. End of story. I just bet Jeff is already out there with someone else as we speak.” She wasn’t going to look.
Okay … yes, she was going to look, but just a tiny passing glance. To her relief Jeff was talking to Clint Sully and suddenly the wings started to taste delicious once more. She licked her thumb and reached for another one. “The man has it in his head that I’m going to be in constant need of rescuing. And I have to pay him back with a kiss each time. The nerve.”