When she reached his table, she swiped the rag across the surface, then gripped the edges and met his gaze directly. So directly, his entire body buzzed to life as if she infused him with energy.
Her eyes narrowed. “What’s your story, Jack?”
He lifted his brows. “That’s a big bite. Maybe you could break it down into nibbles for me.”
She straightened, shrugged. “You know, what everyone’s been trying to figure out. Why you’re in town. What brought you into the bar. But what I’d really like to know is why you waited for me when you could have taken the offer of an easy lay from any one of a dozen women. I sent seven drinks to your table tonight. Seven. You didn’t accept one. That’s a record.”
“I didn’t get one from you.” Something about the underlying message behind her words nagged at him. As did the assumption that all he wanted was an easy lay. Did he want to sleep with her? Hell, yes. He just didn’t care for the cheap way she’d phrased it. He also disliked the fact that he wasn’t in a position to get to know her better. “It’s amazing how much you can learn about a person from watching them work.”
Her hip listed against the table. Her tank rode up an inch, teasing him with a split-second sliver of skin. “Oh, yeah? And what do you think you learned?”
“You’ve got a hard-core work ethic. You’re a good friend. You enjoy pleasing others. You’re an extrovert, fun loving, high energy.” He paused and scanned her face. Her dark brown eyes. Long black lashes. Edible full lips. The way her hair fell in careless waves around a face. He could look at her for hours. “And you are so fucking beautiful.”
He hadn’t meant to say that quite the way it came out, with a heavy hint of desperation, but when her smile deepened and a little of the suspicion faded from her eyes, he decided it had been worth the risk of embarrassment. Then, hallelujah, she slid into the chair across from him, propped her elbow on the table, and rested her chin in her hand.
“What brought you to town?” she asked.
“Family.” He didn’t want to get into the details of his father’s illness or his mother’s death and most definitely not the state of the company. But he really wanted to know more about her, and he felt his opportunity dwindling. “Are you up for a cup of coffee?”
Confusion darted through her eyes. “Coffee?”
“I’m sure we could find a café that’s open all night. We could sit and, you know, talk.”
Her head tilted, and she laughed. A throaty sound that flared through his body like liquid fire. “Oh, handsome, if we go anywhere after this, it won’t be to a café for coffee.”
Her candidness blasted heat through his body, making him shift in his chair.
“That’s what this is about, right?” she said. “You didn’t stay here all night for the opportunity to chat in a café at two a.m.”
“Is that a trick question? I’m not sure I could win with either answer.”
She laughed. The light, carefree sound he’d heard from her during the night. One she used with friends, coworkers, and regular customers.
“Or we could meet for dinner this week if you’re free,” he offered.
“Dinner.” Her eyes danced with humor. “You don’t do this much, do you?”
Dammit. He was blowing this. “Again, I don’t think I have a winning answer.”
“You’re a little clean for my usual taste.” She tipped her head and scanned him, her eyes hot. “Are you good at getting dirty?”
Images flashed in his head. Miranda on her knees, his hands tangled in her hair. His fingers dipping into her sweet heat. Sweat dripping off his jaw and sliding down the indention of her spine. “If dirty is what you like.”
Slowly, a serious, intense quality came over her. The transition was mesmerizing and hinted at a depth to her character that he couldn’t begin to understand. “Are you married?”
“No.” He’d known that question was coming. Everyone who didn’t know him asked. He was, after all, at the age when most men were married with a kid or two. “Not married.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Not at the moment.”
She hesitated, thinking something over, then put her hand out. “Phone.”
“What?”
“Phone. Unlock it and let me see your messages.”
He had nothing to hide, so he did.