AN AUNT? You’re pregnant? Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Jenn nearly fell off the stool trying to hug her friend.
Suzanne laughed with delight. “It’s about time, huh? I didn’t think it would ever happen again, especially after all that treatment failed to produce any results. But don’t worry, you are still going to have a fantastic summer. I’ll come home from Hawaii and support you any way I can. I promise. The doctor just wants me to limit strenuous activities and avoid heavy lifting.”
Jenn hugged her again, then looked down at Suzanne’s impossibly flat stomach. “That’s why you’ve lost weight? Morning sickness?”
She nodded.
“You’re having a baby.”
“Tuck is over the moon. He says I wasn’t giving his boys enough credit.”
Jenn nodded, dazed. Thrilled for her friend and a little jealous, too. A good jealous though. She wanted kids. And had things gone as planned, she would’ve been pregnant soon, too. The trip was where it was supposed to have happened. But plans change. “Do I get to host the baby shower?”
“Absolutely. Maybe you can toss it into the mix and use it for added incentive? Maybe wear your Paradise dress?”
“That stupid dress wouldn’t fit my thigh at the moment.”
“Stop exaggerating. The material has a bit of stretch, and with a little dieting you’d be good to go in no—” Her mouth dropped and she stared at Jenn, a grin slowly overtaking her features.
“What?”
“I cannot believe I didn’t think of this earlier. It’s sooo obvious! It’s the perfect solution to your problem.”
“Liposuction?”
“Do you really want to go through the risk and pain of surgery?”
“No.”
“Good. Because this is better. In fact, if you both agree, it won’t cost either one of you a thing. Gym fees aren’t cheap, so why not offer to tutor Matt in exchange for a membership at Nick’s Gym? Hello? See what I mean? No, wait. We’ll ask for a trainer! A personal trainer who’ll kick your butt if you don’t stay on track. Jenn, you could take that trip to Paradise at the end of August, right before school starts, and come home looking like a million bucks, all tanned and slim. The girls at school would die! Come on, say something. You’ve got to admit that would be quite a comeback.”
Yes, it would. But could she do it? Hope soared for the second time that evening, even as her nerves positively hummed. Was she ready to do this? With her muddled head, she couldn’t think straight.
“Nick? Nick, come here for a sec, will ya?”
That got Jenn’s champagne-blurred attention in a hurry. “What? You mean, he’s—Now?”
“Yes, now. It’s almost closing, so he’s not as busy, and you’ve got just enough alcohol in you to not be so shy. Nick!”
NICK GLANCED OVER to where Suzanne and her friend sat and smiled at the women. Suzanne wore a broad, happy grin, as any expectant mother should, while her friend glanced at him beneath her long lashes and looked as if she wanted to crawl under a table. He frowned, noting that the brunette’s gently rounded cheeks were looking unusually pale. Tucker’s wife whispered something to the woman in encouraging, coaxing tones he couldn’t make out.
Finishing off the order, he placed the last of the drinks on the tray for the waitress and made his way to the two women, leaning against the bar in front of them. “What’s up?”
“We need to talk to you about the tutoring thing.”
“Okay.” His gaze shifted to Suzanne’s friend. Surprisingly, he’d been thinking about her ever since he’d seen her leave in such a rush. He hadn’t been able to get her pretty gray eyes out of his head, and he’d felt compelled to find out what happened to send her off in tears. Tuck had filled him in on all the gory details of her divorce and the scene at the door. “Just to warn you, your ex is still here.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Suzanne stated bluntly. “We’re not going to worry about him. Nick, Jenn has a proposition for you.”
He waited, watching as Suzanne elbowed her friend in the side when she didn’t immediately speak up. “What’s that?”
Jennifer Rose fiddled with the strap of her purse and nibbled her lips, distracting him in a way the perky twenty-something with the belly ring hadn’t been able to do.
“I wanted to ask you…Suzanne mentioned…Um, you know, I think I’d like that rum and Coke now.”
He caught the alcohol on her breath when she exhaled and wondered what had happened between her and Dixon. He’d overheard enough of her conversation with Suzanne to know that drinking wasn’t the norm. “Sorry. I can’t serve you that.”
“Why not?”
She sounded so indignant, he smiled. “Because I’ve decided you’re not really a rum-and-Coke kind of woman.”
Her head lowered once more. “Figures. I’m not a lot of things.”
What did that mean? He shook his head and added a teasing grin. “Don’t take it so hard. I’ve been tending bar since I came of age and I can usually tell a person’s drink within a few minutes of talking to him.”
“Oh?” She perked up a bit. “So what do you think I’d like?”
Enjoying himself, he looked her over. Her dark brown hair curled around her face and neck in thick waves, the tips ending where her cleavage began. She was what some people would consider full-figured, but he was a man who appreciated a woman’s curves. “I think you’d like…A Kiss on the Lips.”
“I—I don’t…I mean, um…”
Nick glanced discreetly over at her ex-husband and found the guy still glaring at them. Todd Dixon had always been a loud-mouthed idiot, way too full of himself. Back in school, Dixon had called Nick stupid, snickered at his D’s and F’s, and laughed and made fun of him because he’d been held back to repeat a year.
The way Nick looked at it, he and Jennifer Rose were on the same side. Payback wasn’t out of line, not in this case. Especially after hearing what the guy had done to her.
“Come here.” Nick smiled at her look of shock and was glad her ex couldn’t see it from where he was. But without more than a gulping swallow, she leaned toward him. “Your jerk of an ex-husband is watching you as if he owns you. Wanna have a little fun with him?”
Her eyes flared wide, leading him to believe she wasn’t used to being flirted with. Knowing that made him want to do it more.
“What k-kind of fun?”
Nick nuzzled his nose against hers, heard her sharply indrawn breath and caught sight of Suzanne’s delirious grin with his peripheral vision. But he didn’t stop. He felt compelled to help this woman out, even if he wasn’t sure why. Was it because of what Todd had done to him in school? Because she was a friend of Suzanne and Tucker’s? Or because there was something about her pretty face and sad eyes that told him she was a nice person whose confidence needed a boost?
When Jenn didn’t protest or pull away, he brushed the corner of her mouth with his lips, giving her a slow, sweet kiss that held more heart-thumping heat than anything he’d experienced in quite a while.
She smelled like heaven. The scent of her skin was earthy from the muggy night outside and whatever perfume she’d put on that morning was just strong enough to be intriguing. When he drew away, she sat there, face beet-red and looking more than a bit dazed. “Nice to officially meet you, Jennifer Rose. I’m Nick Tulane.”
“I knew it. You two did hit it off.”
“Suzanne. It’s not like that.” Jennifer peeked up at Nick, a question in her eyes.
“Really?” Suzanne turned to him. “Nick?”
He winked at Suzanne, but didn’t offer up any excuses or explanations. Jennifer seemed…sweet. And after being hit on by too many women with enough sexual experience to give the pros tips, sweet appealed to Nick. A lot.
“Jennifer, what are you doing?”
Dixon surprised them all when he grabbed hold of Jennifer’s arm and tugged, as though to pull her away from the bar.
She yanked free. A good thing since Nick had already straightened in order to separate them himself.
“What are you doing?”
The pretty boy continued to glower at Nick before shifting his attention back to her. “You’re making a fool of yourself.”
“What did I do?”
He leaned over and sniffed. “Have you been drinking?”
Her spine stiffened and she sat straighter on the stool. “Actually, I’ve been celebrating. Have to admit, Todd, your precious champagne was good, despite the fight it caused when you bought it.”
Dixon’s eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open. He gasped, and Nick thought the guy was going to have a heart attack right there. Clearing the space in front of him, in case he had to go over the top of the bar, Nick grinned. “Champagne, huh? You should’ve invited me to the party, sweetheart.” He lowered his voice. “But I guess we can continue it later,” he said, to egg Dixon on.
“You drank the Bollinger?”
Impressed, Nick whistled. “Mighty fine taste there, beautiful.”
Dixon shot him a killing glare. “Don’t you have a glass to wash somewhere?”
Both women gasped at the insult, but Nick simply braced his hands on the bar and rejoiced in the fact that now, unlike the days in school when he couldn’t hit a ball or shoot hoops to save his life, he could lay the guy out in his burying suit if he wanted to. Owning a gym and lifting weights had a way of evening the odds. “What’s the matter, Dixon? You get your kicks from bullying women instead of kids now?”
“She’s my wife.”
“Ex-wife, and thanking God every day for it,” Jenn murmured.
Nick smiled at her, letting her and everyone else know he agreed with the statement. Dixon muttered obscenities under his breath.
“Todd?” A young woman came up behind Dixon and tugged on his arm. “Can we go? I’m feeling queasy.”
Todd didn’t break eye contact with him. “It’s the lousy food here.” He put his arm around his girlfriend’s and glared at Jennifer. “You owe me for the Bollinger.”
“Mmm, ’fraid not. I think this makes us even,” Jennifer said, her gaze shifting to Dixon’s date.
He sneered at Jennifer before stalking away, dragging his overly made-up doll two steps behind him.
Jenn bit her lip and groaned. “I’m so sorry. That was…Oh, that was mortifying and totally uncalled for.”
“That was Todd owning his Jerkdom,” Suzanne corrected. “I hope she pukes in his lap.” Tucker’s wife swivelled back to face them. “Now, about that kiss.”
Nick chuckled. “Lay off, Suz. I had to do it—especially when I saw Dixon glowering that way.”
“You know Todd?”
A guy down the bar raised his mug for a refill and Nick took care of business while keeping a close eye on the women. “We went to school together. He was a bully then, too.”
Suzanne looked around then moved closer to Jennifer. “The bully is now by the door chatting up some old guy in a suit. You know him?”
Jennifer glanced that way. “That’s Harold Pierson, the hospital president. Todd wants to be chief of surgery.”
Dixon? Nick bit back a groan. That was the position his eldest brother, Ethan, had his sights set on.
“Idiot. I wouldn’t want him operating on me.”
Nick silently seconded the statement.
“He would be awfully busy looking at his reflection in the shiny instruments,” Jenn added with a low giggle.
Nick smiled and filled several more orders, his ears straining to hear their conversation. Finally he was able to rejoin them.
“Just in time. We need to talk to you about our plan.” Suzanne’s eyes sparkled. “But first how about both of you do me a favor?”
“What?” Nick asked, ignoring Jennifer’s groan.
“My birthday is next week and I won’t be here to celebrate with you two because I’ll be walking on the beach in Hawaii, but you can give me my present right now. Nick, take her into the office like you two are an item and you can’t wait to get her alone. Please?” She batted her eyelashes. “For my birthday?”
Jenn slid him an I-can’t-take-her-anywhere glance and shook her head. “She’s teasing. Ignore her.”
“Am not. At least kiss her again and give that creep something to stew over.”
“Suzanne.” Jennifer released a throaty laugh, one that made him think of tangled sheets. He checked out what he could see of her above the bar. Was her skin as soft as it looked? He found himself wanting to touch her and find out.
“You didn’t like the first one?” Suzanne asked not-so-innocently.
Nick stilled and waited for Jennifer’s response, a grin hovering on his lips because he found he was having fun. Given the way the evening had begun, fun was quite a surprise. “You didn’t like it?” he repeated, wondering if she’d give him a second chance. This time he’d go for a real kiss. Just one, to see what she tasted like.
Jenn fisted her hands around her purse and groaned. “It’s not that,” she said with a low, embarrassed moan. “I just refuse to let her drag you into this—whatever this is with Todd—when everyone in town would know better than to think we’re an item. It’s so obvious we’re not compatible.”
Compatible? Disappointment took hold. So that was it. But why had he expected her to be different? How many times had people taken one look at him and relegated him to the dumb-jock department because of his build and his professions? A grease monkey and a weight lifter. Great combination. Nobody needed brains for those jobs, right?
“The kiss was sweet, and I appreciate the gesture. But we all know why Nick did it.”
“Sweet?” Suzanne’s brows rose. “Nick, you’re losing your touch. Wait until I tell Tuck.”
He straightened and established some distance. “Stop teasing her. We were playing around because of Dixon, that’s all.”
Jenn bit her lip again, her teeth worrying the flesh and making him want to do the same, even though she’d made it clear she didn’t find him…what? Worth the price of her teacher’s reputation? He couldn’t blame her, though. How many college graduates would date a dropout? She might not know he didn’t have a diploma. But how long would it be before someone filled her in?
Suzanne sighed dramatically. “Gotta tell you guys, from back there it looked as if you two were pretty compatible to me.” She stared hard at her friend. “At least compatible enough to work for a common goal as we discussed.”
That got his attention. “What goal?”
“Nothing,” Jenn said abruptly. “I’ve changed my mind. This probably isn’t a good idea.”
“It is.” Suzanne nodded firmly. “You know it is.”
“The champagne is wearing off. I can’t do this.”
“You don’t need it to ask Nick a question.” Suzanne squirmed on her seat in excitement. “Why not use this opportunity to really put the screws to Mr. Little—”
“Suzanne.”
“Fine, whatever. Nick kissed you because Todd was staring, but why not use Nick’s animosity toward you-know-who’s-an-idiot to your mutual advantage? It’s obvious those two don’t get along,” she said, indicating Nick with a sweep of her hand. “What better way to rub your success in his face?”
“If it’s a success. If the plan works. If I can do it.” She indicated Nick. “If he agrees to do it, which is doubtful.”
“Agrees to what?” He fought his impatience. They were talking in circles.
“With Nick’s help, you’re sure to succeed. Picture Todd’s face and tell me you don’t want him eating crow after that beach-worthy crack.”
“You two going to fill me in on the woman-speak going on?”
“Jenn, come on,” Suzanne wheedled. “Ask him. Please do this. For yourself, for me and every other woman out there who’s ever been screwed over by a jerk. You do this, and you give all of us the last laugh. What do you say?”