Chapter 12

Tessa whistled low. “Now that’s a nice car.” She glanced over at him. “How very rock star of you.”

“I have a little problem with cars.”

“Well, I have a little problem with boots.” She winked at him. “You win.”

“There’s only so many placed you can go in a car. Now boots,” he leered at her, waggling his eyebrows. “Boots and any heel on a woman can be lots of fun indoors and outdoors.”

A surprised laugh surfaced. “You are a very bad boy aren’t you?”

“You know, it’s been a long time but yes,” he paused and the smile was even more brilliant. “Yes I can be.”

He opened the door for her and she breathed in the dark leather and that scent that just wouldn’t leave her brain. Cripes, she’d be thinking about it when she went to bed. Her stomach pitched when at the thought. Do not go there. Just enjoy the moment and shut up.

The scent of him intensified when he climbed in. The low slung sports car was all man, both inside and out. “So, where are you taking me? You know, you better be as nice as you seem. I don’t want to get tossed in the river when you’re done with me.”

He shot a startled glance her way then his laughter filled the car. “You are outrageous.”

“Gotta keep you interested. I’m not looking my best here.”

“Tessa, you could be bald and I wouldn’t care.”

“Now that’s a lie.”

He laughed. “Okay…so bald is a stretch, but at this point in my life, pretty just doesn’t cut it anymore. I like women with a brain.” He gave her boots a look. “I’m shallow enough to like the boots though.”

Tessa crossed one leg over the other. Thank God for running. “Good to know.”

“You’re an evil woman. I can see it lurking.”

“Why yes, yes I am,” she said smartly mimicking him. He shifted smoothly, and the engine growled enough to cause a purr through her seat. “Now that was on purpose.”

He grinned. “Now why would I do that?”

“I won’t be responsible for what I do to you if you get me all hot and bothered in the car.” Dammit, shut up! What was she thinking playing like this? Hadn’t she just told him she wasn’t going to sleep with him?

Jon revved the engine again. She was fun and there was no calculation lurking in her eyes. She genuinely seemed to just want to enjoy some time with him. Not to mention the whole flirting with a woman again felt good. The last few women he’d gone out with had been part of the corporate world. While it was nice that they knew the score, they also didn’t have an ounce of spontaneity between them—the rest had been beaten out by etiquette.

They pulled into the parking lot of Barnacle Bill’s and he shut off the engine. “Best greasy burgers in the area,” he said with pride.

“You know, I’ve heard about Barnacle Bill’s but never got around to trying it out. By the time I get out of work most nights I just want to go home to a bowl of Ramen noodles.”

“Oh baby, you have no idea what you’re missing.” He gave her a wary glance. “You aren’t vegetarian or anything right?”

“What if I was?”

“Well, I would hope you wouldn’t say yes to a greasy burger unless you liked burgers.”

“Carnivore to the core, darlin’.”

“Excellent. Man food. I hate women that want a salad for every meal. Not cool.”

“I diet during bikini season and that’s about it.”

He flashed a grin at her and took a nice long perusal of her body. Her clothes were too bulky to know what a bikini would look like, but he had a feeling it would be rather nice. “So you wear a bikini.”

“I don’t do Pilates to make me feel better.”

He laughed. “I’m with you there. I run to feel better but work out to keep the rest of the monsters at bay. It’s not like when I was a kid and could just run around on the stage and be in shape. Those shows kick my ass.”

“Hell, they kick my ass and I’m just in the audience.”

“So, tell me just how many shows have you been to.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “You sure you want that number?”

“It can’t be any worse than some of them.”

“Well, I’m not in Black Velvet’s realm. I don’t remember her real name,” she said with a shrug.

“Shari,” he said absently.

She turned in her seat. “Oh my God, you do know her?”

“You get a lifetime pass to my shows and I’m going to remember your name, Tessa.”

“That’s amazing. You hear stories online about it and I read this really good article about it, but when you hear it’s real from the horse’s mouth so to speak…well that wacky fan part of me gets a little tingly.”

“Spidey sense tingly?”

“You so have boys.”

“I am a boy.”

It was her turn to look him over. She studied the tight bunch of muscles in his thighs, flexing and smoothing as he shifted in his seat to the ridiculously well made jacket that probably cost as much as one of her car payments, mortgage and insurance combined. “No, darlin’ boy is not the first word to come to mind when I think about you.”

His eyes stayed on the building, but the smile kicked the corner of his mouth now in deep shadow. “Is that right?”

“Evidently I’m weak in the head at this point and need sustenance.”

“And protein would help that.”

The chuckle sputtered first and then she swung out the door with a deep belly laugh. There was no way tonight would be boring, that was for sure.