Good with His Hands by Tanya Michaels Page A

girlfriends who’d drifted through their life, but as far as Dani could tell, none of those relationships had ever come close to getting serious.
    â€œNot really. Your mom was my one great love. I want that for you, too. I guess I’ve been so worried about this Tate thing because I was afraid you were like me. That you might not experience true love twice.” A surprisingly boyish smile creased his face. “When I met Gina, I was so over the moon for her. Couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think straight.”
    â€œAnd this is what you want for me?” she asked drily. She was already lacking sleep and appetite, and her train of thought had fallen off the tracks multiple times today. It was not an enjoyable state.
    â€œWell. The infatuation part fades into something deeper,” her dad said. “Something everyone should have.”
    That definitely didn’t describe what she’d had with Tate.
And Sean?
If he hadn’t lied to her, would the all-consuming, gotta-have-you-now attraction between them have burned itself out or eventually evolved into something more?
Guess we’ll never know.
For the first time since he’d walked out of her apartment yesterday morning, she felt a flicker of relief. After almost marrying the wrong man, she was skittish about getting seriously involved with anyone else, not ready to trust her judgment on anything more than a casual fling.
    Whatever might have happened between her and Sean, it was impossible to imagine it being casual.
    * * *
    S EAN WAITED AS his friend fished a quarter out of his pocket so they could flip for break. The bar was pretty dead on a Tuesday night, so they’d had their pick of pool tables. Although, they could have just stayed upstairs and had a drink—Sean wasn’t deluded enough to believe he’d be able to concentrate on the game.
    â€œHow’d you find this place?” Alex asked. “It’s...quaint.” He wasn’t being condescending, only expressing genuine surprise. Like Sean, Alex Juarez was single. This was more the kind of neighborhood place they frequented when they were out with the married guys on the crew, instead of bars where women tended to be looking for company.
    â€œA friend brought me here. I liked it.” The real question was, what had drawn him back here tonight? Had he subconsciously wanted to relive the memory of shooting pool with Dani, or was he hoping to engineer an “accidental” run-in with her?
As if she wouldn’t see through that lameness in about two seconds flat.
    Well, he’d failed with the direct approach at her office yesterday. And she’d already thrown him out of her apartment. He was running out of options.
This is sad, man. Keep it up and you’ll be getting a restraining order as a belated birthday present.
    Alex flipped the coin, which landed on tails, leaving Sean the break. But his muscles tensed, and it was a crap shot, barely disrupting the balls.
    â€œHijole.”
Alex glanced at him with wide eyes, then snickered. “What happened to the great Gray? My nine-year-old niece breaks better than that. No one on the crew’s gonna believe me.”
    â€œMaybe you should have recorded a video on your phone,” Sean grumbled, stepping aside.
    â€œWhat’s going on with you?” Alex tapped a pocket, took his shot and missed. “You’re preoccupied. Like right there!”
    Sean blinked. “Right what?”
    â€œYou were busy staring up there.” Alex pointed past the railing toward the top half of the split-level bar. “Didn’t even see me make my shot,” he said slyly.
    â€œNice try,” Sean countered. “You missed. Good aim. Not enough follow-through.”
    The other man shrugged. “Worth a try. What are you looking at, anyway? Hot girl? Did you bring me here because you’re planning to make a move on one of the