at a Vegas buffet.
“Well, if it isn’t the long-lost doctor!” Kelly Goshorn sidled up to slip a bare arm around Jack’s waist, the scent of Juicy Couture reminding him what a flirt Nicki’s best friend was. “I thought I heard something about you rejoining the human race.”
Broiling Matt with a final tight-lipped glare, Jack swiveled to face the girl who’d tried to pick up where Lacey left off so many years ago, offering Jack a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, and anything else he wanted. “Hey, Kelly, you’re looking good.” He forced a nonchalant tone, his smile as flat as his interest in the long-legged lawyer who looked like a Gen Y version of The Good Wife . “How’ve you been?”
“Better than ever,” she said with a sultry sweep of chestnut shoulder-length hair, a gleam in sable eyes that implied she was talking about far more than her state of mind. “And you’re looking good, too, Dr. O’Bryen.” Arms crossed over a well-fitting tank top, she angled her head to study him, the almond shape of her eyes thinning in apparent assessment. “Although I’m not sure just which is more attractive—those brawny arms or the brawny title.”
“Oooo, I’ll take the arms,” Sarah Baker said with a wink, nudging Kelly out of the way to give Jack a warm hug he had no trouble returning. Sarah had always been his favorite of Nicki’s friends at the get-togethers Matt had managed to drag him to. She pulled back with an easy smile and a tip of her head, the auburn streaks in her shaggy blonde bob a testament to her successful beauty-salon business. “Congratulations on your hard-earned degree, Doc—maybe now you can hang out with us a little more and have some fun?”
“Maybe.” A half smile played on his lips as he tugged on a loose auburn strand of her hair, the generous spray of freckles across an upturned nose suddenly reminding him of his sisters.
“Hey, we are going to move this party to the big booth in the back, right? Where we can finally eat?” Matt’s friend Nate slid his empty mug onto the bar and rubbed his hands together, gaze darting from face to face. “Matt says he’s picking up the tab, so I’m hungrier than usual.”
Matt groaned. “Which means I probably have to duck out and hit the ATM before the night is over.” He gave both Nate and his other friend Justin a friendly shove toward the back of the bar where a reserved sign sat on the table of their favorite booth. “Come on, you jokers, we’ve got some planning to do before I feed you.”
“Mmm … well, I call dibs on the doctor,” Kelly said with a slip of her arm through Jack’s. “Nate and Justin are all yours, Sarah and Lacey.”
Lacey.
In the space of one ragged heartbeat, the crowd thinned like clouds drifting apart to allow a single ray of sunshine through as Lacey came into view. The sight of her in a short melon-colored sundress with spaghetti straps and that adorably messy ponytail all but sucked the air from his lungs. Their gazes locked, and his heart seized still for a full three seconds while she offered a shy smile that made his mouth go dry. “Hey, Jack,” she said softly, her voice almost breathless while she chewed on the edge of those luscious pink lips that had once been his for the taking. “Good to see you again.”
Good? His skin flashed hot and then cold, like a brain freeze that traveled to every nerve in his body, ticking him off something fierce. She had no right to make him feel this way, to mess with his mind, to screw with his pulse. As far as he was concerned, she was sheer poison—then and now—and there was only one antidote for that kind of poison.
Anger.
Offering a tight smile that was barely civil, he slipped a hand around Kelly’s waist and whispered in her ear, making her laugh as he led her to their table at the back. He allowed Kelly to ease into the booth next to Matt and Nicki while Nate, Sarah, and Justin made room for Lacey on the other side. His smile
“Well, if it isn’t the long-lost doctor!” Kelly Goshorn sidled up to slip a bare arm around Jack’s waist, the scent of Juicy Couture reminding him what a flirt Nicki’s best friend was. “I thought I heard something about you rejoining the human race.”
Broiling Matt with a final tight-lipped glare, Jack swiveled to face the girl who’d tried to pick up where Lacey left off so many years ago, offering Jack a sympathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, and anything else he wanted. “Hey, Kelly, you’re looking good.” He forced a nonchalant tone, his smile as flat as his interest in the long-legged lawyer who looked like a Gen Y version of The Good Wife . “How’ve you been?”
“Better than ever,” she said with a sultry sweep of chestnut shoulder-length hair, a gleam in sable eyes that implied she was talking about far more than her state of mind. “And you’re looking good, too, Dr. O’Bryen.” Arms crossed over a well-fitting tank top, she angled her head to study him, the almond shape of her eyes thinning in apparent assessment. “Although I’m not sure just which is more attractive—those brawny arms or the brawny title.”
“Oooo, I’ll take the arms,” Sarah Baker said with a wink, nudging Kelly out of the way to give Jack a warm hug he had no trouble returning. Sarah had always been his favorite of Nicki’s friends at the get-togethers Matt had managed to drag him to. She pulled back with an easy smile and a tip of her head, the auburn streaks in her shaggy blonde bob a testament to her successful beauty-salon business. “Congratulations on your hard-earned degree, Doc—maybe now you can hang out with us a little more and have some fun?”
“Maybe.” A half smile played on his lips as he tugged on a loose auburn strand of her hair, the generous spray of freckles across an upturned nose suddenly reminding him of his sisters.
“Hey, we are going to move this party to the big booth in the back, right? Where we can finally eat?” Matt’s friend Nate slid his empty mug onto the bar and rubbed his hands together, gaze darting from face to face. “Matt says he’s picking up the tab, so I’m hungrier than usual.”
Matt groaned. “Which means I probably have to duck out and hit the ATM before the night is over.” He gave both Nate and his other friend Justin a friendly shove toward the back of the bar where a reserved sign sat on the table of their favorite booth. “Come on, you jokers, we’ve got some planning to do before I feed you.”
“Mmm … well, I call dibs on the doctor,” Kelly said with a slip of her arm through Jack’s. “Nate and Justin are all yours, Sarah and Lacey.”
Lacey.
In the space of one ragged heartbeat, the crowd thinned like clouds drifting apart to allow a single ray of sunshine through as Lacey came into view. The sight of her in a short melon-colored sundress with spaghetti straps and that adorably messy ponytail all but sucked the air from his lungs. Their gazes locked, and his heart seized still for a full three seconds while she offered a shy smile that made his mouth go dry. “Hey, Jack,” she said softly, her voice almost breathless while she chewed on the edge of those luscious pink lips that had once been his for the taking. “Good to see you again.”
Good? His skin flashed hot and then cold, like a brain freeze that traveled to every nerve in his body, ticking him off something fierce. She had no right to make him feel this way, to mess with his mind, to screw with his pulse. As far as he was concerned, she was sheer poison—then and now—and there was only one antidote for that kind of poison.
Anger.
Offering a tight smile that was barely civil, he slipped a hand around Kelly’s waist and whispered in her ear, making her laugh as he led her to their table at the back. He allowed Kelly to ease into the booth next to Matt and Nicki while Nate, Sarah, and Justin made room for Lacey on the other side. His smile
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