going to marry! I felt the thunderbolt.
Suddenly, a pair of men’s shoes appeared under the corner of the table. Shoes that were presumably attached to a man.
“Did you drop something, Lacy?”
Bennett Sheridan’s voice made her cringe. Lacy wished she could curl into a tiny dust ball and blow away. What to do?
Lacy’s innate fear warred with her desire to get to know him better.
Janet was no help whatsoever. “I’m off to the ladies’ room,” she announced.
No, Lacy wanted to cry out, you can’t leave me.
“Take my chair, Dr. Sheridan,” Janet offered.
Janet stood up. Bennett sat.
You can do this, you can do this, you can do this, Lacy affirmed, then raised her head and peeked over the edge of the table to find him studying her with a bemused expression.
“Beach babe, she thought. Pretend you’re a gorgeous beach bunny. Sexy, breezy, without a care in the world, you’re irresistible to men. You wear toe rings and tattoos and string bikinis. Think sexy, Lacy.
Sitting up straight, she painted a smile on her face.
“Do you come here often?” he asked, amusement in his voice. His eyes twinkled, and he folded his hands on the table, as composed as a philosopher.
“Fairly frequently,” Lacy lied, surprised at her brazenness. Where was all this courage springing from? “I have a few other places I hang out at, too.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“I hadn’t pegged you for a party girl.”
“Oh sure.” She waved a hand. “I go out every night. Party, party, party.”
He looked surprised. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out, but I figured you weren’t the type of woman who went in for temporary hookups.”
I’m not that type of woman, Lacy longed to say, but instead she kept her mouth shut and waited for Bennett to continue. In fact, she’d never had a hookup and at twenty-seven, her virginity had become her secret shame.
“Since I’ve only got a week left in Houston, I don’t want to start something serious that I can’t finish. But I certainly would enjoy showing a beautiful lady a good time. Especially a lady who knows all the hot spots in town.”
“You would?”
“Sure.”
His brown eyes met hers and Lacy gulped. The thunderbolt galloped through her, quick and hot. Her great-grandmother was right. There was no mistaking the sensation. It was at once electrifying and calming, stimulating and peaceful, passionate and serene.
So bizarre and unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Bennett looked awfully delicious in his crisp white cotton shirt, starched blue jeans, and casual penuche-colored loafers. This was the first time she’d seen him in casual clothing, Lacy realized, and he did not disappoint.
“Are you asking me out, Dr. Sheridan?” Her heart did a free fall right into her stomach.
“Would you say yes if I did?”
“For fun only?”
“That’s right.” He cocked an elbow against the back of his chair.
“Nothing that would monkey with our jobs?”
“Absolutely.”
“No strings attached?”
“None at all.”
Damn it. Why wouldn’t he stop staring into her eyes? Lacy felt as if she were falling, falling, falling into the abyss of his soul. Flustered, she peered at her hands and fought the heat rising to her cheeks. She was in trouble here.
Bennett leaned forward. He was so close she had only to reach out her fingers an inch or two and she could touch his tanned skin.
“You’re not looking for entanglements, are you, Lacy?”
What was it CeeCee had told her? That all men were nervous about commitment. That they shied away if a woman acted too interested, too eager, too anxious to have a man in her life. The male of the species wanted a challenge, a competition, a prize.
“Me?” Lacy placed a hand on her chest and forced a laugh. “Want a commitment? Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I don’t know. In the operating room you strike me as rather old-fashioned. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all.”
“And what gave you that impression?” Lacy was amazed at the ease with which she spoke to Bennett, but this was important.
He was the one, and she’d do whatever it took to convince him of that. Even if it meant pretending that she wasn’t particularly interested. The logic was perverse, but CeeCee knew what she was talking about. Men battled for the honor of dating her red-haired friend.
“It’s the way you blush every time I look at you. The way you can’t hold my gaze for long. Like right now.”
What the hell? In for a penny, in for a pound. She picked up her half-filled wineglass, downed the contents, then swung her gaze to smack head