I didn’t need encouragement; I needed a crowbar to get out of Jessica’s grasp.
“Sorry Jess, I signed up for a few panels and since the department is paying for it…,” I finished the statement with a sorrowful expression that I didn’t feel.
Jessica shrugged, her gaze already looking around for her next target. “Maybe next time,” she said when her gaze landed on a young hot shot from California. “Maybe later tonight?”
“Maybe,” I told her, my tone noncommittal.
She got the hint and flashed a smile. “If you change your mind.”
I wouldn’t. Jessica was nice and any other time I would have taken her up on what she was offering, but today I wasn’t in the mood.
“What the hell was that, man? How does a dude with that face manage to screw it up with Jess?” Connor Sullivan clapped me on the back and shook his head in disappointment. “What a waste of pretty boy good looks.”
I shrugged off his touch at the pretty boy comment. Yes, I was good looking, some would say it was more than that, but it was just a face really. The rest was a result of all the hard work I put in. And reeling a woman in was only half the job.
“I didn’t screw it up,” I grumbled, my pride a little stung by his assumption. “I wasn’t interested.”
“What? You’re kidding! Why not?” His blue eyes went wide with genuine surprise. “Everyone in this whole damn room is interested,” he said and leaned in with a smile. “Even the women, which you could probably get her to work with.” Connor wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, just in case I didn’t get the hint.
He was right, of course. Jessica was a woman who went after what she wanted, and she’d made it clear she wanted me, and if I was interested it would be whatever I wanted. But for some reason I couldn’t muster up the proper energy to fully enjoy the attention from Jessica. I had a feeling I knew the reason why, but as Connor and I walked towards the bank of elevators, I knew that couldn’t really be it. Not completely.
“Not in the mood today.”
“Can’t you get in the mood for an old married guy like me? Please.” He turned and clasped his hands together, pleading.
“Old? You’re not even thirty and you’ve been married what, ten minutes?”
“Two years,” he clarified with a proud smile. “But Clara is shy, so we’ll work our way up to the kinky stuff. Hopefully.”
“Too much information,” I growled and punched the call button. Hard.
“Excuse me.” The voice was soft and feminine, and that familiar huskiness drew my attention.
I stepped to the side automatically and looked at the woman in purple pants that hugged her body in all the right places. “Janey. You following me, sweetheart?”
“Rafe, is that you? So many hot firefighters around here, you hardly stand out.”
“Hardly standing out is still standing out, Janey, and you’re standing out quite nicely in those pants.”
Her skin flushed pink all the way down to her neck and even the skin barely covered by the black lace shirt she wore. “Thanks, I think.” She tucked a thick black curl behind her ear and turned her gaze to Connor. “Fire Chief convention?”
Connor snickered and shook his head. “Something like that. How do you know Rafe?”
She smiled up at me before turning back to Connor. “We live in the same town. I’m here for the photography event down the hall.” The doors slid open and she stepped inside first. “Enjoy your weekend fellas.” She flashed a wide smile and gave a small finger wave as the doors slowly slid closed.
“Who would have thought the girl next door thing would do it for you?” Connor shook his head. “I mean she’s a wickedly sexy girl next door with that thick black hair, but damn, no wonder you gave Jess the brush off.”
“I didn’t,” I insisted, but not all that much because it was the truth, even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself. “But those pants were hot, right?”
Connor flashed a smile as another door slid open and we stepped inside. “Hell yeah, they were. Ask her where she got ’em, I think Clara could kill me in those pants.”
He wasn’t wrong. If sweet little Janey could get my engine roaring in them, no telling what it would do for Connor. “Might be what brings you baby number four.”
He smacked me with the back of his hand. “Three, smart ass.”