Husband Hunting 101 (20 page)

"Yes, the store is called
Love 'N Lace."

Blair's eyes twinkled. "Well, I'll definitely have to check it out."

Jenna stabbed her fork into her salad, hit a green pepper, and sent slivers of lettuce flying from her bowl. Mortified, she tried to retrieve the small pieces, but several had landed in Blair's lap, and when she reached for them, he caught her hand.

"Better let me get that," he murmured.

She blushed furiously at the way he squeezed her hand. And when she glanced up, Zack was snarling at her.

"Dessert anyone?" Colleen jumped up and returned quickly with a decadent looking chocolate dessert and coffee. Mark refilled wine glasses. Zack downed another glass, and so did Jenna.

Unfortunately she took one look at the chocolate and whipped cream concoction and remembered the first time she and Zack had shared lunch, the dessert they'd shared, and the kiss that followed. Then the night they'd modeled for one another...

Her gaze locked with Zack's, and she realized he was remembering the erotic evening as well.

God help her. She had to get a grip.

This dinner was a test, Zack decided, as Jenna scooped up a spoonful of mousse. When the chocolate touched her rosy lips, he silently groaned.

She was torturing him. Eating seductively. Putting her hands in Blair's lap. Laughing at his jokes.

Colleen had obviously planned a romantic evening for four; a candlelit table, fine china, wine, soft music wafting in the background.

He was going to kill her and his brother before the night was over.

And that man, Blair, he would drown him in all his damned niceness.

A damn children's doctor. Probably loaded with money. Owned his own house.

For Christ's sake, he probably donated time to charities, fed the homeless, traveled to third world countries to offer free medical care, and helped little old women across the street, too. How the hell could
he
compete with that?

Not very well, judging from the way Jenna doted on his storytelling.

Damn her. She wasn't supposed to be husband hunting when he was trying to get his sorry ass together enough to make a commitment to her.

Hell, all he could think about was making love to her again. Right now, he wanted to tear that sexy sweater off her voluptuous body and pound himself inside her until she couldn't imagine saying another man's name, much less date or sleep with one.

She was
his,
dammit, and she'd better know it.

He stretched one of his long legs underneath the table and found her foot, slipped off his shoe, then gently edged his foot over hers. She halted with her spoon in midair then cut her eyes toward him. He stroked her leg again, his body hardening at the desire flickering in her eyes.

But she tried to ignore the heat between them and gave him a cool look. Then she shifted to move her foot out of his reach, turned back to watch Blair, dug her spoon into the decadent dessert and licked the whipped cream.

That did it. He watched her tongue and wanted that tongue licking him.

This was war.

This time he dragged his toes up her calf, gently stroking the leg of her jeans until he teased the insides of her thigh.

Her gaze locked with his, her look warning him not to go further.

But the devil climbed inside him, and he inched his foot up and stroked her heat.

She coughed then scooted her chair back so he couldn't reach her. Oblivious, Blair was still regaling them with some story about an emergency surgery he'd performed in Africa.

Zack raised his glass and silently toasted himself. Jenna wouldn't be fighting him so hard if she wasn't attracted to him, would she? That was a victory of sorts.

"This dessert is delicious, Colleen," he said, feigning innocence.

"Thanks, Zack. I'll give you the recipe, so you can make it for some of your women," Colleen said glibly.

His women?
"Yeah, right," he said trying to joke away the moment.

But Jenna flinched slightly and he wanted to throttle Colleen for making such a remark. Then again, Colleen had set Jenna up with Blair—hell, she was probably already planning their wedding.

Dammit, she could un-plan it.

He scooted his chair closer to the table, then played footsie with Jenna again. Jenna swallowed and tried to escape their secret game, but his other foot caught her ankle and trapped it. A panicked look lit her gorgeous eyes for a second, then she glanced around the table, obviously trying to determine if anyone had noticed.

They hadn't.

Mark and Blair launched into a discussion about sailboats, and Zack spooned his own mound of chocolate and inhaled it, savoring every bite as he watched Jenna watch him lick the chocolate from his lips. Sensing he was getting to her, he moved his toes in slow circles along her thigh and was rewarded by a little whimper. She stifled it quickly by covering her mouth with her hand, but just knowing he was arousing her made Zack's erection bulge against his slacks.

He stroked her thigh again and licked the chocolate from his spoon, his body pulsing with awareness Jenna's involuntary shiver.

Jenna suddenly bolted up. "I... I have to go."

Blair and Mark jerked their gazes toward Jenna, and Colleen's face paled.

"No, Jenna don't leave," Colleen protested. "Let's go in the den and talk."

"Is something wrong?" Mark asked, looking concerned.

"Are you ill?" Blair asked, reaching for her.

Jenna checked her watch. "No, I'm just tired."

"Then let's go into the den and you can put your feet up." Colleen grabbed her arm and steered her through the door to the sofa.

Blair was beside her in a second, Zack on his heels, glaring at Blair's back. "Are you sure you're all right?" Blair scooted down beside her, lifted her wrist and felt for her pulse.

"I'm fine." Horrified at having so much attention on her, she gave Blair a weak smile. "I really am just tired, this is a busy season at the store."

"I could drive you home," Zack offered in a gruff voice.

Colleen and Blair slanted him a puzzled look.

"No, thanks. I'll rest here and finish my coffee," Jenna said between clenched teeth.

Colleen dashed to bring fresh coffee while Mark moved into the room, obviously hoping to run interference in case there was trouble.

"Are you sure you're not ill?" Blair asked, truly concerned.

Jenna patted his hand, ignoring Zack's mutinous stares. "Yes, I'm sure. I've just been on my feet a lot. The store has been packed all week."

Colleen returned with a tray, and Blair handed Jenna a cup of coffee. Zack seated himself on the other side of Jenna, crowding her next to him and practically rooting his competition off the couch.

"About the hospital, Jenna. Do you still want that tour?" Blair asked.

"Yes, I'm excited about the volunteer work. I could read to the kids or play games with them on some of my afternoons off."

"They would love it," Blair said. "And maybe when the weather warms up, we can get together for a lake outing. I keep a boat on Lake Lanier."

"That sounds like fun," Jenna said. "I like to hike and ski."

Blair murmured that he did, too. "I also own a cabin that I use for weekend getaways. We can light a fire and spend the night."

Zack saw red. Jenna would not be spending the night with this man in his cabin.

"Hmm, sounds nice and cozy," she murmured.

"I think they're having a big fireworks show on New Year's Eve."

Zack balled his hands into fists. Dammit, Jenna was making plans with this man as if he wasn't even there.

As if she had totally given up on him.

He had to fix that.

"That would be nice." Jenna sipped her coffee, her fingers tensing around the cup when Zack grunted.

"I thought doctors were on call all the time." Zack took a brandy snifter from Mark and downed the contents.

"Like I said earlier, we rotate and use an emergency service. We're also thinking of adding another partner to give each of us more time off."

"Great," Zack muttered.

"Yes, we're excited about it," Blair replied, obviously oblivious to the fact that Zack was being sarcastic.

The hot coffee scalded Jenna's tongue, but it was nothing compared to the fiery way Zack was looking at her. The dinner she'd eaten turned in her stomach, and suddenly the stress and tension in the room was unbearable. Zack eased his fingers over her hand and she froze, feeling claustrophobic between the two men.

A potential husband on one side, her former lover on the other.

The air in the room closed around her. She bolted up, her chest heaving. "I really do have to go now. It was nice to meet you, Blair. I'll see you at the hospital."

Blair stood and took her hands in his, then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She heard a rumble behind her and realized it was Zack clearing his throat, but she didn't dare glance at him. She'd probably see smoke coming from his nostrils.

She gave Colleen and Mark a quick hug. "Thanks for dinner, you guys."

"I'm glad you came," Colleen whispered.

"I'll talk to you later."

Zack eased up beside her. "I'll walk her to the door, Mark. Stay here with your company."

Mark shot him an ominous look but didn't protest.

"Thanks, but I can find my way out," Jenna hissed.

"No problem." Zack faked a yawn. "I think I'll head out myself."

Jenna walked briskly toward the door and Zack followed, not bothering to hide the blatant message he might be stating to the others in the room. The tension thrumming between them screamed with awareness and something else Zack didn't understand. He was jealous, no big mystery. But Jenna was... angry? Hurt?

She'd given up on him and moved on to another man just as fast as she could. As fast as all the other women his dad had married had given up on commitment.

Maybe he should rethink his own plan...

But that sweet, vulnerable look returned to Jenna's face as she stepped outside, and he remembered the way she'd cried his name and writhed beneath him. And he swore slightly.

He couldn't give up on her. And he knew, instinctively, giving up wasn't Jenna's nature either, not if she loved someone. She was too family- oriented. He froze, his head throbbing with anxiety.

Did that mean she didn't love him? The thought stabbed at his heart.

He closed the front door behind them and grabbed her arm, swinging her around. Her eyes blazed with emotions, burned with heat. "Let me go, Zack."

"No." Sweat beaded on his forehead, his hands trembled and his lungs constricted, making it difficult to breathe.

What if she didn't love him? Could he stand to have her reject him?

She tugged at her arm. "Zack, please, don't make a scene. Just let me go home."

"I'm not making a scene," he said calmly. "But we have to talk."

He released her but took a step closer, cornering her on the front porch. Then he noticed moisture in her green eyes and that her small frame was trembling, and guilt hit him. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. Or scare her.

So he forced himself to lower his voice.

"What's going on, Jen? I thought we... we were, you know..."

"What?"

She wasn't going to make this easy for him. "A couple."

Her eyebrows arched in surprise. "A couple? I'm not sure what your idea of a couple is, Zack. You were the one who said no commitment."

He cupped her chin, stroking her neck with his thumb. "Maybe I did, at least about marriage. But I do believe in monogamous relationships. We've been intimate, Jen. We had incredible sex and a date for tomorrow night, then you come over here to meet another man."

She bit down on her lip again, stared at his shirt, the wooden planks of the porch flooring, her shoes, everywhere but at him. "You don't want marriage, Zack, and I can't live with an affair. It's over between us."

He let the silence absorb his shock, but his anger erupted anyway. "What do you mean, it's over? The hell it is."

She knotted her hands on his chest, and he expected her to push him away, but instead she let her fists rest against him as if she couldn't decide what to do. "I told you that night we spent together—"

"The night we made love? Say it, Jen. Say the night we made wild passionate love."

She closed her eyes and sighed, then opened them and looked up at him, her face tormented. "Yes, the night we made love. I told you no strings, no commitments." She bit down on her lip again, her voice breaking. "I... I love you. I tried to give you what you wanted without pressuring you for more, but I can't just sleep with you and not want more. Now you have to let me move on."

She loved, him?
His chest tightened painfully. She didn't want to leave him. She wasn't like his mother, like all his stepmothers. He had to do something.