And the worst thing about it was that Matt couldn’t stop it from happening. At the end of the day, LL&K may have provided adequate legal counsel to the tenants, but the firm certainly hadn’t given them a just or fair resolution to their problems.
So, after work, he headed directly to the Jaybird Café, looking for a diversion. He found it in the person of Courtney Wallace, who was sitting at the bar with Ryan Pierce.
Of course it was too early to talk to Courtney. Only a few days had passed since their dinner at the Union Jack. He ought to wait a week before speaking with her again or run the risk of appearing too anxious. He knew from experience that women didn’t like desperate men.
But he could hardly ignore her, could he? Especially when she looked so delicious this evening in a dark-blue dress that hugged every curve and plunged in the front to display enticing cleavage. She turned the moment he crossed the threshold, those incredible turquoise eyes blinking up at him from behind her bangs.
Instant awareness. Instant desire. Instant want.
Once, a long, long time ago, he would have been stupid enough to act on this attraction. He would have rushed in and said something profoundly dumb that would hand her all the leverage in the encounter. He was smarter now.
Still, she was hard to resist.
And for some reason, it irked him that every time he ran into her at the Jaybird Café she was sitting with Ryan Pierce. Guys like Ryan, who’d served their country and who spent hours in the gym pumping up their biceps, intimidated the crap out of him. In normal pickup situations, he steered clear of any woman sitting next to a guy like Ryan Pierce.
But this was Courtney. And it had been a thoroughly lousy day at work. So he strolled right up to the empty stool beside her and took a seat.
She turned her back on him, pretending that she hadn’t seen him walk into the room. Or maybe she was just being her normal contrary self. He had to admit that her contrariness was oddly attractive.
“Hey, Matt,” Ryan Pierce said, leaning forward a little so he could peer around Courtney.
Courtney’s shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t turn in his direction.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing much. But if you’re planning to ask Courtney out on a date for next Wednesday, she’s busy,” Ryan said.
The possessiveness in Ryan’s voice irritated Matt for some reason. He squared his shoulders. “Well, that’s a relief,” he said, “because I was going to ask her out for Thursday night.”
“Good,” Ryan said in a tone that sounded almost amused. “We’re not doing anything on Thursday. So she’s free.”
Courtney snatched up her Manhattan and drained it in a single gulp. She slammed the glass down, turned, pointed her finger at Matt, and then said, “Okay, where are you taking me this time?”
Her eyes focused on him like a pair of blue lasers. The question was a test. His usual approach, inviting a woman in for dinner and movies at his place, wasn’t going to work. First of all, he was still living with his parents until he could find an apartment in town. But more important, Courtney knew he was going to ask her in for an evening of movies, and possibly some making out. The key to Courtney was surprise.
“How about dinner at the Red Fern Inn?”
Wow. That did it. Her gaze softened and her breath hitched visibly. She bit her lip. The surprised expression on her face was unbelievably sexy. Oh, man, did he have an itch. It took real restraint not to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her.
“Okay, Thursday night,” she said in a soft voice barely above a whisper. “Now I’ve got to go back to my table.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder to where Arwen Jacobs was sitting. As usual, Arwen was shooting him the Frown of Disapproval.
Matt didn’t want her to go, but it would be a mistake to ask her to stay. So he let her slip away.
“I’d be careful with her if I were you.”
He turned toward the voice and found Juni Petersen standing behind her bar with a sober expression on her face. It always amazed Matt that Juni and Willow were sisters. They didn’t look at all alike, and their personalities were as different as night and day.
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Because she believes in romance.”
“Courtney? Are you out of your mind?”
Juni shook her head. “She’s only tough because she’s been hurt so many times. If you’re out to hurt her, then you should know that I have the right to kick your ass out of my bar. So don’t hurt her.” Juni paused for a moment as a smile unfolded on her face. “Now that we’ve come to an understanding, what can I get you to drink?”
Arwen watched from across the room as Courtney spoke with Matt. Holy hell, what was going on inside her head? She gazed up at Matt as if she wanted to devour him.
That was bad.
No, maybe it was good.
Crap. Like most things in life, the idea of Courtney hooking up with Matt tweaked Arwen’s finely tuned sense of irony, or maybe her funny bone. Either way, the public display of lust proved Arwen’s point about the world of modern relationships.
Courtship had gone the way of the dodo birds. It was extinct. Today’s single girl had to be sexually liberated and possess an unbreakable heart and truly thick skin.
She finished her margarita just as Courtney returned to the table.
“So, how did he react
