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“Name someone who isn’t in town for a conference. Arizona has become the convention capital Florida used to be.” Which was why he was so successful.
His father had purchased desert land dirt cheap in the mid-1950s. After the older man’s death, Mac had sold a small portion for much more than he’d ever imagined, and expanded the small bed-and-breakfast inn that had been his family’s livelihood. By catering to the vacationer and the conference-goer, The Resort had become a gold mine. And the once-middle-income Mackenzies, Mac, his mother and sister, had become millionaires.
A fact he had no intention of revealing to Samantha until he got to know her better. “Okay, Sam.” She nodded her approval. “Now that we have that behind us, we can move on.” On impulse, he raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss on her wrist. Her pulse fluttered wildly beneath his lips.
She jerked her hand free. “No, we can’t. I just met you and I’m not about to hop into your bed.” She didn’t speak with much conviction, nor did she seem to realize the leap she’d made.
“That’s good, because I don’t remember inviting you,” he said with a hearty laugh. “But trust me. When I do…you’ll know it.”
“Oh…” She stared at him, wide-eyed and embarrassed.
Mac had never seen such mixed signals. Earlier, she’d appraised his body as if it were meat in the deli case. She wore sexy underwear he’d never seen anywhere but in a catalog, sensual clothing that invited seduction, yet she was holding on to that towel with a death grip. He deliberately tuned out the memory of what she looked like without it. For now.
The innocent or the seductress. Which woman was his Samantha? He couldn’t think of her as Sam any more than he should be thinking of her as his. But he liked the contradictions in her character and wanted her to stick around.
After suffering the attentions of too many fortune-hunting women, he was intrigued by her honest responses. But before he seduced her he had to be sure.
“I was trying to suggest you take a shower.” He backed off, walking toward the door.
“Mac, wait.”
He turned.
“I’m sorry. I’m new at this…I guess you can tell, what with me jumping to conclusions and rambling and…”
He stepped back inside the small room, effectively silencing her with his presence. Walking toward her he stood close enough to temptation to make himself sweat…without the aid of the steam-filled bathroom. Unable to help himself, he reached forward and took a lock of ebony hair, wrapping the satin strands around his finger as he spoke.
The pulse at the base of her throat worked overtime. “New at what?” he asked.
“This. Whatever’s happening between us.” She gestured to them both.
“Is there something between us?” After her vehement rejection, he needed to know what she wanted before pursuing anything further.
Her violet gaze met his. Honesty and sincerity shimmered in their depths. “You know there is.”
He admired the strength it took for her to admit there was something brewing, even though the pull between them was too strong to ignore.
“And what are we going to do about it?” He unraveled her hair from his finger and ran the fine ends over the skin beneath her jaw. “Sam?” He breathed her name, suddenly finding it important to respect this woman’s wishes.
A tremor shook her body and she sighed softly. “I don’t know.” She leaned forward, until they were separated by a fraction of air.
Body language was telling and Mac had his answer. He wanted to close the distance between them. He needed to taste her lips and learn her secrets, and he had a hunch this intriguing woman had many. But her answer wasn’t good enough.
He looked into her soft eyes. She wanted him, but there were things she needed more. Like a shower and some time to herself.
“You think about it…and let me know.” He straightened and dropped her hair, letting his fingers graze her shoulder as he did. “The rental place is sending out a replacement car. In the meantime, I’ll leave your suitcases in the next room. Come on downstairs once you’re cleaned up.”
She smiled. “Thanks. You’re a nice guy, Mac.”
He groaned. He wasn’t nice, he was horny. Which made him wonder what it was about this woman that had him acting so noble. He had no doubt that with some soft words and coaxing hands, he could have been inside her body.
Instead he was headed downstairs to a bar full of customers, a bunch of nosy old men and one major problem, he discovered when he hit the bottom step.
“What do you mean, Theresa’s waiting to talk to me?” Mac looked over Zee’s shoulder to where his one-and-only cocktail waitress sat nervously shredding a paper napkin to bits. “Shouldn’t she be working?”
“She’s served a few glasses while you were upstairs. Broke a few, too,” Zee muttered.
“Why the slippery fingers?”
“She didn’t like Hardy’s hand on her rump.” The old man’s cackle filled his ears, but his expression quickly sobered. “Her Mama broke her hip coming out of the tub and her mind’s not on work.”
Mac muttered a curse, knowing he couldn’t keep Theresa here when she was needed at home. Even if this was one of the busiest nights. “I’ll talk to her. Anything else I should know?”
“Hardy’s behind the bar watering down the drinks. Earl’s downing more than he’s serving, and the sexy lady’s luggage is in the corner,” Zee informed him.
“And what are you doing?”
“Checking IDs at the door. Less than a C-cup means no entry.” The old man grinned.
“Come on, Zee. You know we can’t discriminate. On Ladies’ Night, it’s illegal. If they even have a cup size, let ’em in free.”
His chuckle pleased Mac. Better than seeing the old guy moping and depressed, Mac thought. He loved the man who’d treated him as well as he treated his own son.
“Want me to take the lady her bags?”
“No, thanks, I can handle it.” Mac didn’t trust Zee not to sneak a peek, so he brought Samantha’s luggage upstairs on his own. Not that he wasn’t tempted to catch a glimpse himself, but the large crowd and an obligation to his friend had him running down the back stairs to work. If Samantha was a typical woman when it came to getting ready, he wouldn’t be seeing her for a while.
Since he definitely needed some time to get his libido under control, he didn’t mind. He’d given the lady time to decide. It didn’t matter that his body protested with throbbing intensity. Nice guys lived uncomfortably by their word…and they didn’t get lucky, either. Resettling his cap on his head, Mac rounded the corner of the bar and got to work.
Not fifteen minutes later, the woman who’d caused his aroused state walked back into the bar. He should have known. There was nothing typical about his Samantha.
SHE GRABBED THE FIRST cushioned bar stool she could find, not an easy task on Ladies’ Night, and propped her arms on the bar. Beneath her elbows, pennies, Abe Lincoln-side up, stared at her from under the scratched glass. Sam—she decided the name fit and she intended to keep it—was enchanted by the timeworn ambience of the bar.
Used to frequenting places like Lincoln Center and upscale restaurants in New York, she appreciated the chance to kick back and relax in a comfortable setting. Relaxing was a relative term, since Mac stood not a few feet away at the end of the bar, engrossed in conversation with a young woman. Judging by the white apron tied around her waist, the woman was his cocktail waitress and she didn’t look happy.
Although Sam couldn’t hear their conversation, it was obviously serious. Mac shook his head, then made his way to the cash register and handed money to the woman, who tried to push the cash back into his hands. Mac refused. The young woman then threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight.
Whatever had transpired between them was obviously business, and yet the twisting in Sam’s stomach when the other woman touched Mac couldn’t be ignored. Feeling like an outsider, not to mention a jealous female—and not liking either—Sam shrugged and turned her attention away. Seconds later, Mac returned to the center of the bar.
He immediately began hustling between customers, serving liquor to smiling females. Sam could drink in his quick, sure movements all night. He was a study in masculine grace, if there was such a thing, easily grabbing glasses and tipping bottles as if he’d been doing this all his life. For all she knew, he had been.
Not for the first time, she realized she knew nothing about this man, except he set her body on fire with a sizzling look and, on some level, she trusted him. She’d be a fool to sleep with him otherwise.
She knew Mac could provide passion. His touch set off heated sparks and his voice shook her soul. If she wanted fun, excitement and hot nights in bed, she’d fallen into the right bar. Think about it…and let me know. Yearning mixed with trepidation. All she had to do was push her fears aside long enough to make the first move. The thought of Tom and a lifetime of single beds or separate rooms if she could manage it, clinched her decision.
“Hey, honey. Can I buy you a drink?”
She recognized one of the old men who’d cornered her when she first came in. “Sure.”
“Hey, Mac,” the old guy yelled across the crowded bar. “Two shots of tequila…and don’t forget the lemon.”
Mac turned their way long enough to raise an eyebrow at the request before finishing off other orders and making his way toward them. A nervous knot settled in the pit of her stomach. Her throat went dry, and Sam knew what she wanted. That was the easy part.
Letting him know would be harder.
He paused directly in front of her, bracing his hands on the old wood. Even the dark hair on his arms intrigued her, making her wonder what the texture would feel like if she ran her hands along his bare chest. “Tequila?”
She shrugged nonchalantly, though she felt anything but. “That’s what the man said.”
“That’s Zee to you, honey. And none of that watered-down crap Bear usually gives us,” he told Mac.
Mac glanced at her. “You sure about that?”
“Why not?”
“Ever drink tequila before?”
She shook her head.
“That’s why.” But he began working on their order, turning over two shot glasses and filling them with amber-colored liquid.
“Who’s Bear?” Sam asked.
“The guy who owns this joint,” Zee said.
“Your employer?”
“He owns the place and I’m working it. You tell me.” Mac set the glasses down in front of them, along with a saltshaker and a bowl of lemons. He slid the rest of the bottle over to Zee. “Go easy,” he said, and turned to the people next to her.
The bar crowd had more than quadrupled since she’d arrived, and Mac worked the room alone without a moment’s break. “He looks overworked.”
Zee nodded. “And underpaid.”
“I heard that.” Mac shot the old man a quelling look.
She tipped her head to the side. “Hard work’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“He gave his cocktail waitress the night off,” Zee explained.
“I thought I just saw her here,” Sam said.
“You did. But Mac here thought she’d be better off baby-sitting her sick mama than catering to us old men. Even paid her the night’s wages…though she won’t make any tips.”
And that explained the transaction she’d witnessed earlier along with the woman’s hug of gratitude. Sam felt like a jerk.
She blinked and looked at Mac, who’d gone back to serving other customers.
“That was nice of him,” she murmured. She’d not only stumbled onto a sexy man, but he played Sir Galahad, to boot. Warmth spread through her as she acknowledged that this man had character as well as good looks.
“Boy’s got a heart of gold. Always has. ’Course, it doesn’t make up for his sour disposition.”
Mac paused in front of them. “You bring out the best in me, old man,” he chuckled wryly. The light in his eyes and the laugh lines bracketing his mouth sent tremors of awareness shooting toward strategic body parts, making her sizzle and burn. She’d never felt anything like it before. Samantha rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms.
Zee ignored him and glanced at the still-full glasses. “You gonna sit there all night or you gonna give me a run for my money? Watch and learn, honey.”
Sam had seen this maneuver in college, but she’d never witnessed an eighty-year-old man make the attempt. Zee performed admirably. “You sure he’s up to this?” she asked Mac as Zee wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
“Apparently more than you.”
She took that as a challenge. Copying the old man, she licked her hand, poured the salt onto her skin, licked, downed the contents of the shot glass and reached for the lemon.
“Not bad for a first-timer,” Zee congratulated, refilling the glasses.
Sam’s gaze met Mac’s the moment the sour fruit reached her lips…because she’d just gulped a mouthful of straight water mixed with a healthy dose of food coloring. And he knew it. He winked, telling her to play along.
In that instant, Sam got another glimpse into her knight in shining armor’s character. He humored old men and looked out for damsels in distress. Considering her current predicament, Sam realized she fit that label, too.
Mac, whatever-his-last-name-was, was a sexy, hard-working, sexy, decent, sexy guy. The perfect man for her purposes. Sam liked what she saw and liked what she’d learned. She couldn’t have found a better man than Mac.
But first he had a bar to run, and from the look of things, he needed help.
OUT OF BEER. The ladies in The Hungry Bear never ceased to amaze him. The Resort stocked premium vodka, while Bear loaded up on dark beer. Same state, different breed of women, Mac thought as he headed for the back room to refill his supply.
He’d moved one box to get to the keg when a fragrant scent alerted him that he had company. He raised his head, but without looking over his shoulder, he knew. Samantha.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, without turning around. She was a distraction he couldn’t enjoy right now. Later, when he locked up for the night, maybe. If she was willing. But not now.
“A couple just walked in and they wanted a beer. The tap was empty and I didn’t see any bottles behind the bar, so I…”
“You were tending bar?”
“There wasn’t anyone else to do it.” She squared her shoulders defensively.
“I told Zee to keep an eye on things.”
“Zee thinks he’s drunk.”
That comment broke the tension, and they shared a good laugh. “You look out for him,” she said. Approval and something more gleamed in her eyes, making him uncomfortable beneath her knowing stare.
“Someone has to…he’s Bear’s father. The old guy lost his wife a few years back and he’s always looking for a little attention. It was nice of you to give it to him, by the way.” Not many people would give a lonely old man the time of day. Bear’s customers put up with the old coot for Bear’s sake and because like Mac, they’d known Zee and his friends forever. Samantha had done it for a stranger.
“How long had they been married?” she asked.
“Over fifty years.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.” A shudder shook her slight frame.
“Not for them. They really loved each other.” Mac wondered when he’d become the spokesperson for marriage. Not that he’d mind settling down one day; in fact, he’d like nothing more. He just never believed he’d find a woman sincere and honest enough to make the risk worthwhile. He glanced at Samantha. Until now?
