about this some more?” He motioned to Mops and Brooms. “Your job?”
She stood. “Oh, I can’t go to lunch. I start my other job at eleven, waiting tables at LipSmackin’ Ribs.”
The sexy stranger scowled and she wondered if he looked down on that kind of work. She’d been everything from a dog groomer to an assistant in a hair salon and said defensively, “It pays the bills.”
“I always stick my foot in it with you, don’t I?” He shook his head. “I’m a friend of Dillon Traub. His cousin, DJ, owns the Rib Shack. He’s not pleased about the new competition, and I’m not all that impressed with the atmosphere at LipSmackin’ Ribs. But that has nothing to do with you. Why don’t I meet you when your shift ends?”
“I have to pick up Jonah at his babysitter’s.”
“Coffee break?” he teased.
When this man smiled, she felt something like hot butter running through her veins. She was amazed at his persistence. It had been about seven years since Ed had asked her on their first date. Since her fiancé’s accident, she hadn’t even thought about seeing another man.
But this one—
“You can even call Dillon for a reference if you need one.” He took out his wallet, found a business card and handed it to her.
Jeannette glanced at it. Dr. Dillon Traub. She’d heard gossip in the restaurant about the doctor who was an heir to an oil fortune. There were two numbers. She was resisting this invitation because her good sense was telling her that she should. Besides, she didn’t feel comfortable having to ask Ed’s parents to watch Jonah so she could go on a date. Still…She’d heard Dr. Traub had opened a clinic in downtown Thunder Canyon. He was more than a reputable citizen, even though she wasn’t sure about his brother Jackson. Other rumors that had made the rounds had said he’d caused a scene at his brother Corey’s wedding in June.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said with another glance at Dillon’s card.
When this stranger who wanted to date her didn’t respond, she lifted her eyes to his. He canvassed her expression, then answered, “My name is Zane.”
“Just Zane?” she asked.
Again he gave her a probing look. “Just Zane. For now.”
One thing she usually wasn’t was impulsive. How could she be with a son to think about? But right now, losing her job, not knowing what was on the horizon, she felt a little reckless. Not reckless enough to be alone with this man, though.
“Why don’t you come for dinner tonight at my apartment? Jonah can be our chaperone.” She thought that might put him off. She thought he might make an excuse, back out, run the other way. But she was sadly mistaken if she thought that’s what he was going to do.
He considered her suggestion long enough to make her think he might refuse. Finally he said, “I don’t want you to have to do the work, so I’ll bring the food. Okay?”
What man brought food when he was invited over? And what had she just done?
Jonah started jumping up and down again, proving he’d been listening to the conversation. “You’re gonna come to our place. Mom says my toys are everywhere.”
Zane shook his head and suppressed a grin. “When I come over, you can show me some of those toys.” His gaze fell on Jeannette then and she couldn’t seem to look away.
This stranger was coming to dinner at her apartment. Was she crazy?
“Second thoughts?” he asked, seeming to read her mind as his grin faded. He took his cell phone from the holster on his belt and handed it to her. “Go ahead and call Dillon’s cell. He doesn’t start seeing patients until nine.”
She studied Zane’s phone, which was a pay-as-you-go model. She’d thought about purchasing one of those. Before she changed her mind, she jabbed in the number. Obviously Zane wanted her to do it herself to prove he wasn’t scamming her.
Her call was answered on the second ring. “Hi, Zane. Did you—?”
“It’s not Zane,” she explained quickly. “My name is Jeannette Williams and Zane gave me your name as a reference. We’re going to have dinner. I guess I want to know…Well, I have a son and—”
There was a short silence, then the doctor’s voice telling her, “I’ll definitely vouch for Zane. We’ve known each other since we were little. He’s a good friend and always there when I need him. And he likes kids.”
When she was silent, he asked, “Is there anything else you need to know?”
Everything, she thought. But then she said, “No, that’s all for now.”
“If you need to call again, you have my number.”
Jeannette ended the call and turned to Zane. “Not as many second thoughts,” she admitted with a smile. She gave him her address. “Is seven okay?”
“Seven is fine.”
When she handed him his phone, their fingers brushed and she quickly pulled away, tingling from a current she didn’t understand.
She had a date tonight with a stranger with no last name but good references.
What was she thinking?
Chapter Two
Zane found himself actually jittery as he stood in front of Jeannette Williams’s apartment door. She lived on the second floor of a complex with a stairway leading up to her place. Unsure why it was so important for Jeannette to think well of him, Zane rang the bell.
She didn’t know who he was so he had a clean slate. That meant so much right now. The press had taken the story of Ashley Tuller’s fall, coma and death and run with it. Before coming to Montana, friends had invited Zane to have supper with them. They’d been trying to be supportive and he’d gone. But he’d left early because he just couldn’t eat or make conversation. The tabloids, however, had snapped a photo of him leaving while his friends waved goodbye. The caption had read, COUNTRY SINGER PARTIES WHILE FAMILY MOURNS. They’d used other false headlines and older photos, too, until he’d had to escape all of it.
But now—
When Jeannette opened her door, Zane felt as if he’d been sucker punched. The first time he’d seen her she’d been wearing a yellow T-shirt and jeans, her hair in a ponytail. Earlier, she’d worn those same jeans and a crisp, white Oxford shirt. Tonight, however…she was wearing an above-the-knees khaki skirt with a silky red blouse. Her blond hair was long, loose and wavy. He felt an excited thump in his chest as his blood rushed faster. Whoa, he’d have to put a lid on that. After all, a four-and-a-half-year-old was going to be their chaperone.
“Hi,” he said, knowing that wasn’t a foray into great conversational territory.
Nevertheless, she smiled back. “Hi. Come on in.”
He was carrying a bag of takeout from DJ’s and he stepped into her small
