while we’re on vacation.”
“Sure.”
Plenty of time for reflection and self-recrimination once he was alone. He owed Mad Dog, and repayment meant ensuring his friend had a great trip. Especially given Taylor was just as cut up about the loss, even if he tried not to show it.
He cracked his knuckles. “What do you need from the master?”
“Use your charm on the hot blonde’s mousy friend. Keep her occupied so she won’t mind when her roommate disappears with me.”
Ordinarily, J.B. wouldn’t have minded the request. Women were the perfect antitdote to a life filled with way too much testosterone. And the brunette in the red bikini wasn’t exactly mousy, though her dark hair had been scraped back into a severe braid. She was pretty in a girl-next-door way and her curves were definitely in all the right places.
What had given him pause was the stiff way she’d held herself, her full lips pinched, while supposedly relaxing. “She seemed a little uptight.”
He’d learned the hard way to steer clear of uptight women. They were impossible to please. They took things way too seriously and saw hidden meanings in innocent words or actions, which led to unfortunate misunderstandings. Like the woman in the Atlanta nightclub who’d nearly derailed his NHL career. Frustrated he wouldn’t take advantage of her blatant offers—J.B. didn’t mess with married women—she’d turned the tables and accused him of coming on to her. It was only thanks to Taylor, Jake and his other teammates that J.B. had come through the crazy situation relatively unscathed.
Still he’d chalked that up to experience. It had taken a female stalker, then a woman who’d lied about him fathering her child, for J.B. to decide uptight women were trouble.
Taylor winced, understanding in his gray eyes. “Maybe she was jealous that I waved at her friend. Women fight over me all the time.”
J.B. snorted with laughter. “In your dreams, bro.”
“Who got the highest bid in the Ice Cats’ charity bachelor auction?”
“Yeah, yeah. Shame the winning bidder was your mother’s age.”
“Gilda was a sexy, mature lady with a great body, a lot of experience and an insatiable appetite.”
“Glad to hear she got her money’s worth.”
Mad Dog swore. “Will you help me out or not? We’re only here for a few days and you’ll never see her again.”
J.B. hesitated as they reached the torches. The women were standing by one of the tables closest to the shoreline. Taylor’s blonde looked stunning in an ice-blue sheath that dipped low and clung to her body before ending mid-thigh. But it was her friend that fired J.B.’s blood. She wore a strappy knee-length red dress. Her dark hair was loose, the slight curl at the ends dancing over her bare shoulders as she laughed.
“She’s not looking mousy or uptight now,” Mad Dog said. “Pay your dues, man.”
J.B.’s reluctance vanished. He strode forward. “You got it.”
When they reached the table Mad Dog asked, “May we join you, ladies?”
“Sure,” the blonde replied enthusiastically.
J.B. noticed her friend didn’t say anything but smiled. He figured she was the shy type.
“I’m J.B. and this is Taylor.” He offered his hand to the brunette, who hesitated before taking it.
The blonde shook hands with Taylor. “I’m an Ice Cats fan. Season ticket holder, though work keeps me from getting to as many games as I’d like. I’m Sapphire, Sapphie for short, and this is...”
“Bella,” the brunette said firmly.
“Good to meet you, Bella.”
Mad Dog clapped a hand to his chest dramatically. “A beautiful woman who likes hockey, I’m in heaven!”
J.B. shook his head and looked at Bella, who rolled her blue eyes. The moment of shared humour was surprising and encouraging.
“You look like you’re in need of frothy drinks with umbrellas,” Taylor said.
Sapphie wrinkled her nose. “They’re too sweet for me. But I wouldn’t say no to a champagne refill.”
Bella held up her glass. “Ginger ale would be lovely. Thank you.”
“Your wish is my command,” Taylor said.
“I’ll come with you and help carry the glasses.” Sapphie stuck her hand through his arm. “I’ll try not to go all fangirl on you.”
“I can handle whatever you throw at me.”
The pair walked off toward the bar, laughing.
“There’s nothing fragile about your friend’s ego,” Bella said drily.
“He’s all talk. Under that boyish charm is a good guy.”
“Sapphie can handle herself. And him, too.”
Those uptight vibes were back. Perhaps Mad Dog was right about the jealousy thing.
J.B. stifled a sigh. It was going to be a long night.
Bella turned to him. “While they’re gone, I wanted to say that we know how the evening will end for them and you mustn’t feel obliged to stick with me.”
Her earnest comment caught him off guard. “We’ve just met and you’re already preparing to ditch me?”
She bit her full lower lip. “I’m sure you have things you’d rather do than entertain the spare-part best friend and I won’t be upset if you do them.”
He should be relieved; she’d given him the perfect out. Yet, inexplicably, he was slightly irritated that she was so keen to be rid of him. He smiled. “Let’s see how things play out. The night’s still young and there’s plenty of party left.”
“All right.” This time she gave him the puzzled look.
Good. He liked that he could throw her a little off balance. “How about we scout out the buffet table while we wait for our friends to return?”
“We might lose our places.”
He leaned past her, flipped out four napkins and turned over four water glasses. “Now it’s obvious someone’s sitting here.”
She glanced over her shoulder at Mad Dog and Sapphie, who were engrossed in each other, at the bar. “You’re right. It looks like it might be a while before we get our drinks.”
He cocked an elbow in invitation and she put her arm through his. His senses immediately snapped to attention at the touch of her soft skin. As they walked to the heavily laden buffet table, her fragrance—delicate, floral, but with an unexpected hint of spice—teased his nose. The contradiction intrigued him.
Hell,
