months. The song blurred into another and another until a slow tune began and he pulled her into his arms.
“I just realized I don’t even know your name,” she said. “I’m Tina.”
“Zach,” he said. “Zach Logan.”
“I would have never expected it, but this is the most fun I’ve had in—” She paused, a surprised look coming over her face. “Forever,” she confessed.
He chuckled. “Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you need to get out more.”
“Oh, I get out,” she said. “Just not like this. I hate to see it end, but I need to leave before the big reveal.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I need to leave before everyone takes their masks off at the end of the evening.”
“Why? Do you want your identity to remain secret?”
She shot him a cautious glance and shrugged. “Something like that.” The music stopped and she started to pull away. “I should go. Thank you, Zach Logan.”
He couldn’t let her leave on her own. He’d promised Keely and Brent he would make sure she got home safely. “Let me take you,” he said. “Can’t have a beautiful woman like you leaving by herself. And I know a place close by that serves the best ice cream floats if you’re interested.”
She looked tempted. “I shouldn’t,” she said, her voice oozing reluctance.
“Why?” he challenged, not eager for the evening to end either. He would go back to his apartment, full of memories that reminded him of how much he’d lost. “It’s just ice cream with a local boy.”
“Boy,” she echoed in breathless disbelief, giving him a once-over.
“Okay,” he amended. “It’s just ice cream.”
“Well, you did rescue me from that creep,” she said, caught in indecision. She squished her eyes together for a half beat then opened them. “I really shouldn’t get into a car with a man I’ve just met.”
“I can get you a cab,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, disappointment leaking through her tone. He escorted her to the door of the private club and waited with her while the valet waved a car forward.
He opened the door and just before she stepped inside, she glanced over her shoulder. “I could still meet you for that ice cream float if I knew the address.”
“Calahan’s Diner on 54th and Poplar,” he said to the driver and her. “See you soon.”
Forty-five minutes later after Tina removed her mask, she sat across from the rugged man with the magnetic eyes. “I can’t remember the last time I had one of these,” he said as he drained the last drop.
Her gaze slid down his hard jaw, taking in the slide of his Adam’s apple, then lower to his broad shoulders. Watching him drink the float was the most seductive experience she’d had in a long time.
Tina wondered if that was just plain pathetic as she took another sip of her own float. She liked the way his bedroom eyes crinkled at the corners. The fact that he was knocking back an ice cream float made him seem a little less dangerous than if he’d been swilling whiskey. She supposed that if she were ever going to do something wild and impetuous with a man, he might be a good choice. Not that she ever would.
“You never mentioned where you live,” he said.
“Out of the country, right now,” she said. “But I attended college at Rice.”
“Is that where you met Keely?” he asked.
Tina blinked, digesting his comment and what it meant. She felt a rush of self-consciousness. “You were the one Keely asked to look after me.”
He nodded and his lips tilted into a half smile. “My pleasure.”
She resisted the urge to fan her heated face. “This is a little embarrassing. I didn’t know you were assigned to look after me. I shouldn’t keep you any longer—”
His smile fell. “No,” he said. “When I said it was my pleasure, I meant it. I haven’t been out in awhile. Being with you has—” He broke off and shrugged those broad muscular shoulders. “It’s been great. I haven’t felt this good in a long, long time.”
His eyes darkened with emotion, and she felt a visceral tightening in her stomach.
“I don’t want it to end,” he said.
His words echoed her own feelings. She sucked in a quick breath, determined to clear her head. She had responsibilities. Her duty was most important. Always. “I don’t either, but it must end.” She closed her eyes for a quick moment, trying to stiffen her resolve. Opening her eyes again, she shot him a smile that she knew was weary. “Grown-ups have to be grown-ups.”
He nodded, giving a slight chuckle as he slid his gaze over her from head to waist, heating her from head to toe. “Damn shame, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said, wishing she were a little less responsible, wishing she could be impetuous and follow her heart … or hormones….
“I’ll get the check, then get you a cab,” he said.
Moments later, she sat in the back of a cab driving her toward Keely’s house. Damn chivalry, she thought and gave a dark laugh at herself. It would have been so much easier if he’d taken advantage of her. Oozing his sexy Texan charm, it would have been sooo easy. Instead, he’d given her a choice, which meant she’d had to take the chaste high road when she’d wanted to be a bad girl. Just once. She’d always been the good daughter. At the moment, that halo she wore felt way too tight.
The taxi stopped at a red light. When it turned green, the vehicle sputtered and stalled. Great, she thought. She was accustomed to riding in perfectly maintained limousines. Riding in a taxi was an adventure. Under a torrential downpour, she looked outside her window and hoped the cab would start.
The driver cranked the engine again. And again. And again. To no avail.
Darn it, she didn’t even have an umbrella with her. Her staff usually provided that. Tina sighed. Perhaps she should call her security. Heavens, she hated the idea. There would be a fuss from the head of security and her brother and maybe even her father.
She waited several more moments, her cell phone ready in her hand. An SUV pulled alongside the cab. A moment later, a knock sounded at her window, startling her. Frightened, she stared into the rain, reluctant to open her door.
“Tina,” a male voice said. “Open up.”
Recognizing the voice of Zachary Logan, she opened the door. “Zach,” she said.
His Stetson dripping with raindrops, he swung an umbrella toward her. “Need a ride?”
“To where?”
His gaze gave a dark flicker. “Wherever you want. I can take you to Keely’s or I can take you to
