Free Plum Girl (Romance) by Jill Winters Page B

was with the guy who'd had his arm around her.
    With his Guinness in his hand, he started to walk toward her.

 
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    Lonnie was not exactly in the best mood of her life. The night had actually been sort of fun before she'd seen Dominick with another woman. Now she just wanted to go home, knowing this "thing" with Dominick Carter should not be bothering her as much as it was. But she couldn't leave because Peach hadn't arrived yet. Lonnie just hoped that Peach got there soon, and in the meantime, that nobody from Twit & Bell came over to make conversation. It was bad enough that she'd just had to deal with a slimy guy who'd tried to hit on her by sauntering up and saying, "I may not be the best-looking guy here, but I'm the only one talking to you."
    She felt a hand tap her shoulder. Oh, please, what now? She spun around and found herself face-to-face with Dominick. Actually, her face was more aligned with his neck, and if she leaned over just a little more, she could kiss it. Lick it. All of a sudden, her mind went blank of everything except how happy she was that he was there. She knew there was some reason why she'd been feeling hopeless about him a minute ago, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was.
    "Hey, you," he said. His jet-dark eyes were molten, and his face verged on five o'clock shadow. In other words, he looked like he always looked, and it was driving her crazy.
    Lonnie smiled sociably and tried not to rip open his shirt and run her tongue down his stomach. Speaking of his naked flesh— who, me? —she wondered if he had hair on his chest, or if he was china doll-bare like Jake. Or worse, if he shaved it, like a guy Peach had dated. No, no, surely Dominick wouldn't do anything that cheesy. The guy Peach dated also shaved his butt, now that she thought about it, which made her wonder about the state of Dominick's extremely fine ass. All she'd been able to learn so far was that his butt was rounded and firm and cute as all hell. That information was hardly enough to satisfy one's curiosity.
    Now he was standing in front of her, after she'd resigned herself to the fact that she'd blown it, and her heart was pounding so hard she wondered if he could hear it. She had to be very careful about her enthusiasm, though, because she still had no idea if he'd come to Whiskey's in response to her e-mail, or if he was there for something else... someone else. So she kept her tone even, and said, "Hey, Dominick. I didn't know you'd be here tonight."
    "I got your e-mail"— Yes —"and I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I had to go to New York on Tuesday. I just got back tonight."
    Oh, to hell with pretense... at least, for the moment . "I'm so glad you came," she said honestly.
    They both relaxed and started talking, and pretty soon they were unconsciously inching their bodies closer together. She was touching his arm when he said something funny, and he was lightly placing his hand on her waist when he'd lean in to hear what she was saying. After about twenty minutes of talking by the bar, they moved to sit in a booth. Peach still hadn't arrived, but Lonnie knew the commute from Chestnut Hill could be a time-consuming hassle. Another reason why Peach was her best friend.
    "So, how much longer do you think you'll be at Twit & Bell?" Dominick asked, and leaned back against the booth.
    "Hmm, I guess if I were really ambitious I'd say until I make partner, but realistically? Probably until the summer." He was giving her that sexy grin again, and she needed to take another sip of her Bloody Mary to calm her nerves.
    "What happens then?" he asked. A little too casually, she thought, but she wasn't sure.
    "Well, you know how I was thinking about teaching at a university?"
    He nodded and leaned forward. "Right, well, it was either that or a master's in marine biology. Or, I'm sorry, marine biology theory."
    She squinted her eyes teasingly at him— ha ha, smartie —and finished, "So, I