Free My Kind of Girl by Candace Shaw

makeup. He’d
never seen her wear it before, and personally, he preferred her
natural face. However, it was just enough to highlight her
cheekbones and enhance her dazzling eyes even more. Eyes that held
a look of promise that he found quite stimulating.
    “ Yes. Thank you so much for
hooking us up with a table. It’s crowded tonight, but Justin came
over to say hello and gave us a round of free drinks along with a
plate of crab cakes. They’re delicious.”
    “ Yep. My brother-in-law can
throw down.” He paused, remembering he wasn’t alone. “Ladies, this
is my best friend and frat brother, Dr. Garrett Braxton. Garrett
meet Traci and Caitlyn.”
    Caitlyn held out her hand to Garrett
who brought it to his lips and kissed it tenderly. She withdrew her
hand slowly as her face flushed. “Nice to meet both of you. Would
you two care to join us? There’s plenty of room.” She removed her
purse from the chair to her right and gave Garrett a sexy smile as
she motioned for him to sit down.
    Sean glanced at Traci, who was amused
by her friend’s flirtatious actions, and he slid into the other
empty chair. “So do you mind, dimples?”
    “ Of course not. You’re the
reason why we were able to get a table.” She handed him a
menu.
    “ Thank you.”
    The blues band began to play their
rendition of B.B. Kings “Why I Sing the Blues” and a crowd headed
to the dance floor.
    Caitlyn stood, rocking to the upbeat
tempo. Pulling down her short blue dress that had risen to her
thighs, she grabbed Garrett by the hands and dragged him to out to
the floor. Sean was relieved when they left. He wanted all of
Traci’s attention on him even though she kept trying to avoid him
by glancing at the band and stirring the melted ice around in her
glass.
    “ You could use another
drink.”
    “ Caitlyn ordered a pitcher
of sangria.” She stopped stirring and looked at him for the first
time since their friends had left. “I’m sure it will be here
soon.”
    “ Did you drive?”
    “ I took the
trolley.”
    “ Oh, you live in
downtown?”
    “ Yep. Lofts at Union
Alley.”
    “ Mmm … I’m surprised. I
thought you’d have a house with gardens like the Biltmore Mansion
in your backyard.”
    A saddened, faraway look reached her
eyes for a moment and vanished the next. “Nope. One day, though.
I’m saving. Between student loans and a few credit card bills I ran
up in grad school, it will be a while. Plus, when I was growing up
I always wanted to live downtown. So when I moved back to Memphis,
I decided to do so. I love it here and it’s not far from
work.”
    “ Yes, downtown has
definitely changed since we were growing up.” He glanced over the
menu that he knew by heart. He usually ordered the same
entrée—Justin’s New Orleans gumbo—and wasn’t even sure why he was
perusing the chef specials. He’d eaten dinner earlier with his dad,
but he still wanted some seafood gumbo. Sean closed it and placed
his focus on the stunning woman sitting across from him. Too bad
she wasn’t on the menu as he suddenly became hungry for her. Her
perfume had wafted in his direction and the light rose scent was
stimulating him once again. The cold shower he took after she left
that afternoon needed to be repeated.
    He leaned over the table. “Surprised
to see me here?”
    “ Not really,” she said with
a shrug.
    He chuckled. “Oh, so you’re used to
men chasing you?”
    She swished her lips to the side and
raised an arched eyebrow. “Uh huh … so you’re chasing me?” Tossing
the napkin from her lap unto the table, she sat back in her chair
with a mischievous grin.
    He frowned. That’s not what
he was doing. Was it ? He cleared his throat and sat up straight in his chair as
the warmth of the tequila began to race through him.
    “ I don’t chase after women,
sweetheart, but when I see something I want, I go after
it.”
    Her cheeks filled with a red hue as
she tried to stifle a smile that was forming. “Um … isn’t that