LITMIR.BIZ

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you. Let me wipe a tear at that lovely compliment.”

      “Shut up. He was maybe the best-looking man I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d opened my door to that.”

      “He’s dating Autumn.”

      “So he’s not bright. Exceptions can be made.”

      “No,” Gwen said sharply. “They can’t.”

      “What was it like to be in his arms?” Holly asked, as if Gwen hadn’t objected.

      “He was a good dancer. Once I was drunk, easy to talk to.”

      Holly took a handful of popcorn. “He likes the Dodgers.” Then she popped each piece into her mouth, one at a time.

      “We’re in L. A. It’s not a big shock.”

      “He got you a room. That was nice.”

      “Charming. Let’s move on.” She winced at how bitchy she sounded, but she didn’t want to answer any more questions about that night. She barely wanted to think about it, although she hadn’t had much luck there.

      “Why are you doing this to me?” Holly gave her a mighty pout. “I have nothing going on in my love life. I need more than online gossip and office politics. He’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to us in ages.”

      “He’s dating Autumn. I haven’t given him a thought since that night.” Lightning didn’t strike at the lie. “Now can we please watch Mr. Willis kick some end-of-the-world ass?”

      “You’re no fun.”

      Gwen stuffed popcorn in her mouth. Pissed once again at her inability to erase everything to do with Paul Bennet from her memory. Damn him.

      PAUL GOT THE CHAMPAGNE out of the fridge and popped the cork. He brought the bottle up to his mouth to catch the overflow, not giving a damn when most of it hit the floor.

      He grabbed the tin of caviar and a spoon, and sat down at the bar in his kitchen. Alone.

      She’d done it to him again. He’d been hopeful to the last second. The valet had taken his tip, Autumn had stood at the door of her Lexus, and he’d opened his mouth to tell her to follow him when she’d delivered the death blow. As much as she’d love to join him in an intimate night of sin, it couldn’t happen tonight. Girl trouble.

      She’d actually said, “Girl trouble.” He’d seen from the look on her face that she thought she was being adorable.

      He’d explained that he was a big boy and didn’t care about girl trouble, but she wouldn’t budge. She’d kissed him, as if that would make everything just fine, and she’d driven off, leaving him with a hard-on and a renewed determination that it was over. It was bullshit. He didn’t need her kind of crap, even if she turned out to be the best lay in the Western world.

      He took a spoonful of caviar then lifted the bottle for a champagne chaser.

      Screw her. She could play her games all she wanted. He was out of there.

      He pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial seven. Laurie never had girl trouble. And she had always been amenable to the booty call.

      She answered. Two minutes later he put the cork back in the bottle, the top back on the caviar, and he was on his way.

       Chapter 5

      THE SCORE WAS FIVE TO FOUR in the ninth and Takashi Saito was on the mound. It was three and two, and this pitch would make or break the game. Not one of the eight people at Gwen’s table said a word. In fact, she doubted anyone was breathing as Saito leaned in for the pitch.

      The batter swung. Missed it by a mile and the whole bar roared with victory. The Dodgers had won and in this bar, that meant spilled beers and high fives all around.

      Gwen whooped it up with the best of them. The season was shaping up nicely for her boys, and she couldn’t be happier. It had been too long since the Dodgers had been in the winners circle. She had great hopes that they’d take it all the way this year.

      Holly, who wasn’t much of a sports freak, celebrated anyway, glad to be out with friends at Bats and Balls. The gang consisted of folks from work plus a few extra mates or dates, enough of them to fill up their long picnic table.

      There would be a ten-minute break before the trivia started. Six members of her group were die-hard players. As a team they were nearly always in the top ten. Individually, no one came close to her record.

      Yes, it was compulsive, her love of stats and game minutiae, but screw it. Baseball gave her pleasure. Watching it, talking about it, and even playing it. Rockland-Stewart had a team that played against other employment firms. She managed The Rocks and played third base. They were okay, had even won the championship three years ago, though it was mostly for the fun and the after-game pizza.

      All in all, this was her favorite night of the week. The whole group took it seriously, and no matter what was going on at work they all bonded over America’s pastime.

      Holly nudged her in the arm and held up her empty beer glass. “You want another?”

      Gwen shook her head at the waitress standing just behind her. “Club soda, please.” She hadn’t had much more than that in the two weeks since her parents’ party. She’d never gone overboard when it came to liquor, and that night had reminded her why.

      “Did you win?”

      Gwen hadn’t thought about the weekly pool since she’d given Ken her money. “Nope. I never do.”

      “Me, neither.” Holly leaned closer. “What do you think of Ellen’s date?”

      Ellen was one of the accounting staff. She was in her twenties, pretty, in good shape. She wasn’t a great baseball fan, but she did love picking up guys at the bar. Gwen didn’t recognize this one. She’d probably met him elsewhere. He was just the kind of man Ellen liked—buff, tall, handsome, if one went for that type.

      Ellen laughed at something her current beau said, but stopped short. Her wide-eyed gaze fixed on someone at the front door.

      Beside Gwen, Holly whispered, “Holy shit.”

      Gwen knew just what she meant. A shiver raced up her spine as she saw none other than Paul Bennet. No tuxedo this time. Just jeans and a pale blue work shirt; the man could stop traffic. Did stop traffic. Every woman in the bar had gone silent.

      Gwen could feel her cheeks heat with a blush that made her furious. What was he doing here? Was he with Autumn? That would ruin everything. Dammit, this was her bar, her friends. This was where she came to forget about the real world, including her foolish family.

      Paul caught her eye and he smiled.

      “Oh, my heaven, he’s coming over here.” Holly fluffed her curly hair and licked her lips. Gwen didn’t look, but she would bet good money that Ellen was doing the same thing. Had he come here looking for her? For God’s sake, why?

      He walked to the table, right up to her. “Hey. You have room for one more?”

      Gwen looked up at him. Despite her obvious displeasure at his intrusion her body reacted without her consent. All manner of butterflies and heart pounding. “What are you doing here?”

      His smile held up, despite the rude question. “I had to see you in action. Am I too late for the trivia?”

      “No.” Holly pushed her chair over, practically knocking Ken over in her haste. “It hasn’t started yet. There’s a chair right behind you. I’ll get you a machine.”

      Paul didn’t waste a moment. He didn’t have to. Holly stole the chair from behind them and blushed like a teenager when he offered her a soft “Thanks.” By the time he sat down, she was back with his game player, the electronic gadget that connected this bar and all the others to the national scoreboard.

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