Still perplexed why Josie had so brazenly told him that she wanted to spend time with him, Russ stared at her across the table. Accustomed to being the pursuer rather than the prey, he could only marvel at how open she’d been. Not many women were that honest, and he couldn’t help but admire her directness.
Instead of staying to eat at Words & Music, she’d told him about a mom-and-pop Italian place not far away that she loved and asked if they could go there instead. Although he normally hated new restaurants, he would’ve done whatever she asked, no doubt because he was still flattered by her attention. She’d offered to drive, but he’d taken one look at her boxy little car and feared the electric-blue Kia would be too confining to his tall frame. They took his SUV instead.
After ordering from a waiter who seemed familiar with Josie, Russ figured he should make polite conversation. Despite Savannah’s attempts to hook him up with this woman, and even with Josie’s aggressive pursuit, he still wasn’t sure getting into any kind of relationship was a smart move on his part. Yet the overwhelming pull to her was making it next to impossible for him to resist thinking about.
At the very least, he could offer her a pleasant date. “So you obviously eat a lot of pasta.”
“How would you know that?”
He let out a chuckle. “The hostess and the waiter knew your name.”
“Yeah, I love the food here—especially when I’m carb-loading,” she replied with a smile.
They spoke the same language. “You sound like me from the weekends I had big games. Are you a runner?”
She nodded again. “Almost my whole life.”
“Marathons?”
“Two, and I’m hoping to complete at least one again this year.”
“Boston?”
With a shake of her head, she said, “That’s on my bucket list, though.”
“You’re too young to have a bucket list,” he commented.
Then the irony of the statement hit him. Since his father’s diagnosis, Russ had made his own bucket list. Josie appeared to be about the same age as him, but there was no compelling reason for her to contemplate her mortality—not a reason like he had anyway.
“No one’s too young to have a bucket list,” she said, a weight of seriousness in her tone. “So, do you still work out?”
Since it was clear she was trying to get away from talking about bucket lists, he obliged her. Maybe when they got to know each other better, they could share more personal topics like that. Tonight was obviously too soon. “When I have time.”
“Put in a lot of hours at Words and Music?”
“When a guy co-owns a restaurant, he’s gotta give it the time it needs. I imagine a nurse practitioner feels the same about her job. Ever feel like you own that ER of yours?”
He loved her soft, husky laugh. It went straight to his groin. How long had it been since he’d felt that kind of attraction to a woman? The chemistry was definitely there. Now he just needed to figure out what, if anything, he was going to do about it.
“All the time,” Josie said. “And when I’m not there, I’m thinking about what I should be doing when I get back there.”
“Like you shouldn’t ever leave?” Russ asked. “Right?”
She nodded.
“I know the feeling well. Wanna hear something stupid? My partners are pissed at me because of it.”
A dark eyebrow arched. “Why would they be pissed that you’re dedicated to your business?”
“My question exactly. Before you got there, Brad was—” He’d almost forgotten that this woman was Savannah Maxwell’s best friend. The last thing in the world he needed to be doing was gossiping about the man married to Josie’s best friend.
“Brad was what?” she asked.
To hell with it. Brad had been a jerk. Why shouldn’t Russ go ahead and tell Josie so?
“He was scolding me because I was there on my day off.”
Her smile hit him like a shot of twenty-year-old bourbon. “Good thing I dragged you away from there, then. I hate when the people I work with tell me to either go home or just go ahead and move all my stuff to the hospital since I live there.” Her smile fell. “Working too much isn’t good for a person, though. You don’t want to burn out, do you?”
Russ shook his head.
“It’s healthy to get away from work and leave it behind for a while.”
Suddenly feeling tongue-tied, he scrambled for something to say, not wanting to look like some meathead who had plenty of substance to his muscles but not much to his brain. “You…um…mentioned…stress. Back at Words and Music. Something about you knowing I’m stressed out?”
* * *
Joslynn’s heart started hammering at his question. How was she supposed to come up with some reason she had brilliant insight into Russ’s stress level when in truth she’d been talking with Savannah about him, fishing for information?
“I…I…” She could feel the heat of embarrassment spreading up her neck.
“Figured it was something you guys all look for in the ER,” he said. “Like rashes and such.”
As good a theory as any…
Except she’d never been able to lie with a straight face. Not once. So, despite knowing she’d be humiliated, she went with the truth. “We do, and I’d noticed the changes in your blood pressure from the other visits you’ve had there. Mostly, though, I asked Savannah about you.”
The smug smile on his face didn’t come as a surprise, and she accepted it as her due. “I’m flattered, Josie. Not only did you have the guts to come and find me, but you also talked to Savannah to learn more about me.” His smile morphed as he glanced at the table, showing her a bit of vulnerability that touched her heart. “I’ve kinda been thinking about you, too.”
“You have?”
Russ nodded, giving her a smile so filled with emotion that her stomach fluttered in response. “I almost talked to Savannah. About you. But”—he shrugged—“I guess I was worried about asking you for a date.”
“Why would you be worried?”
He shrugged again, emphasizing those broad shoulders she couldn’t get enough of. “Worried that you’d refuse me—that we’re both good friends with Brad and Savannah. I mean, if we did date and things didn’t work out…”
Following his train of thought was easy. “It would make things really awkward, right?”
“Exactly. So, I guess I should ask…Is this a real date?”
The million-dollar question, one Joslynn knew would take a lot of courage to answer.
Ah, well. Fortune did, as the proverb claimed, favor the brave.
She offered Russ a smile. “Why not? I mean, worst-case scenario, we don’t hit it off. Then we can just glare at each other whenever we’re with the Maxwells until we grow old enough to laugh about how we went on that one date way back when.”
* * *
Their salads arrived, and around bites of food, he tried to keep up their conversation. It dawned on him just how little he knew about her. Since she didn’t have the same Tennessee drawl that he was accustomed to hearing, he asked, “Always lived in Nashville?”
She shook her head. “Grew up in a small town in Michigan. St. Ignace.”
“Can’t say I’ve heard of it,” he admitted.
Her chuckle made him smile. “Not many people have. I was really glad when Mom took a new job and moved us here when I was in middle school. Nashville just felt like home to me. I even went to college here. How about you?”
“Born and bred here. I did head to UK for college, though.”
Her brows gathered. “You mean University of Kentucky?”
Russ let out a laugh. “Guilty. I’m a Wildcat through and through. Had a football scholarship and then got drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.”
“Savannah told me that you played professional football.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He rolled his bad shoulder, which he did habitually whenever he thought about what had brought his mediocre career to a swift end. “Ripped my shoulder apart and had no choice but to hang up my pads. I was lucky Brad and Ethan let me throw in with them when they set up Words and Music.”
After setting her salad bowl aside, Josie dabbed her mouth with her napkin and then laid it across her lap again. “What do you do for fun?”
“I play my guitar.”
“You do?”
“Don’t look so surprised,” Russ said at her incredulous expression. “I’m from Nashville. Everyone here wants to be a star.”
“Have you ever sung at the bar?” she asked.
He couldn’t contain his amusement as he pictured the protests his partners would launch should Russ ever attempt to perform at Words & Music.
She cocked her head.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just…Ethan and Brad might let me play, but there’s no way they’d let me sing.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m horrible.”
“Horrible?” A chuckle slipped out. “You can’t be that bad, Russ.”
Thankfully, the waiter brought their entrées, which saved Russ from explaining that “horrible” might be an understatement. Brad had compared Russ’s singing to nails being scraped down a chalkboard.
* * *
As always, the food had been wonderful. Joslynn finally had to set her fork down. She’d enjoyed Russ’s company as they’d talked throughout dinner, but she kept getting stuck on one point.
“I have to say,” she commented, “that I think you’re telling me a fib.”
“A fib?”
She nodded. “Your speaking voice is so…smooth. I can’t believe you can’t sing well. Admit it. You have stage fright, right?”
His laughter echoed through the now almost deserted restaurant, a sound she found infectious. “I’m not about to prove it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d like to go on a second date with you.”
“And you think if I heard you sing I’d refuse?” she asked.
“Absolutely.” He leaned back, suddenly looking a bit nervous. “So what do you say, Josie? Want to go on a second date with me?”
“I would love to.”
Russ grabbed the check the moment the waiter tried to set it on the table.
“Hey,” Joslynn protested. “At least let me pay my part!”
“It’s on me,” he insisted. “I guess we can go ahead and tell our grandkids this was our first official date.”
“Moving a little quick there, aren’t you, Mr. Green?” she teased. “Grandkids when we haven’t even had a second date?”
“Just kidding,” he replied. “But I am a quick kind of guy. Ran the forty in under five seconds.”
That comment brought the conversation back to one of her favorite topics. “Do you still run?”
“Nah. I’m too lazy.” After taking the change from the waiter, Russ left a generous tip—something she always found classy, having waited tables while putting herself through college.
He came around to pull out her chair.
“If you want to handle that stress problem and get your blood pressure back in check, I could design a running program for you,” she offered. “Or better yet, yoga. It’s amazing to help keep stress down.”
When he took her hand and led her out of the restaurant, she got the most delicious shiver. There was no way she could deny the physical pull toward the man, which made her happy the evening had turned out as well as it had. Her original intent was to give him a setdown for his rude behavior. Instead, they’d shared a wonderful date that revealed a rare compatibility.
Russ snorted. “I’m too big and bulky for yoga.” He reached to open the passenger door for her.
Joslynn brushed his hand away, wanting to set her rules from the get-go. “Nice gesture, but too old-fashioned for me. If you don’t mind…”
“Just trying to be a gentleman.”
“You are, but you’re out with a liberated lady.”
At least the comment drew a smile. “Well, okay then. We’ll do it your way.”
“Thanks, Russ.” After she opened the door, she slid inside and buckled her seat belt, waiting for him to slide into the driver’s seat. Warming to the idea of teaching him yoga, she smiled as he fastened his seat belt. “Back to yoga, you’d be amazed at the people in my classes. All shapes and sizes. I have an eighty-two-year-old great-grandmother and a former Titan linebacker.”
After firing up the engine, he eased the SUV from the parking lot into the flow of traffic. “Your classes?”
“I teach a few times a week at the Brown Sports Complex.”
“I love that place. Great weight room.”
This time she was the one who snorted. “Weight room? You mean weight field house.”
She loved his chuckle. So warm and growly and downright masculine. “It’s amazing,” he said. “Any kind of workout you’d want.”
“I’d be happy to show you some moves,” she said before realizing how dirty that might have sounded.
His hand reached over to hold the one she had resting on her lap, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he chuckled again.
Her radar went up, and she tried to gently tug her hand back, wondering why the thought that he might be laughing at her bothered her so much.
He gave her a quick glance. “Josie? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She stopped trying to pull away. Just unusually sensitive.
“As much as the idea of me falling on my face when I try to learn that yoga stuff seems embarrassing, I might give it a try.”
A glance at the passing street made Joslynn ask, “Are we heading back to Words and Music?”
Russ nodded. “Figured it was getting late and you’d want to be heading home.”
Having no idea what time it was, she dragged her purse up from where it rested between her feet and set it on her lap. Then she started searching for her cell phone. She normally watched the time like a hawk, and it came as a bit of a shock to realize she’d been having such a good time in Russ’s company that she hadn’t bothered to check once.
When she finally found her phone in the bottom of the purse, she jerked it free. An envelope spilled out—the envelope with his discharge papers. The damn thing landed on the console between them.
Joslynn snatched it up and shoved it back in her purse.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Just some papers.”
“That envelope had my name on it.”
In big red letters, thanks to Francie.
There really wasn’t any need to hide it, since he had no idea why she’d brought it along. “They’re your discharge papers.”
He fired a skeptical look her direction. “Why didn’t you give them to me earlier?”
The way he asked the question left her with a dilemma. Tell him the truth about her plans or fib and claim she simply brought them along?
“Josie?” He kept stealing glances at her, concern in his eyes.
The growing silence stretched between them.
Joslynn heaved a sigh. “I was going to…lecture you.”
“Lecture me?”
Another sigh escaped as she realized her penchant for being truthful would probably bring a screeching halt to the tentative momentum they’d begun. But lying not only went against her grain; it was a terrible way to establish a friendship.
“I was peeved,” she admitted. “You ran out of the ER like you were on fire. You didn’t even wait for discharge instructions.”
“So?”
“I figured I could find you to scold you and…Oh, never mind.”
Brow furrowed, Russ pulled the SUV up next to her car. He killed the engine, turned to her, and held out his hand.
She picked up the envelope and gave it to him. “It’s really no big deal. In retrospect.”
He took a quick peek at the papers and then tossed the envelope in the backseat, where several empty sports drink bottles and a few wadded-up fast-food bags rested. “In retrospect?” There was an irritated thread to that normally pleasing voice.
“You know, before…” Joslynn couldn’t spit out the words. Opening up had never been easy for her. Being a private person, she couldn’t help but feel the need to close herself off now, before she became too vulnerable.
“Josie…” The thread of irritation was now clearly anger.
“Before…we connected,” she admitted. “Before tonight. Before this date.”
Russ sat there for moment, a frown on his face and his hands clenched. Then he opened his door and started to come around to her side.
She beat him to the punch since he was probably too pissed to remember to let her handle her own door. She met him behind the SUV. “I’m sorry, Russ.”
Folding his arms over his chest, he leaned back against his red Escape. There was a tick in his left cheek.
When he finally made eye contact with her, she was surprised to find no anger. If she read him correctly, he was feeling hurt, probably because she’d wanted to reprimand him.
Joslynn slid her hands into her jeans pockets. “Look, I was being stupid, okay? It was adolescent of me to think I could march up to you and scold you like a child because you stitched-and-ditched.”
Was that a hint of a smile on his lips? “Stitched-and-ditched?”
“Yeah, our ER lingo. You’d be amazed how many people want to get the heck away from us when their treatment is complete.” She shrugged. “I figured if I let you know how much you’d pissed me off…maybe I’d teach you a lesson on hospital etiquette.”
“So you lied about why you came to me?”
“I did. And I’m sorry.”
“Did you lie about anything else?” The question came out nearly a whisper.
She shook her head. “I had a great time tonight. Please don’t let something this petty ruin it.”
“I guess it all depends on one thing.”
“What one thing?”
Russ unfolded his arms and stood to his full height. “This.”
For a big man, he moved surprisingly fast. In one fluid motion, he’d snaked his arm around her waist, turned her back to his SUV, and put his lips on hers.
Joslynn’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she closed them in surrender. His lips were soft and warm, and she slowly put her arms around his neck.
Heart pounding, Russ couldn’t keep the kiss he gave Joslynn gentle. This wasn’t a first-date kiss. Instead, he pulled her closer and physically expressed all that he wasn’t able to say.
He couldn’t seem to hold back. He didn’t wait for her to open her lips for him. Instead, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, needing to know that what he’d felt tonight was real, that the connection wasn’t something he’d imagined.
Her tongue was every bit as insistent as it rubbed across his, and he growled deep in his throat. The sound must have emboldened her, because she continued the deep kiss as she pressed her breasts against his chest.
Russ had never been like Brad and Ethan in their earlier days. He hadn’t needed to date a bunch of women, and he sure as hell had never slept with one on a first date. Yet he wanted Josie so badly that he was considering asking her to come home with him right now.
Knowing he was close to losing all control, he forced himself to end the kiss. His ego loved that she cupped his face in her hands and pulled him down as she rose on tiptoes to put her lips against his again. A short and very sweet kiss that made him smile.
She was smiling too as they slowly separated. “Does that mean you forgive me?”
He nodded, still grinning as he put his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t grab her again.
“Then give me a call when you want to go out again.” She went to the passenger side and yanked her purse out of his car. “I should go.”
“Yeah, it’s getting late.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Can I have your number?”
She gave it to him and said, “I usually work nights, so don’t be surprised if I don’t return any calls or texts until late afternoon.”
“Got it.”
Russ followed her to her car. After she opened the door and got in the driver’s seat, he blocked the door with his body, unable to resist another quick kiss.
She was beaming when he closed the door and walked away.
* * *
Joslynn was still trembling when she pulled out of the parking lot.
How could one kiss—well, three, actually—have thrown her into such a state? Her breath was still choppy, and her core felt as though it were on fire. No man had ever been able to arouse her as quickly, and she wasn’t sure if she loved that Russ could get to her so strongly or hate that he had that kind of power over her.
She eased into traffic, trying to regain her composure.
Only one thing was for sure—she wanted to spend more time with him, to get to know him and see if the connection they’d felt had a chance to grow.
But first she needed to get rid of her boyfriend.