“What was your car doing at Road Dogs this afternoon?”

I set the scotch neat in front of my boyfriend, although he wasn’t going to be for long if he kept up this jealous, where the hell were you thing he’d been dishing out lately. “I’m working here, Chad. Drink this and then go away.” Road Dogs was a biker bar. Not my kind of place, which he should know by now.

“Careful, Jenn.” He sucked half the drink down his throat, then swiped a hand across his mouth. “Ben said he saw your car there.”

“Then Ben’s wrong. Ever think of that?” I walked away before I decided to punch my soon-to-be ex in the nose. I poured two glasses of merlot for the couple at the end of the bar, making small talk with them while trying to ignore Chad. The jerk was going to get me fired if he didn’t leave. I’d known for a few weeks that our relationship was on its last legs, but I’d put off making a clean break.

Unless you wanted to make the forty-minute drive east to Asheville, North Carolina, Vincennes was the place to eat—and be seen—in my neck of the woods. You couldn’t beat Angelo’s Italian food, and if you wanted to hear the latest town gossip, you came to Vincennes. I loved working here, but Angelo hated drama. I’d told Chad that numerous times, but he didn’t seem to care.

Blue Ridge Valley was a small North Carolina town close to the Tennessee state line, and good paying jobs were scarce. Many of my classmates had moved to Asheville or other big cities in North or South Carolina offering better opportunities, but I’d landed a waitressing job at Vincennes, where the tips were good. As soon as I was of age, Angelo had put me behind the bar, a job I loved and didn’t want to lose. I was too close to reaching my goal to have it snatched away now.

“Another,” Chad said, pushing his glass to the end of the counter.

Not happening. I leaned my face close to his, keeping my voice low. “That was not me. Go home now. Or go find some other woman to annoy. I don’t really care which, but if you don’t leave, I’ll never speak to you again. And if you get me fired, I swear to God I’ll kill you.”

The two women sitting to his left—one of which I recognized as the head of our chamber of commerce—widened their eyes, and I realized I hadn’t kept my voice as low as I’d intended.

“Not something you should be saying in front of witnesses, Red.”

My gaze swung to the man who slid into the seat next to Chad, and I did a classic double take. He had to be a figment of my imagination. No man that drop-dead gorgeous would ever walk into a bar in my small mountain town without some kind of hot-guy alert lighting up the phones, announcing his arrival.

Stupid Chad took one look at the newcomer and apparently decided to lay his claim by grabbing my hand, bringing my fingers to his lips for a kiss. What a toad.

I almost told him off, but the lounge was busy, some people having a drink while waiting for their table, others eating their dinner at the long bar. If I said anything to make him mad, there’d be a scene, and that was the last thing I needed.

“I’ll be back when you get off, babe.”

“Don’t bother,” I said, and deciding the best thing to do was make myself scarce until he left, I headed for the kitchen.

“Jenn,” Chad called after me, but I kept going.

After loading up bread and salads for the two couples eating at the bar, I peeked out the oval window of the swinging door. Chad was gone. I let out a relieved breath.

He was a good-looking guy, and he’d been nice when we’d first started dating. That was two months ago, and sometime during the last few weeks he’d started acting like he owned me. He knew my plans, ones I wouldn’t change for any man. On our first date I’d made it clear that I wasn’t looking for a serious relationship and why. We were only supposed to be having a little fun for a few months.

“I’m not looking for serious, either,” he’d said. “My focus right now is on my career, on building my client list.”

It had seemed the perfect setup. Someone fun to date until it was time to go. The fun had stopped, though, and since cavemen weren’t my thing, it was time to break things off with him. I didn’t doubt he’d be sitting outside my apartment when I got home, which would put him in a pissy mood. He’d been asking for a key to my place so he could wait for me in the comfort of my home, but I’d put him off each time he brought it up.

How did I get myself in these messes? It wasn’t the first time I’d made a poor choice when it came to men. Once I got rid of this one, I was going to swear off the creatures. For a while anyway. I mean, what girl who loves sex—which I did—could live without them forever?

I pushed the swinging door open with my butt while holding plates of salad and breadbaskets. Once my two couples had everything they needed, I turned to the stranger who hadn’t gotten any less hot in the few minutes I’d been away from the bar.

“What can I get you?”

Eyes the color of dark Tennessee whiskey met mine, rested there a few lingering seconds, then moved to the bottles lining the shelves. “I’ll have a Green Man.”

“Good choice.” Green Man was brewed at one of Ashville’s many microbreweries, and it was my favorite beer. Not that it meant anything. Liking the same beer was probably the only thing we had in common.

“No mug, Jenny,” he said when I pulled one from the small freezer under the bar.

I slid the opened bottle in front of him. “My friends call me Jenn.”

“He called you Jenn. I’ll call you Jenny.” One side of his mouth curved up. “Or Red.”

That lopsided smile of his curled my toes, my resolution to swear off men forgotten. And the way Jenny rolled off his tongue—soft and intimate, like there was no one in the room but him and me—almost had me licking my lips. I already liked him for not wanting to call me Jenn simply because Chad had. The man was scoring points without even trying.

He held out his hand. “I’m Dylan Conrad.”

And of course he would have a sexy name. I stared at that masculine hand with the blunt-tipped nails on the ends of his long fingers, thinking it would be a big mistake to touch him. With all the electricity sparking around us, we might ignite on contact, but he kept it there in the space between us. I glanced up to see him watching me, and the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled. It was as if he could read me and was amused.

You’re being ridiculous, Jenn. It was only a hand he was offering, not his body, which was all hard lines and muscles. The second I put my hand in his, I almost jerked it away when some kind of weird spark actually did shoot up my arm.

I think he felt it, too, because his eyes widened for a millisecond. If I hadn’t been watching him, I’d have missed his reaction. His fingers curled over mine, his touch feeling so intimate and warm that for a moment the world around me faded away. I gave a little shake of my head, banishing any interest I might have in this man. My plans wouldn’t change, even for a man with whiskey-colored eyes and a lopsided grin.

“Nice to meet you, Dylan.” I pulled my hand away. Where had I heard his name? For the life of me, I couldn’t remember.

He sent me that killer smile again, and I had the urge to rub my chest, right over where my heart had decided to skip a beat or two. The man was decidedly dangerous if he could make my heart misbehave like that. The big question: did I want to encourage him? I almost laughed at myself. Obviously banishing him from my mind hadn’t worked if I was asking that. Brandy, one of the waitresses, brought out the dinners for my two couples, and I gratefully turned my attention to her.

“Thanks, hon,” I said, getting busy filling drink orders from the waitstaff. While I mixed and shook martinis, poured carafes of wine, and uncapped bottles of locally brewed beers, I could feel Dylan’s eyes on me. I couldn’t resist adding a little sway to my hips when I walked to the other end of the bar to take a drink order.

He had to be a tourist, so no harm in a little flirtation. Whatever might or might not happen, though, took second place to adding to my travel account.

As soon as I had a sufficient amount saved, I was taking off to see the world. It had been our dream, Natalie’s and mine, for as long as I could remember, and I had a promise to keep.

We’d grown up in the valley, but my twin and I had both had wanderlust. We’d gone to Greece, the trip a graduation present from our parents. The first week had been awesome. Then my world had changed forever. I bowed my head to clear it of memories of her. This wasn’t the time or place to fall apart.

“Ready for another one?” I asked Dylan, finally turning to him once I could speak without my voice quivering. And there went that damn smile that curled my toes. It occurred to me to wonder why a man as hot as him was on vacation alone. Lots of hikers passed through Blue Ridge Valley, so maybe he planned to hike the Appalachian Trail.

“I’m good, Red.” He pulled out a ten, sticking it under the empty bottle. “See you around.”

I couldn’t resist watching him walk away, my gaze mostly on his butt—and what a fine one it was. He was tall, lean in all the right places, and muscled everywhere a man should be. His hair was dark brown, cut close to his head. A good look on him. At the door he paused long enough to glance back and wink. Busted. He’d known I was eyeing him. My cheeks heated. I prayed he was too far away to notice my blush.

“That’s one fine specimen,” Brandy said, coming to stand next to me.

“Yeah, and he probably knows it.” Although I hadn’t got that impression, I was looking for faults. That one would do for a start. Hopefully he really was a tourist and I’d never see him again. The man would be entirely too easy to fall for.