“Why do you have to leave me?” cried Anna. She stomped one heeled foot, thrusting out her lower lip as the bright blue drink sloshed over the rim of her glass. “Who is going to listen to me complain about my neighbors from hell or when I openly objectify the really hot pharmacy reps?”

Julia Hughes laughed at her coworker—well, her ex-coworker as of two hours ago. She and several of the nurses and staff from the center were at the bar a few blocks from where they worked, having a little going away party. Which was also turning into who was going to have the worse hangover in the morning.

Julia’s bets were on Anna.

“You still have Susan. She appreciates your tales of tribulations and she also likes checking out the reps.”

“Everyone likes checking them out, but you were the only single one left on our floor. I got to live vicariously through imagining you going out with them and having that nasty kind of sex that makes you walk funny afterward.”

Almost choking on her champagne, Julia lowered her glass.

Anna grinned and then took a healthy gulp of her drink. “And I can’t try to fix Susan up with any of them.”

“Lucky her, because those dates never turned out well,” Julia reminded her. Those dates had turned out really boring or ended up being no shows. There had been no in-betweens, and definitely no nasty sex that had left her needing a Tylenol the next day.

Julia leaned forward, placing her elbows on the round, high-top table. The hum of rock music grew louder while their group had spread throughout the bar. The congratulations cake someone had brought with them had been consumed within minutes of it being revealed. “I am going to miss you guys,” she said, drawing in a deep, stinging breath.

“I really can’t believe you’re doing this.” Anna leaned into her, sighing.

In all honesty, a huge part of Julia couldn’t believe she had quit her safe, secure nursing job and taken an in-home one several states away, in a different time zone. The decision had been so entirely out of character that her parents thought she was having some kind of midlife crisis a decade too soon.

The decision to apply for a traveling nursing job had been fueled by an empty bottle of wine and . . . a keen sense of desperation, a deep, almost all-consuming need for something, anything in her life to change. She’d almost forgotten about applying at the agency, so the call that came a week ago had been a shock. There was a job in Louisiana, in home, and offered the kind of pay that nearly floored her.

Julia’s initial reaction was to turn it down, but she didn’t listen to that dumb voice that kept her up late at night, the voice that caused every step of her life to be too measured and overcautious. So after signing a ton of forms, including a slew of nondisclosures that the agency assured her were common with certain situations, today had been her final day at the assisted living facility where she’d worked for the last three years. And that also meant that today was the last day of normalcy for her, because she’d done the unthinkable.

Well, at least for her it was since she’d lived like she was scared.

Scared of nothing in particular, but pretty much everything out there. She’d been scared of leaving home for college, scared of finishing her schooling and taking her first “real” job. Scared of flying. Scared of driving on highways. She’d feared that first date all those years ago that turned out to be one of the worse decisions in her life. And she’d been scared of leaving the person who had been chipping away at little pieces of her every day of her life.

Being scared hadn’t meant that she didn’t force herself to get over the fear, but it usually made her overanalyze and overthink every decision she made. It made things harder and it made accomplishing these things even more important.

She wasn’t living like that anymore—like she was seventy years old and had buried the love of her life three years ago instead of divorcing him, which was what had happened. These last three years had felt like she’d given up, was going quietly into the night.

Not anymore.

Most of her clothing had been shipped ahead and tomorrow she was boarding a plane.

“I’m proud of you,” Anna said, angling her body toward hers. “I’m going to miss you like hell, but I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed, blinking back tears. She and Anna had grown close over the years. She knew what Julia had gone through with her ex. She knew how much of a big deal this was.

Anna leaned in again, kissing Julia’s cheek. Then she planted her chin on Julia’s shoulder. “What time is your flight?”

“It’s at ten, but I have to leave early to get to the airport.”

“But you don’t have to work first thing in the morning, so you know what that means?” Straightening, she tipped the bottom of Julia’s glass toward her mouth. “Time to drink up and get silly before we both end up crying in the corner of the bar like two losers. And we don’t want that.”

“No one wants that.” Grinning, she did just that. Well, sort of. Julia wasn’t much of a drinker, mainly because she didn’t like the idea of not having control of herself and she usually stuck to wine while she was at home. So she finished off her champagne and then halfway through the second flute of the bubbly stuff, her blood was cheerfully buzzing.

A few other nurses joined their table, and Anna disappeared to play a game of darts over on the other side of the bar. Julia tried to keep track of her, but as it grew later in the evening, the crowd thickened. She caught glimpses of the petite blonde every so often and the man she was playing darts with. He was tall, but then again, everyone standing next to Anna looked tall. His dark-colored shirt stretched over broad shoulders as he lifted an arm to throw a dart. Even from where Julia was standing, she could see how well formed his biceps were.

Whoever he was, he had a nice back.

Shaking her head, she refocused on the convo around her. Anna was married—happily so. She was just all over the place and made friends everywhere she went.

Everyone was talking about the new owners who’d taken over at the beginning of the year. All of them had been worried, unsure of what it meant long-term. Obviously, she didn’t have to worry about it anymore, but she was relieved for her coworkers that the new owners seemed to know what they were doing.

Since Julia had never done the traveling nurse gig and was unsure if she would take another after this upcoming assignment ended, she had no idea what to expect from her new employers. She answered to the agency she was hired through, but she also would answer to the family she would work for.

Toying with the base of her glass, she stopped her mind from wandering to what was going to happen tomorrow. She was nervous, understandably so, but she couldn’t allow herself to freak out. If she did, she’d start to panic and then she would second and third guess herself. At this point, it was too late to do—

“Julia!” chirped Anna a second before she grabbed her arm from behind. “There is someone I need you to meet.”

Oh God.

Whenever Anna had someone she needed her to meet, it was usually some eccentric rando she virtually just ran into that Julia really didn’t want to meet. Swallowing a groan, she slowly turned around and nearly dropped her glass as her gaze moved from Anna’s flushed, excited face to the man standing next to her.

Julia’s eyes widened as she got an eyeful of the stranger. Holy mother . . . It was like her brain short-circuited and emptied of all useful thought. It was the man Anna had been playing darts with. She knew this because it was the same dark shirt that turned out to be a thermal with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows, and he was tall. Not just because he was standing next to a demented pixie at the moment, but he was a good foot or so taller than Julia, and she wasn’t a short woman.

This man, whoever he was, was absolutely stunning.

He had a ruggedness about him. High and broad cheekbones and a well-formed mouth with a perfect cupid’s bow. A slight scruff of hair covered a jaw that looked like it was cut from marble. His golden brown hair was wavy along the top and cut shorter along the sides. She bet his hair was almost as blond as Anna’s in the daylight. Based on what she could imagine under that thermal and those dark jeans, she figured his body was just as amazing as his face.

And those eyes framed by impossibly thick lashes? They were such a beautiful mix of blue and green, reminding Julia of warm oceans and summer.

He stood there, staring at her with those eyes, his shoulders loose, but she got the wild, distinct impression that he was coiled tight, ready to strike even though everything about him appeared relaxed.

Did Anna find this fine specimen of a man at the dart boards? Julia needed to spend more time by them if this was the kind of guys who . . .

“Julia—Jules, this is . . .” Anna’s blue eyes glinted with excitement as she twisted her toward the most beautiful man Julia had ever seen in her entire life. “I’m sorry. What did you say your name was again?”

How in the world could Anna forget this man’s name? Once Julia heard it, it would be forever tattooed into her brain.

He smiled then, and every part of Julia’s body took notice, from the crown of her head, all the way down to the tips of her toes, and especially all the unused places in between. His smile was crooked, the left side rising higher than the right, and absolutely heart-stopping. “Taylor.”

Oh my.

His voice.

Deep and smooth, there was a hint of accent. Perhaps southern? Julia didn’t know, but Taylor had it going on and on and on.

“Taylor! That’s right.” Anna was grinning like a cat that just ate a room full of canaries. “Anyway, this is the lovely and very single Julia I was telling you about.”

Did she just say what it sounded like? Very single? Was Anna drunk? Did she not see what this guy looked like? Not that Julia was a flaming garbage fire. She had what her mother always claimed were symmetrical features. Her face just lined up right, and a lot of people commented on her hair. A lot. Some even wanted to touch it, which was super weird, but whatever. It was long and thick, falling in waves beyond her breasts. Right now it was twisted up in a messy bun. She’d only had time to change after work and not do anything with it. Anyway, she knew she was decent-looking, but she was not modelesque by any means—not the kind of woman she could easily picture Taylor with. The kind of woman who was either tall or tiny, but definitely slender with curves only in the “right” places. The type of body Julia was rocking went out of style before she was even born.

“Hi.” Taylor extended a hand. “I’m very pleased to meet you.”

Her gaze dropped from his face to his hand and then up again. His lopsided grin grew as he waited while she just stood there, gawking at him like an idiot. Snapping out of the stupor, she managed to lift her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

His fingers closed around hers in a tight grasp. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Yes,” Anna answered for her. “You can most definitely get her a drink.”

She was going to kill Anna.

Taylor bit down on his lower lip. “What would you like?”

Mumbling out some drink she wasn’t even sure she’d ever consumed before, she realized he was still holding her hand.

He stepped in and dipped his head low so his mouth lined up with her ear. When he spoke, his breath stirred the tiny wisps of hair, sending a wave of tight shivers down her spine. “Don’t run off.”

Her breath caught. “I won’t.”

“Promise?” He squeezed her hand gently.

“Promise,” she repeated.

“Good.” He drew back, his gaze seeking and holding hers for a moment. “Be right back.”

Only then did he let go of her hand.

Absolutely stunned, she watched him pivot around and prowl off toward the bar, parting the crowds of people like some kind of god. In all the twenty-seven years of her life, she’d never seen anyone that attractive in person.

“Oh my God, I think I just had an orgasm watching that,” Anna said.

Julia’s wide eyes found her.

She clapped her hands and hopped.

“Where did you find him?” Julia asked. “Like did you order him out of catalog called What Fantasies Are Made of?”

Anna giggled. “I was getting a refill—water, might I add, and he asked if I played darts. Of course, I said yes. I had to, because I needed to see if he was actually real.”

She totally understood that. She was having a hard time believing he was real.

“Anyway, I played a game and you know what?”

“What?” Her gaze moved over her head. She spotted Taylor still at the bar.

Anna grabbed her arm again. “He asked about you, Julia.”

“What?”

She nodded. “He asked ‘who was the beautiful woman I was talking to earlier’ and that was you. That was no one else. And that was why he sought me out to play darts. I was used.” She grinned. “And I’m okay with that. You know why?”

Julia could barely process any of this. “Why?”

“Because he’s interested in you and this is your last night in this town, so you will go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants. Like anything.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “Even anal. ’Cuz I’d allow that. Oh yeah.”

“Oh my God.” Julia laughed. “You’re insane. I don’t even know him—”

“My sweet summer child,” she said, and Julia frowned. “You don’t need to know him to get down with him. That man is fine. Like he’s not even human that’s how good-looking he is, and the whole time we played darts, he was eyeing you from across the bar.”

He had been? “This . . . this can’t be real.”

“It is. Julia, I know you’ve had a dry spell—a really long dry spell—and your ex was an ass, but it’s time for you to spread your horny wings wide and fly free, baby. This man, this sexy man is—”

“Stop.” Her heart jumped in her chest as she saw Taylor walking across the floor. “He’s coming back.”

Anna clamped her mouth shut, but eyed her in the way that said she would never forgive her if she somehow messed this up. She didn’t get a chance to really think any of this through, because Taylor was stepping around Anna, handing Julia a drink that smelled fruity.

“I’m happy you’re where I left you,” he said, leaning against the table. “I was worried you were going to run off.”

“No,” she said, glancing at Anna quite helplessly.

“Yeah,” he replied, grinning.

What was she supposed to say now? Or do? Thank God, she’d changed into a cute black dress, one with an empire waist and sleeves that reached her elbow. It was an old dress, but one she always felt good in. Now, if she’d only had the foresight to wear something other than the cotton panties that had skulls on them.

Oh my God.

Why was she even thinking that?

This guy was not seeing her skull-covered panties.

Julia saw Anna back away slowly, leaving them alone. Sipping her drink, she searched for a response that didn’t make her sound half stupid. “Why would you think that?”

That was the best she could come up with.

“Honest?” His lashes lowered, briefly shielding those amazing eyes. “You look half afraid.”

Her cheeks flushed once more. “Is it that obvious?”

“So you’re afraid?” he asked, lifting the bottle of beer to his mouth.

Didn’t seem possible, but she flushed even more. “I wouldn’t say I’m afraid. Just . . . just surprised.”

“I have no idea why you’d be surprised,” he replied, then took a drink. “I noticed you the moment I came in. I’m sure I’m not the only one. You’re absolutely stunning.”

Okay.

This guy was good, real good. With the way he said that, it sounded like the truth. Flattery usually didn’t work on her, but coming from him? It just might. “That’s sweet of you,” she said, and then took a long drink of whatever the hell she’d ordered.

“I’m not sweet. I just speak the truth.” Angling his body toward her, he placed his beer on the table. “So your friend was telling me that you all are nurses.”

Nodding, she told herself to take it slow with the drink since she could taste the bite of liquor in it. “Yes. We work at an assisted living facility not too far from here—well, I used to. Today is my last day.”

“She was saying something like that,” he said. “That this was a little going away party.”

“Yep.” She sipped her drink. “I’m actually leaving town—the state tomorrow.”

“Really? Where are you heading to?” Interest flickered across his face.

She almost blurted out Louisiana, but stopped herself at the last moment. For one thing, she didn’t know Too Hot To Be Real Taylor. Beyond that though, the NDA she signed was hardcore. The only people who knew what city and state she was going to were her parents. Anna only knew it was Louisiana.

“I’m taking a job in the south,” she finally answered and then quickly changed the subject to him. “What about you? Do you live around here?”

Picking up his bottle, he shook his head. “I’m in town on business. Doing some research.”

“Research?” Was he in the medical field or a journalist? Possibly a writer of some sort?

He took a sip of his beer. “Have you always done assisted living care?”

“No. When I got out of college, I worked at a hospital and did emergency care,” she told him, glancing over her shoulder. She couldn’t see Anna anymore. “I worked in that for about two to three years.”

“Wow. That had to be intense.”

“It can be. I mean, you’ll have nights where you’re dealing with nothing but stomach complaints that sometimes turn out to be something serious, but usually is the flu or something bad that the person ate. Then there’d be nights where it can be pretty tough.”

His gaze roamed over her face in a way that was intensely consuming, leaving her a little breathless once his gaze connected with hers again. “So, why did you leave it?”

Swallowing hard, she lifted her glass and took another drink. Wasn’t like she could tell him it was because when she left her husband, she left the town they lived in and her job. Not like that had stopped Adam from trying to get in contact with her every couple of months like clockwork. That had only stopped when she finally changed her number and didn’t give it out to any of their mutual friends. Deep down, she’d known he would learn about her leaving and flip, because that was the way he was. Her stomach plummeted at the thought.

Damn, all of that was a mood killer.

She pushed all that aside. “I kind of wanted to do something different and be closer to my family.”

“Family’s a big thing for you?”

“It is. I’m an only child, so I was spoiled.” Her stomach dipped again when he laughed, but it was a way different feeling because his laugh was deep and nice. The sensation it caused was like being on a roller coaster right as you reached the peak of the ride and were about to zoom all the way back down. “Okay. I wasn’t really spoiled, but I’m close to my parents. They’re good people.”

“Then you’re lucky,” he said. “Not a lot of people get to say that.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not one of those people.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

His head tilted to the side as he studied her intently for the moment. “You sound like you’re actually speaking the truth.”

“Maybe because I am?” she suggested.

“You feel sympathy for virtual strangers?”

“Of course. Everyone should.” She stepped to the side as someone walked past their table, causing the wristlet her phone was in to press into her hip. “At least that’s what I believe.”

“I agree.”

“That’s good to hear, because—” Words left her as he reached across the distance with a free hand, catching the strand of hair that had slipped free from the bun and had fallen across her cheek. Her lips parted on a soft inhale as he tucked the strand behind her ear.

“Fixed it,” he said, as his hand dropped and his fingers lingered along the side of her neck. “Though I bet your hair is gorgeous down.”

Her cheeks felt warm. She had no idea how to respond, not when his fingers ghosted down the side of her neck, the touch like a whisper.

“Did you always want to be a nurse?” he asked.

A handful of moments passed before she could answer. “I . . . I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger, like my dad, but I couldn’t deal with having to put animals down.”

“Yeah, that’s a rough job. I couldn’t do it either.”

“Do you . . . do you have any pets?” she asked, feeling a bit foolish for asking. Was that as lame as asking what kind of sports team he liked? She really hoped the conversation didn’t go in that direction, because she so did not pay attention to sports.

“I don’t. Not home a lot. What about you?”

“Me neither, but I would like to one day. I’ve always had this dream of owning an animal rescue.” She laughed again, this time feeling a little self-conscious, because she had no idea why she was blathering on about this. “You know, when I win the lottery and have millions of dollars I don’t need.”

A grin teased at his lips. “So that’s what you’d spend millions on?”

“Yes. I mean, what else would I need the money for?” Though, she did have an obsession with designer purses she couldn’t afford, but he didn’t need to know that.

“What kind of animals would you rescue?”

“All kinds of animals.”

“Even goldfish?”

“If they needed rescuing, then yes,” she answered, grinning.

He shifted closer. “What about snakes?”

“Them too, and yes, even rodents. All life is precious.”

His brows lifted in surprise. “Okay, so you’re either a vegan, religious, or you practice aikido?”

Giggling, she shook her head as she looked away. “No, I heard that on an episode of The Walking Dead. Sorry. I like meat, not very religious, and I’m not that deep.”

Taylor laughed, and she had to fight back a sigh again. It was such a nice laugh. “Shit. Well, glad to hear all three of those things.”

Glancing around the bar, she still couldn’t find Anna in the ever-increasing throng of people. Where in the hell did she go?

“Do you like working in assisted living?” he asked, and when she looked at him, her gaze dipped to his mouth. She had a hard time not wondering what it would feel like against hers, against other places.

Her entire body flushed hot. God, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt such a visceral reaction to someone who hadn’t even really touched her. There had only ever been Adam, and while sex with him had been okay, just thinking about doing it hadn’t caused her pulse to beat as wildly as it was now.

“Ms. Hughes?” Taylor grinned.

Drawing in a deep breath, she decided she should probably stop drinking at this point, so she had a better chance of getting control of her hormones. “Yeah, I do.”

“Why?”

Boy, wasn’t he a bucket full of questions. She placed her drink on the table. “I kind of fell into it at first. When I moved back home, it was one of the immediate openings,” she admitted, running a finger along the bottom of the glass. “And it just clicked.”

“That kind of line of work has to be hard.” Turning toward the table, he placed his elbows on the surface and leaned in. “I mean, a lot of the patients are, I guess, nonresponsive? Is that the right word for it?”

“Some of them are, but there’s different levels.” She peeked over at him, and found that he was watching her the same way he had been since they started talking. It was intense. Made her feel like there wasn’t a single word she was speaking that he missed. His attention was simply undivided. “There are patients that need their basic functions assisted with and others who are there, but . . . but not completely.”

He nodded slowly. “So what made it stick for you?”

That was a hard question to answer. “I think it has to do with the fact that some of these patients don’t have anyone else. I mean, it’s not that their family doesn’t care or isn’t there, but a lot of people don’t know how to deal with someone who is that sick. So they need someone who understands—you know? Like even if someone can’t respond or communicate, that doesn’t mean they can’t hear you. That they’re not in there thinking—”

“Some of your patients couldn’t communicate but could hear you?”

“Yep. Different diseases. There are syndromes where people are locked in. Hell, there’s research supporting that people in certain types of comas can hear those around them,” she explained. “Others can’t, but either way, these people need those who . . . who just are just willing to care for them.” She flushed a little, feeling like a cornball.

“And that’s what you do? You care for them.”

Julia did. Sometimes more than she should. It was hard to turn off human nature. Losing patients still wasn’t something that was easy to deal with. “Yeah.”

He studied her for a moment and then a wide smile broke out across his face. It was breathtaking. Toothpaste commercials would be envious. “Well, got to be honest, there’s never been any nurses that looked like you whenever I had to see a doctor.” He winked, and damn if he didn’t look good doing it. “Probably a good thing, because I’d be coming up with all kinds of reasons to visit the doctor then.”

A surprised laugh burst out of her as she turned back to him. “Oh whatever.”

“No. I’m serious. I’d start with a stomachache and then probably escalate to stubbing a finger or two, but swearing it was broken.”

Laughing again, she shook her head. “You must have really good insurance then.”

“Something like that.” And somehow he was even closer, less than a foot separated them. “I’m about to say what’s on my mind. You ready for that?”

“I guess.” She held on tight to her drink, her heart kicking all over the place. What was he going to say?

He did what he’d done before, lowering his head so that his mouth was near her ear. Tiny bumps rose all over her skin as she now caught the scent of spicy cologne and clean soap, a surprisingly intoxicating mix. “The whole time we’ve been standing here talking, I’ve been wondering about how those beautiful lips of yours would taste.”

Her heart did a cartwheel while her brain tried to process that he really did say that.

“And I’ve also been thinking this whole time that your lips aren’t the only things I want to taste.”

Holy smokes.

All coherent thought belly-flopped out of the window.

He drew back only a few inches, lining up their mouths in a way that their breaths mingled. “Is that too forward?”

Yes.

No.

Julia shook her head no. She had no control over her head.

“Glad to hear that.” Taylor pulled back, his lips curved up on one side.

She jerked, startled as her phone vibrated against the side of her stomach. “Excuse me,” she murmured, flustered and more than welcoming of a distraction, because every part of her was way focused on the idea of him tasting her lips and so much more.

She fumbled, digging the slim phone out of the pouch. The screen was still lit from the text message. It was from Anna. She had to read it twice, because she didn’t think she had read it correctly.

“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. She was going to kill Anna.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

She gave a little shake of her head, torn between laughing and cursing again. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t sound that way.” He bumped his arm against hers. “What’s going on?”

Exhaling roughly, she slipped her phone back into her purse. “My friend—Anna? The one you were playing darts with? She kind of bailed on me.”

“Let me guess? She was your ride home?” he asked, dipping his chin as he leaned in again, pressing his arm against hers and staying there.

“Yep.” Julia didn’t move away.

The lopsided grin returned. “I can take you home. Only had this drink.”

Her gaze flicked to his as the muscles low in her stomach clenched. Him take her home? Would he plan on . . . tasting her? Okay. She really needed to stop thinking about all of that. “Thank you, but it’s okay. I can get a cab or—”

“Or you could let me take you home. After all, isn’t that what your clever friend wanted by leaving you here to fend for yourself?” Unfolding one arm, he reached over and tapped his finger off the top of her hand. “At least I hope so, because it’s what I want.”

Her lips parted as she stared at him.

“Actually, I’d love to take you home, Julia.” That finger slid up her over her wrist, up to the sleeve of her dress. “I’d love to spend a little more time with you.”

Julia’s heart was pounding all over the place as she stared into his eyes, getting a little lost all over again. She knew what he was offering wasn’t just a ride home, and that caused the pounding in her chest to move much, much lower. Her body flushed hot at the prospect.

“Say yes,” he said, trailing his finger back down her arm. Taylor traced the bone of her wrist.

Her mouth dried. Saying yes was the last thing she would normally do. Like dead last, but there was a little voice in the back of her head that was screaming yes, that was demanding that she not do what she’d normally do.

That instead, she’d do what Anna had ordered, spread her horny bird wings wide and fly a little. Could she really do it? Then her mouth and tongue were moving before she even realized what she was doing.

Julia said yes.