Flawed Beauty (2 page)

Dave turned to Tate, “Tate, this is
our newest recruit for the band - Dr.
Jace
Staton
.
Jace
, this water goddess
is Tate Morgan.” Turning to
Jace
, Dave said, “I think
you might have your work cut out for you here. Tate doesn’t date doctors or
guys in the band.”

With a brief nod to
Jace
, she blushed, waved Dave’s comment aside, and said automatically.
“Hi. Welcome to Zeal’s.”

“Thanks, it’s certainly been
exciting so far. I thought I’d have to actually sing first before getting
beamed by a flying bottle,” he said with his dimpled smile.

She found it hard to form complete
sentences when he smiled at her. It was like her brain misfired or something.
So instead of answering, she just gave him a quick, embarrassed smile and
turned back to Dave. “There’s most of your water. Let me know if you need
anything else, okay?”

At Dave’s nod, she turned and began
to circle back around her assigned tables. As much as she didn’t want to, she
couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing repeatedly to where
Jace
Staton
stood, helping to set up the band’s equipment.
There was something about him, some unknown quality he exuded that drew her
attention to him. Not that it mattered – even if she actually dated at all –
there would always be two things she avoided: customers with grabby hands, and
guys who played in the band – even if he was a yummy doctor –
especially
since he was a yummy doctor.

Within the next half hour, the band
began to play and people began to migrate to the dance floor, thus giving Tate
a much-needed break. Not that her work stopped just because there weren’t as
many drinks to sling. Walking around the room, Tate began to police her tables
in her easy, efficient manner, picking up the empty bottles and glasses and
wiping down the vacated tables.

She’d stepped behind the bar to help
Thor wash glasses when the pulsing music slowed and the lights dimmed. Tate
looked up from her task to find
Jace
Staton
sitting on a backless barstool, spotlighted on the
stage, with one heel caught on the bottom rung of the stool, and the other foot
planted firmly on the stage.

He licked his lips and rubbed a hand
down his thigh. She smiled at what appeared to a small case of nerves on the
good doctor’s part. Instead of taking away from his charm, it made him even
more irresistible. His insecurity added a more human quality to the godlike
creature.

With a soulful voice, he began to
sing a nineties Jon Bon
Jovi
song,
Bed of Roses
.
His voice was just as beautiful as he was. By the time he reached the first
chorus, the music had taken over him. He exuded so much passion, you believed
every word he sang – and that it was being sung directly to you. It took a
chuckle coming from Thor for her to realize she was standing with a glass
pressed against her chest, mooning after
Jace
. With a
shake of her head at her own susceptibility, she grinned back, and continued on
with her task. As she glanced around the bar, Tate saw she wasn’t the only
female enamored with his sexy voice. And this would be why she didn’t date guys
in a band. Dr.
Jace
Staton
was too good-looking for his own good.

During the next four sets, Tate
delivered drink after drink, and shot after shot, to the delectable doctor from
all his admiring
female
fans. She lined them up on the rail in front of
him, but he never touched them. Looking at the long line of drinks, it once
again confirmed her wisdom about not dating a guy in the band.
Nothing but heartache there.

Firmly placing the luscious Dr.
Jace
Staton
out of her mind, Tate
set about doing the job she was paid to do. By the end of the night, both her
feet and back ached. She was happy when Last Call was finally announced. She
was exhausted. And just to think, tomorrow night would be even busier than
tonight. As she ushered the final guests out of the bar, she began the task of
wiping down the tables, and flipping and setting the chairs on top of the
table. Once the floor was swept, she and the other four waitresses could sit at
the bar and have a well-deserved nightcap before she headed upstairs to her
apartment.

She’d given the floor a last push of
the broom and turned to grab her drink, her
free
drink, when she
realized the band members were all still at the bar, including Dr.
Jace
Staton
. He was leaning
against the bar, smiling, as Reggie and Natasha, two of the other waitresses,
flirted outrageously with him. Purposefully, she slid into a stool several feet
away from his group. He raised his stunning blue eyes to her and smiled,
causing her heart to stop. She blushed and looked quickly away.

“What’ll you have?
Your
usual?” Thor asked from behind the bar.

“Please,” she murmured.

Thor set the glass of red wine on
the bar and asked, “How’s things at the gym?”

“Good, thanks. I’m thinking about
branching out a little. Maybe take some classes to become a personal trainer.”

“Where would you possibly find the
time?”

She laughed. “I guess I’ll sleep
when I’m dead.”

“Don’t spread yourself too thin,
little girl, you’re looking a little tired.” Thor said, concerned.

For some reason, Tate rubbed against
a snag in her chest from his words.

“I won’t.”

As she sat talking to Thor,
periodically, she felt
Jace’s
gaze on her, but she
steadfastly ignored him. She didn’t need the complication she knew he’d bring…
or the heartache and disappointment. She finished her wine and then slipped
unobtrusively away. The last thing she heard as she headed out the door was Dr.
Jace
Staton
laughing, no
doubt at something witty one of the other girls had said. She wished she could
be like that… natural and easy around men – around him.

§§§

After teaching her eight a.m.
self-defense class, Tate hopped on her ten-speed bike and headed out. The sun
beat down on her as she rode down the endless bike trail lining the highway.
Spring was well and truly here and Tate was happy to be in short sleeves. She
leaned forward and pushed her body to its extreme, striving to beat her record
from the weekend before. She peddled fast and furious and panted heavily as she
passed her self-imposed finish line. Lifting the bulky watch on her wrist, she
glanced at the time. Exhilaration flooded her. She’d beat her own time. Sitting
up straight in her seat, she raised both arms in the famous Rocky Balboa pose.

As she rode, she thought briefly of
the luscious Dr.
Staton
. The way his eyes had
crinkled when he’d openly mocked her for staring at him. A different persona
had seemed to fall over him, though, as he sang. She could tell singing was
important to him. When he sang, a type of vulnerability came over him, which
made him endearing. That vulnerability was in direct opposition to what he
normally presented – that of being strong and overwhelming. She shook her head
at her own folly before turning her bike around and heading for home.

§§§

Saturday night at Zeal’s was
excruciating. It was the only night
Zek
was forced to
man the entrance to limit the flow of people into the club. This particular
Saturday night was crazy busy. By nine o’clock,
Internal Heat
was up and
rocking. Near the end of their first set, you could have heard a pin drop in
the usually noisy bar when
Jace
once again sat on the
barstool and began singing a different Bon
Jovi
song,
I’ll Be There
For
You
. His voice was husky, and
as smooth as Irish whiskey.

Tate had made a science out of
avoiding eye contact with him all night long. But as the velvet of his voice
shrouded the room, her feet just seemed to stop working – along with all the
synapses in her brain. He was just so beautiful and his husky voice so sexy.
Tate became aware that every woman in the room obviously felt the same way. She
kept expecting to see panties fly across the room. Ignoring the knot in her
stomach, she forced herself to turn away from him and continue on with her
work.

As with the night before, she was
happy when Last Call was announced. It’d been a long week and she was extremely
tired. Besides, she had to be up early for her self-defense class, which began
at eight. If she were lucky, she could catch a good four hours of sleep – but
she wouldn’t be that lucky, she never was. Moving methodically around the room,
she policed the tables, and set the chairs up so the floors could be swept.
She’d done this so many times, she did it on autopilot. From the corner of her
eye, she watched as
Jace
Staton
smiled indulgently at something a girl in a hot-pink leather miniskirt whispered
into his ear. Tate purposely turned away as jealously swept over her for some
strange reason. She’d only spoken to the man once.

When her work was done, she headed
to the bar, looking forward to a quick drink… then bed. But as she turned, as
the night before, it was littered with several staff members as well as several
members of the band. This time,
Jace
Staton
wasn’t leaning against the bar, but sitting on a
barstool, talking intently to Thor.

Not understanding her draw to the
illustrious doctor, Tate decided it would be in her best interest to hightail
it out of there, as her mother used to say. As unobtrusively as she could, Tate
grabbed her keys from under the counter and gave a small wave to Thor and
Zek
.

“Where you running off to, Tate?”
Zek
asked, running a hand through his graying hair.

“It’s been a long night. I’ll see
you guys next week.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw
Jace’s
lips twitch as if he knew she was running away from
him. Irritation flared at his ability to read her so easily.

Thor lifted his finger and pointed
to a barstool directly in front of him. “You just sit your little fanny down
right here and have a well-deserved drink.” The look he gave her didn’t bode
for any argument. She sighed silently.

Dave Thompson and the other members
of
Internal Heat
all concurred with Thor.
Jace
just smiled but didn’t say anything. Not seeing a graceful way out, Tate walked
to the barstool Thor had indicated… which was, of course, next to
Jace
. Tate inhaled deeply and removed her black apron
before sitting down. Her butt had barely gotten settled before Thor had a glass
of red wine in front of her. She smiled her thanks and took a sip.

Feeling awkward next to
Jace
, she fiddled with her wine glass as she struggled with
something to say. Finally, she murmured, “You did a good job tonight.”

He grinned at her. “Thanks. It’s
been awhile since I sang in a band. It felt good.”

“Normally, I’d say don’t quit your
day job, but I think you really could. Although, I don’t think your parents
would be happy about that,” Tate said with a smile.

“No, I don’t think they’d be very
happy, seeing as how they still can’t see over all the stacks of student loans
I had to take out for medical school.”

“Are you working somewhere close
by?” Tate asked him as she pushed her gold thumb ring round and round
nervously.

“I’m doing my residency at
Shand’s
Hospital. The hours are fierce, but I’m learning a
lot. How about you? Are you in school here?”

“What? You don’t think working at
Zeal’s has lifelong possibilities?” she teased.

Thor cut in. “Don’t let her fool
you. Our little Tate is a fulltime student at the University of Florida,” he
said with pride.

“What’s your major?”
Jace
asked her.

“Photography with a minor in Graphic
Design.”

“How did you get into photography?”
he asked.

“Couldn’t sing,” she said with a
laugh.

He grinned back, and raising his
bottled water to his lips, he asked, “Are you from around here?”

Tate stiffened at his question. She
felt the magical moment slip away as reality once again reinserted itself.
Instead of answering his question, she pointed a finger at his water. “I
noticed you didn’t drink any of the drinks your fans sent you. You don’t
drink?”

“I do. But just not tonight, I’m
on-call at the hospital. The hazards of my job, I’m afraid.”

“What area do you specialize in?”
she asked, relieved to have evaded questions about
herself
.

Rusty Stalwart, the bass player and
local pediatrician, laughed, and answered for him. “From the looks of that line
of drinks, I’d say he specializes in attracting undeserved attention from the
opposite sex. We all know it’s the bass player who makes the best lover.”