Forbidden Attraction [The Callens 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“I like the way I look.”

He smiled, showing off his perfectly white veneers. “As you should.”

“If you’ll excuse me.” Since her girlfriends seemed to want him, she’d leave him to them.

Back again in the kitchen, she plastered her rear against the island.
What a jerk
. For the next few minutes, she enjoyed the solitude but knew she couldn’t hibernate all night. Determined to live through the affair, she returned to the controlled chaos. Not all the men in town could be jerks.

She refrained from drinking anything other than water for she feared their boorish behavior might seem reasonable after too many drinks. At midnight, the crowd began to thin. She needed to get to bed as she had a lot of studying to do tomorrow. Plus, tomorrow was one of her three nights serving drinks at the saloon.

When the last of her girlfriends hugged her goodbye, Jenny felt like she’d been tossed in a commercial washing machine for ten hours. Her head spun, and she’d had enough water to fill an ocean.

Her mom and she picked up all the plates. “Did anyone interest you, dear?”

She leaned over and placed a kiss on her mom’s cheek. “This was so sweet of you to throw a party for me. No one jumped out as a potential mate, but don’t worry, I’ll find someone.” It would be on her own terms, and not on anyone else’s.

* * * *

Jenny finished placing the stacks of glasses on the saloon counter then sat on a barstool to rest. Jackson was about to open the doors, but she needed a break before the rush began. He moved behind the bar and pretended to polish the already shiny counter. Two of the other waiters and waitresses were in the back getting ready.

“How did the
find a man
party go?”

She always confided in Jackson despite wanting him for herself. “It sucked. I’ve never met a more self-centered group of men before.” She told him about the accountant, Mr. Red Tie, and then about the lawyer who was a total nerd. “The best was the plastic surgeon who wanted to give me a nose job.”

At least he had the courtesy to appear affronted. “Seriously?”

“Yes. To make it worse, he did it in front of my girlfriends.”

Jackson laughed and put up his fists. “Where is he? I’ll beat him up for you.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’d sue you if you ever messed up his surgically perfect face.”

He tossed the rag over his shoulder and leaned his elbows on the counter. “Seriously, you couldn’t find one rich, college-educated man in the bunch?”

“No.”

Too bad Jackson never looked at her as a potential lover. It was probably because she was a Callen. History proved that the Callens married only the rich and well educated. If she could trust all the University of Wyoming gear he sported, Jackson had gone there, and from the way the bar was thriving, she bet he was doing quite well for himself, too. Why he only acted like only a good friend, she didn’t know. Maybe he had a rule about dating his employees. If that were the case, she’d happily quit and get a part-time job someplace else.

“So now that your mom’s attempts failed, what are you going to do?”

“Jeesh. You sound like her. I’m not desperate to get married. I have years of med school to go through first. It would be hard to raise a family while I’m busy studying.”

“You don’t think it will get harder to find a man the longer you wait? The moment you get your MD, the potential dating pool will shrink.”

She leaned back in her seat. “Has my mom been talking to you?”

He smiled. “No, but my sister claimed that was the reason why she never married. She’s a lawyer in Salt Lake City and said men were intimidated by her lofty position and obscenely high salary.”

“That does stink, but I have no intention of giving up my dream of becoming a doctor in order to get a man.”

“And you shouldn’t. If a man isn’t self-confident in who he is, you won’t be able to relate to him.”

“You got that right.” She placed a hand on her chest. “Besides, I’m not intimidating.”

He cocked a brow. “Are you kidding? Half the men who come in here ask for your number. Once I tell them your last name, they back off.”

That didn’t make her intimidating, it made her family name intimidating. “Damn.” She had worried that being the daughter of one of the richest men in the state would be a turn off. On the other hand, her dad’s wealth might attract some guys. “My parents are rich, but I’m not. Do these men think I’m spoiled?” She didn’t wait for a response. “If I’m such a rich girl, would I be working my ass off here?”

“Your ass, as you so politely put it, is still in great shape.” She could tell he tried to swallow his smile.

Was he implying she didn’t work hard? What did it matter? She placed her head on her folded arms. “It’s hopeless.”

“What’s hopeless, darlin’?”

At the change in his tone, she looked up. “Why can’t I find someone exciting?”
Like you
. “I’d date him.”

“Maybe you need to broaden your scope or change your criteria.”

“What do you mean?”

He tossed the towel back on the counter. “Speaking as a guy, I want a woman with passion and a sense of adventure. It wouldn’t matter to me how well educated she was or how much she was worth. I just want someone who’s not close-minded and who loves me for me.”

He got it!
“Me, too!”

“That so? If some tall, dark, and handsome man walked through those doors right now, who loves what he was doing and has a great sense of adventure, would you go out with him?”

“Assuming he has the drive to succeed and treats me well, then yes.”

“Then I have the perfect man for you.”

Jackson had the perfect man for her? “Who is it?”

“My roommate.”

Something seemed fishy. “Why haven’t I met Mr. Perfect before?”

“He’s a busy man doing what he loves. He’s good looking, can be fun loving if you can get him away from tinkering with trucks, and he’s respectful most of the time.”

She was getting the run around. This man sounded like someone Jackson wanted for himself. “I need more details.”

“His name is Taylor Moore. He designs custom parts for high-performance cars. He’s so talented that GM keeps asking him to come work for them.”

“Wow.”

“If you want to meet him, he’ll be working the monster truck rally this Saturday at the arena. He says every time he gets to see the trucks in action, he figures out how to make them bounce higher, go faster and have better control. I bet he could get us passes to check out the monsters. What do you say?”

If Jackson would be with her, she’d absolutely go. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Then it’s a date.”

The fact she was meeting Jackson at the bar kind of diminished the excitement over this being an actual date. Her ego hadn’t been stroked either when he said they were only going so that she could meet Taylor. She wondered why Jackson didn’t think she was someone he could date. She’d often come in early to the saloon to help set up. They’d talk about everything from how much money he was saving by having installed solar panels on the roof to the cost of liquor. She listened to his theories on aliens, and he’d listen to her go on and on about stem-cell research.

Sure, they were good friends and felt comfortable around each other, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be lovers. There had to be a reason why he never asked her out.

In truth, he seemed to be the perfect man. He was gregarious, always polite with the customers, seemed determined to make a go of the bar, and was hot. The last characteristic sometimes overshadowed the first ones, but she refused to measure him by her parents’ over-the-top criteria. They wouldn’t consider a bar owner as a fit mate for a Callen.

What did she know? Maybe good friends didn’t make good mates. She’d dated all of three men in college and none of them had panned out. Jackson wasn’t interested in her. She should just move on.

As for meeting Taylor, she didn’t want to go into the monster truck rally blind. She’d actually taken the time to look at a few YouTube videos to see what they’d be like. She had to admit, the vehicles were impressive, but too often the expensive looking machines lost a tire, or worse, flipped over. There might be a roll cage inside to protect the driver, but whoever drove those vehicles was asking for a serious injury.

According to the monster truck website, there’d be some truck called The Grave Digger and another called Blue Thunder at the Saturday night event. Since racehorse owners named their steeds, maybe it made sense that truck owners named their vehicles, too. Other trucks appearing were Maximum Destruction and Bounty Hunter. At least the owners had a good sense of humor.

Good thing she didn’t work on weekends, so she could go. Jackson didn’t usually work then either. He said he liked weekdays, when there were fewer people. That gave him the chance to have a conversation with his clients, which was something he enjoyed.

The fact that the week went by way too slowly for her implied her excitement was growing. Whether it was because she got to spend time with Jackson or because she’d get to meet another hunk, she didn’t know. Regardless, this was going to be a fun night.

When Jenny arrived at 6:30 p.m., the Raging Bull was already packed. This crowd was about the same size as the one a few Wednesdays ago, when they brought in two professionals to teach line dancing.

Jackson came out from behind the bar and smiled when he spotted her. He was dressed in his usual jeans and boots, but this time he had on a form-fitting, blue and green plaid shirt that matched his hazel eyes and showed off his magnificent body instead of the black-and-white Raging Bull Saloon uniform.

“You ready to experience the seedier side of Intrigue?” His grin dimpled his cheeks.

She hadn’t considered what the clientele would be like. “Is it really that bad?”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, little one, I’ll protect you.” With his free hand he beat his chest.

Jackson had a way of always making her laugh. “Thanks.”

They took his truck, which was quite new and had comfortable seats. Once she buckled up, he pulled out of the establishment. She was surprised so many people wanted to drink tonight given the monster truck rally was in town. Maybe it wasn’t the type of affair one needed to see more than once.

The road to get to the arena was quite clogged, and the parking at the stadium was packed. It was almost 7:00 p.m. by the time they got their tickets and went in. She wanted to pay her way, but Jackson insisted it was his treat. Did that mean he thought of this as a date? Wouldn’t that be nice?

He’d told her it was general seating. “Where’s a good spot to get a good view?” she asked.

The infield was filled with dirt mounds, ramps, and a lot of beat-up cars lined up next to each other.

“All the seats are good, but let’s try to get fairly close.” He took her hand, and they wove their way through the hordes of people.

Two kids were standing in the aisle chitchatting, and Jackson politely asked if they could move. Once he picked their row, they had to climb over a couple of folks to get to the center. Finally they settled in their stadium seats. The evening air had a hint of a breeze, which made it the perfect temperature to watch an outdoor event.

He looked around. “We got a good crowd probably because The Grave Digger is here.”

“What’s so special about him?” She’d seen the picture of the truck. Even she had to admit it was quite handsome with its green flames painted on the hood.

“Dennis Anderson, the driver, is the world champion of freestyle. But he might not be the driver tonight. I think there are about nine Grave Diggers, so I don’t know which one we’ll get.”

She chuckled. “Monster truck drivers compete? Is that like ice-skating where they have judges?”

“Sure is.”

Oh, my
. People must take this sport seriously. Before she could ask any more questions, the announcer came on and asked the crowd to rise for the singing of the national anthem. A hush fell over the crowd as they all stood. Despite the sound reverberating across the stands, the young girl had a beautiful voice.

When they returned to their seats, two large and colorfully painted trucks shot out from one end of the arena. Watching part of the show on YouTube was one thing, but seeing it in person was something else.

“They’re huge.”

He smiled. “Which makes them unstable.”

Fascinated, she tried to take in everything, but it was hard to concentrate on both trucks at the same time. One truck just rode over six cars. “Yikes.”

When the truck landed, it bounced on two wheels a few times then rolled twenty feet on the two left side wheels. She almost lifted off her seat for fear the man would crash. When all four wheels landed, the crowd clapped. Her pulse slowed.

“Cool, huh?”

She looked over at him. His gaze was on her and not on the show. “That was incredible.”

“Watch. They’re lining up to race. They have to go around an obstacle course. First one around wins.”