She laughed and shook her head. “No, he’s not worth it.” She put her hand on his arm and slid it upward, looking up at him with soulful eyes. “But I’m sure you could take my mind off my troubles.”
Connor didn’t know what to say. Ordinarily, he’d have taken her hint. He liked Mandy and they’d had fun together. But he wasn’t tempted. The only woman who tempted him was eyeing him from across the room. Was she wondering what he was going to do? Did she even care?
He planned to let Mandy down easy. “Can’t say I’m not tempted but I have other plans tonight.”
With a sultry glance, she ran her hand lightly up his arm. “Are you sure you can’t change them? We could have a lot of…fun.”
Well, hell. He hadn’t counted on Mandy not taking the hint. “Sorry, no can do.” Catching sight of his brother Liam, he sent him a wordless appeal.
Liam, thank God, took the hint and walked over to him. “Hey, Connor. Mandy.”
“We’re still on for tonight, right?” he asked his brother.
Liam blinked but came through. “Sure. I’ll see you at the ranch after the party.”
“I’m helping Liam with something at the ranch,” Connor said to Mandy.
“At night?”
“A rancher’s work is never done.” Which was true, as far as it went. However, he couldn’t honestly think of anything Liam would need help with after a party.
Mandy didn’t look convinced either, but she did leave him alone after that.
“What the hell is going on?” Liam asked him after she left.
“Thanks. I just needed an excuse.”
“You needed an excuse to get away from a pretty woman? Why?”
“I just did.” He glanced over at Sierra only to find her talking to one of the docs who was a notorious womanizer. Well, shit. He couldn’t win.
*
Sierra thought aboutthat night with Connor—at least once a day if not more—but she told herself it was just sex. After all, she’d just had a monumental dry spell, and damn it, she liked sex. Any nice, passably good-looking man would have done.
Except that was a lie and she knew it. No, Connor was different. First of all, he wasn’t ‘passably good-looking.’ He was gorgeous. Hot as sin. But beyond his looks…there was something about him that spoke to her. Something about him made her think there was a chance for them. Something indefinable between the two of them, something now, something lasting. What if she agreed to date him? What would happen then?
But she worked with him. That was the sticking point. One of them, anyway. Not because it was against the rules. It wasn’t. But what if she said to hell with her worries and she just dived in? What then? It might—probably would—be great for a while. But Connor was a known player. She’d married a man whowasn’ta player and look what had happened there. Besides, she was not ready to open up to anyone. They were pretty much doomed from the beginning. If they did date, what would happen when they broke up?
She could find another job. In another town, or hell in another state. For that matter, Redbird Flight Care might have something in another town. She didn’t want to move, but it was possible.
Sierra realized she hadn’t thought about her ex and his new love in weeks. She’d thought much more often about Connor and their night together than Phil and his ‘other woman.’ Well, why wouldn’t she? Connor was a much more pleasant topic to get lost in. What was she waiting for? No one else in Marietta had come close to interesting her. She’d met a number of men. Even gone out with a couple. But she hadn’t wanted to see more of them. Hadn’t felt a thing when she was with them. Nothing like she felt with Connor. Oh, not while they were caring for a patient. Connor was all business then and so was she. But there was a lot of down time, both before and after they picked up a patient and returned to the hospital.
She had friends in Marietta now. Samantha, of course. She’d made new friends as well. Women from work. Letty, one of the librarians, who she’d met at Grey’s early on and liked. She’d met all of the Gallaghers via Sam. She went out with the women, both the married ones and her single friends. Could she help it that wherever she went it seemed that Connor would show up too? Or would already be there?
Try as she might, she couldn’t help that often when she saw Connor something would remind her of their night together. It had been fun. And prior to that night she hadn’t had fun in a long time. Divorce didn’t lend itself to fun. Especially when you still had feelings for your ex. Lately, however, she’d thought a lot more about Connor than she had Phil.
She hadn’t heard of a single woman Connor had been out with since she came to Marietta. He was always with the guys when she ran into him at Grey’s or the pub at the Graff. She remembered seeing him at Sam’s party, trying to extricate himself from a woman who’d seemed determined to convince him of something. Probably to leave with her, she imagined. But his brother had come over and the woman left.
And damn it, even though she had no right, no claim on him, seeing him get rid of that woman had made her very happy.
