Page 8 of Inevitable

The food that Andi had ordered arrived and they each took a moment to fill their plates before Claire responded. “Tonight, was Ivan the ER doctor. He had to stay for a second shift and I’m guessing we may never reschedule.”

Andi sliced into a fried green tomato and shook her head. “Yeah, that date is never going to happen.”

“Tomorrow, I have a date with Roy the mechanic, and after that, it’s Vince the vet, and on Sunday, it’s Sol the pharmaceutical sales rep.” Taking a bite of the crawfish cake, Claire moaned. “Holy shit, this is delicious.”

Nodding, Andi took her own bite and then moaned as well. Once she had wiped her mouth, she smiled. “Too bad it’s just our food that’s making us moan and not a man.”

Claire lifted her fork and waved it at Andi. “There is a really good-looking man who is ready, willing, and able to make you moan and you won’t give him five minutes of your time.”

Sitting back, Andi tilted her head against the back of the booth. “I know. But if I let Kane in an inch, he is going to take a mile. I have six months left on my residency and I can’t be distracted.”

“I know.” Claire twirled her hair up and thought about a man who seemed to want some of her time. A cocky, beautiful man with mesmerizing blue eyes. A man who made her shiver when he touched her. Realizing the road she was going down, she shook her head and cleared the picture of Brady right out of her mind.

Which didn’t really work since the man himself was striding in their direction. Along with Kane, who was smiling at Andi like she was the last drink of water in the desert. Sweet baby Jesus, this was supposed to be a night off from men. Was there a cosmic joke that she was unaware of? Sure seemed like it was possible if the one man who flustered her was walking in her direction.

“Did you tell them where you were going?” Andi asked out of the side of her mouth.

“No!” Lifting her drink, Claire took a gulp and then plastered a smile on her face. No way was she going to let on how she felt. The last thing she needed was to be attracted to a man like Brady. He was too good-looking, too confident, and too…alpha for her to consider him a candidate. And that’s all she was going to pay attention to: men who were good candidates. No matter how unexciting they were.

Kane called out a greeting as the men approached, and the women offered small waves in return. “Be nice,” Claire instructed.

“I’m always nice,” Andi replied as the men slid into the booth.

“Hey,” Brady said as he rested his arm above Claire’s shoulder. “We decided to grab a bite to eat before we went home, and when I heard you talking about this place, I thought it sounded terrific.”

“Eavesdropping is not considered good manners,” Claire responded.

“How else do you expect us to gather intel?” Kane asked as he lifted Andi’s hand and kissed her fingers. “A man has to do what a man has to do.” Turning toward Andi, he grinned, displaying the dimples that had gotten every single one of his sins forgiven.

“Kane, we’ve discussed this and you promised me that you would back off until I’m done with my residency.”

“Darlin’, this is as far as I’m ever going to back up.” He scooted an inch closer to Andi and kissed her cheek.

The waitress came by and took the men’s orders, as Claire watched her best friend melt under Kane’s attention. No matter what she said, she was attracted to the retired SEAL, and her capitulation was just a matter of time. At least, that’s what it seemed like.

Speaking of capitulation…a certain large hand was tracing circles on Claire’s shoulder, wreaking havoc on her nervous system. Flashes of electrical pulses moved through her body as the heat from Brady’s body drifted into hers. Damn chemistry.

“What happened to date number four?” Brady asked.

“I can barely keep track. How is it that you can keep them straight?”

Smirking, he rested his hand on her shoulder. “Because after your seventh date on Sunday, you’re going to go out with me. The bozo parade will be finished and we’re going to get started on getting to know one another.”

Leaning away from his hand, she folded hers in her lap. “I don’t remember acquiescing, so right now, the bozo parade continues.”

Throwing his head back, he let out a laugh. “Whatever you need to tell yourself is fine with me. I saw the look of relief you had after you realized you had the night off from the torture you’re putting yourself through. So…come Monday, we’re going to grab something to eat and see about this chemistry we’ve got going on.”

“Says you.”

Turning his head, he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, Claire…says me.”

“Fiddlesticks.”

The men’s drinks were delivered and the group decided to order dinner. As Claire sat back and listened to the conversation going around the table, she realized this was the most fun she’d had all week. Which meant that she might need to reconsider her approach to this whole dating business.

Logic and reason were giving her a lot of boring dates, but chemistry had only ever given her heartbreak. Maybe there was something in between. Her date with Roy the mechanic tomorrow could be the turning point, and there was no reason to give up until she made it through all seven of her dates. No matter how fluttery she was feeling with Brady’s hand on her shoulder.

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