Two Times as Hot (4 page)

Interesting how he’d stressed his single status so obviously. “I’ve promised a dance
at the wedding to that very handsome gentleman shaking hands with Tucker, but otherwise,
I’m solo, too.”

Jace followed her gaze and grinned. “Your pa?”

“Yes. Of course, I’ll have to share him with my mother. And I suppose Becca, too.
As the bride, she’ll have the father-daughter dance with him during the reception.”

With Logan all tied up with Tara at the moment, Emma hoped Tucker had lots of good-looking,
single male friends and relatives. Jace didn’t deserve to think he had no competition
for Emma’s attention.

“You know, we should go to the reception together, you and I.” Jace’s invitation surprised
her, though it probably shouldn’t. She knew from what little time she’d spent with
him that he wasn’t shy.

She shrugged. “I figured I’d just catch a ride with my parents in the rental car from
the church to the reception, but thanks.”

Emma knew that wasn’t what Jace meant but she wasn’t about to make this easier on
him. There’d been no apology of any sort on his part. No sorry I didn’t call. Sorry
I left you needy and wanting alone in a hotel room. Just an invite which amounted
to not much more than saying they should probably just go to the wedding together
since they’d already both be there. He was going to have to step it up a bit to win
her over again.

“I wasn’t talking about driving there. I meant we should
be there
together at the reception.”

“Oh.” Emma played it as if she’d misunderstood again. “No worries about that. We will.
I laid out the seating chart on the computer for Becca. We’re both sitting at the
same table with the wedding party so we’ll be together at the reception.“

“I mean like a date.”

“
Like
a date?” She cocked a brow. “But not a date?”

He grinned and shook his head. “No, I meant an actual date. Will you be my date to
the wedding?”

Emma leveled her gaze on Jace. “Are you planning on staying for the whole reception
or will you be leaving early for some reason?”

“Yes, I’m staying. And I apologize for last time. I won’t run out on you again.”

That’s what she’d been waiting for. That, and a reason why he hadn’t bothered to call,
but one out of two wasn’t bad. “All right. Since I have to be there anyway, I guess
I can be your date.”

He grinned. “Good. I look forward to a dance, when you’re done with your pa, that
is.”

“What kind of dance will we be doing? Western line dancing? The Texas Two-Step?” Yeah,
she was giving him a good dose of New York attitude, but he deserved it. She couldn’t
have him getting too confident. He wasn’t out of the woods yet. Not by a long way.

“First of all, we’re in Oklahoma, not Texas. And second, real cowboys don’t line dance.
We like to dance nice and close. Close enough to polish our belt buckles.” He winked
at her. “Here’s your sister with your drink. Excuse me while I go grab myself another
beer.”

Cowboy to the bone, Jace tipped his hat and spun on one boot heel to make his way
toward the bar. Emma blew out a breath. So much for keeping her resolve to not give
in to this particular cowboy’s charms.

“So? Tell me everything.” Becca thrust one wine glass toward Emma and kept the other
for herself. “Why did Jace look so happy?”

“He asked me to be his date to the wedding.”

“And?”

“I said yes.” Emma sighed and wondered if she’d made the right choice. She hadn’t
exactly taught him a lesson. When it came to men and playing this whole dating game,
she stunk.

“Good.” Becca broke into a wide grin, her voice high the way it used to be when she
was little and excited. “Oh my God. Imagine if you and Jace hit it off! You could
move here. You two could get married. We could buy houses next door to each other
and have our kids at the same time.”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. Don’t put the cart before the horse. First of all, I’m not looking
for anything serious this weekend. Second, I still have many, many doubts about the
relationship potential of that one.” Grave doubts after last year’s encounter.

If Jace could keep his butt, and his other parts, in the same room as Emma without
running off, which had yet to be proven, then maybe they could have one hot night
together. But a long-term relationship? Probably not. It would depend on whether he
was ready for commitment again after his last relationship, and she seriously had
concerns about that.

“All right.” Becca sighed. “I won’t start looking at apartments for you quite yet.”

“Yeah. Good idea.” Emma laughed. She turned and noticed Tucker was on his way over
with Logan.

Damn, Logan was handsome. Tara’s schoolgirl crush on the man might make him ineligible
for Emma’s amorous pursuits for the weekend, but she could still appreciate him as
a fine male specimen. Not just his rugged good looks, but his entire demeanor. He
oozed testosterone.

Logan. Jace. Tucker. Oklahoma was full of gorgeous men, but they weren’t model perfect.
They were manly men, all tanned and toned. Their bodies were firm, not flabby, and
from honest hard work, not the gym.

With a flutter low in her belly as Tucker and Logan got closer, Emma once again had
to appreciate the differences between the men she was used to in New York and the
ones here. Maybe she should take a quick look at the
Help Wanted
and the
Apartments for Rent
listings in the local paper. Just to see.

“Hey, baby.” Tucker reeled Becca in with one arm around her shoulders and brushed
his lips across her forehead. “I wanted to introduce Emma to Logan.”

Logan didn’t wait for the introduction. Emma found herself captured in his intense
brown gaze even before Tucker made it official. He didn’t break eye contact. Not when
he extended his hand to shake hers. Not as his deep, warm voice washed over her as
he said, “Very nice to meet you, Emma.”

The sound of her name on his lips sent a thrill through her. “Pleasure’s all mine.
I’ve heard a lot about you.”

One dark brow rose. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. Perhaps we need to discuss
it, in case I need to redeem myself.”

Oh, she could definitely discuss it and more. She’d do anything to keep Logan talking
to her. Looking at her. Touching her would be nice, too. Emma swallowed past the tightness
in her throat and hoped her voice wouldn’t come out sounding like a frog. “Anytime
you want. I’m available.”

“No time like the present, I always say.” He smiled and drew her attention to his
lips. Good strong lips made for kissing. “Have you seen Mrs. Jenkins’ rose garden
yet? It’s the pride of the county. She was telling us how it’s just come into bloom.”

“I haven’t seen it, but I’d love to. It sounds beautiful.” Emma yanked her gaze away
from the temptation that was Logan and found both Becca and Tucker staring, watching
as if she and Logan were on stage and this conversation was the show.

“Good.” He touched her arm and she couldn’t have cared less anymore about Becca and
Tucker or the twin expressions of shock they wore, until Logan frowned and dug into
the pocket of his khaki pants. He pulled out a ringing cell phone. Emma flashed back
to Jace and the incident with his ex. She got a feeling of dread as Logan glanced
at the name on his phone.

He looked up at Tucker. “It’s Layne.”

Emma’s brain spun, wondering if this Layne was a male or a female. And more important,
a friend or a girlfriend.

“Layne’s calling from Okinawa?” Tucker asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“Yeah. He wants to congratulate you since he can’t be here.” Logan turned to Emma.
“Excuse me a moment? I have to take this.”

He?
Phew.

“Of course.” Emma couldn’t stop her sigh of relief. Whoever this Layne was, he wasn’t
a
she,
or Logan’s girlfriend, and that was very good news.

Logan stepped through the doorway as he flipped open the phone. Tucker followed him
out into the hall and Emma could breathe freely again.

She turned to Becca, not concerned, but still curious. “So who is Layne and why is
he calling from Japan?”

“Logan’s little brother. He’s in the marines and stationed over there, and don’t change
the subject.” Becca glared at Emma.

“I didn’t realize I was.”

Becca very pointedly glanced at Logan and then back to Emma. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

Her sister checked the hallway, then leaned in. “The chemistry was so thick between
you two, I could cut it with a knife.”

It had been, hadn’t it? Emma smiled. She was glad it hadn’t been her imagination.
Even if all evidence indicated Logan wasn’t the marrying kind, she sensed he was definitely
interested in a little extracurricular activity. She could handle a bit of that.

Emma shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on. We’re just talking.”

“Maybe you’d better figure it out.” Becca shook her head. “You just made a date with
Jace to the wedding. And now you’re making a date to see the rose garden with Logan.
It’s getting a bit hard to keep up with you and the social life you claim not to have.”

Crap. Jace. Logan’s presence had so consumed Emma, she’d forgotten the date she’d
agreed to with Jace. The irony wasn’t lost on her. She’d gone months upon months without
a date at home. But on her first day here, she’d found two men she was interested
in, and they both appeared to be interested in her. Now what?

A female laugh from the corner of the room caught her ear and Emma turned. She saw
Tara talking with Tyler and their parents. That was a vivid reminder that as strong
as the chemistry had seemed between her and Logan, Emma was still late to the party.

Tara had grown up with Logan. They had history together and Tara had an obvious crush
on Logan. Even if it was yet to be determined whether the feeling was reciprocal,
Emma wasn’t about to put all of her eggs in one basket. She knew darn well from past
experience that things that seemed like a done deal could change in an instant. All
it took was one little text message.

Emma turned back to Becca. “Eh, you know. A girl’s got to keep her options open. Might
as well play the field. Besides, how in the world could I choose between a soldier
and a cowboy, anyway?”

Becca gazed at her fiancé in the hallway. “Luckily, I didn’t have to choose. I’ve
got the best of both worlds with Tucker.”

“Yes, you do.” Emma glanced again at the conversation happening among the Jenkins
family in the corner. Tara’s light and cheery laugh filled the room one more time
as she flipped a silky fall of long dark hair over one shoulder. “We’d better go and
mingle with your new in-laws so we don’t look like rude New Yorkers.”

Time to size up the competition a little closer.

A
s the party began to wind down, Emma put the empty glasses she’d collected from around
the house into the sink and then turned to frown at her sister. “I can’t believe you
don’t know any fun places to go around here.”

The boys were all going out, and Emma would be damned if the girls sat home and did
nothing. Though, the more she thought about it, the more she realized Becca never
went out. Not when she was a teenager. Not as an adult. It was Emma who snuck out
the window of their shared bedroom so her parents wouldn’t know she was meeting her
friends. Becca was always the one who stayed home, studying or reading.

It would have been easy for Becca to go out, too. They looked so much alike, once
Emma turned twenty-one she could have said she’d lost her driver’s license, gotten
a duplicate to replace it, and given the old one to Becca to use to get into bars
until she reached legal drinking age. But, no. Emma had suggested that once and Becca
had lectured her about it being illegal and rattled off all the possible consequences.

Becca probably should have been born the older sibling. Some strange twist of fate
or nature had put Emma in the wrong position in the Hart sibling lineup.

“Emma, why would I know the bars around here? I live in Stillwater.”

“So?” Emma asked.

“So, Miss New York is the Center of the Universe, we’re a couple of hours away from
Stillwater here. I’ve only come to visit Tucker’s parents a few times, and we don’t
take them out barhopping while we’re here.”

“Maybe you should.” Emma scowled as she got another look at Tara pawing Logan. “When
are the guys leaving for the bachelor party?”

“I don’t know. Soon, I guess.” Becca glanced at the cow-shaped wall clock hanging
above the kitchen cabinets. “At least, I hope it’s soon. I don’t want Tucker out all
night. He’ll have dark circles under his eyes for the pictures tomorrow.”

Emma sent her sister a glance. That’s what Becca was most worried about? That Tuck
would look tired in the wedding photos? She should be more worried about what kind
of adult entertainment his twenty-something, single brother, Tyler, who was also the
best man, had come up with.

Best to keep that reality check to herself. Emma knew Becca too well to bring up that.
Her sister could worry herself into a hysterical tizzy in no time, and Emma knew who
would have to play babysitter to the nervous bride all night.

Nope. Best to go out and get them both drunk enough to forget about what might or
might not be going on at that stag party. And while she was at it, Emma wouldn’t mind
feeling out Tara to see what was going on between her and Logan.

In vino veritas
. In wine was truth. Emma noted Tara was drinking beer, not wine. She didn’t know
the Latin for beer, but she figured enough of any alcohol would work just as well
as a truth serum.

“I think we should ask your new sister-in-law where there’s a fun bar. She’s the right
age to be going out partying. She must know a good place.” Emma put into action her
plan to get Tara drunk to draw some information out of her.

“Why are you so eager to go out?” Becca frowned.

“Because my only sister is getting married tomorrow and I’m her maid of honor. It’s
my job to make sure you have one last girls’ night out. The boys get to have a bachelor
party, so you need a bachelorette party. Tit for tat.” When Becca didn’t look convinced,
Emma added, “Besides, it’s pretty selfish of you to deny me the opportunity to go
out and see some hot Oklahoma cowboy scenery while I’m here, just because you’ve already
found your perfect man. You owe me for that, you know. Need I remind you who’s responsible
for your meeting Tucker?”

“I know. You are.” Becca rolled her eyes. “You’re going to remind me of that until
the day we die, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. Or maybe if you’ll just agree to let me take you out on the town tonight,
I could be convinced to never mention it again.” Emma dangled that hint of a promise
like a carrot.

“Fine, go and talk to Tara about a bar. Though I don’t know why you’re looking for
a cowboy or any other man. You agreed to go to the reception as Jace’s date. A fact
you seem to keep forgetting.”

Emma dismissed Becca’s criticism with a wave of one hand. “I only agreed to that so
I could show him what he can’t have.”

“I’ll never understand you.” Becca shook her head.

“As it should be. My brilliance shall remain a mystery. So we’re going out then?”
Emma asked just to confirm she’d won this battle.

“Yes. But we’re not staying out too late. I don’t want to have bags under my eyes
for the pictures, either.”

“That, dear sister, is what makeup is for.” Emma grinned and saw through the kitchen
doorway that the men had begun to gather in the front foyer. “Looks like the herd
is forming for the stag party exodus. You go kiss your man good-bye and then grab
your bar purse.”

“I didn’t pack a special purse for barhopping. I’ll have to use my regular one.”

That figured. Becca never thought ahead about fashion necessities the way Emma did.
She, of course, had packed not one but two small purses for going out. They were just
big enough for her ID, lipstick, some cash, and a cell phone.

“I’ll loan you one of mine. Now, go. Say good-bye to Tucker. I’m going to talk to
Tara about the local hotspots.” Emma headed toward Tara. The girl had finally released
her hold on Logan so he could join the rest of the guys.

Emma donned what she hoped was a smile that appeared sincere and prepared to make
nice, satisfied this evening was going to go her way.

 

An hour later, it was obvious the night was not going at all as Emma had planned.

“Logan looked great tonight, didn’t he?”

Emma couldn’t stifle her sigh at Tara’s dreamy-eyed question. “I don’t know. Did he?”

“He totally did. I was away at school all year. I haven’t seen him in what feels like
forever.” Across the tiny cocktail table in the dark corner of the bar, Tara sighed.
“He looks so good out of uniform. I wish he’d just retire. Then he could move back
home again and work at his pa’s shop.” Tara looked to Emma for a comment.

Emma had to scramble to come up with something to say. “Sorry. I only met him tonight
so I don’t have a basis of comparison on how good he looks, in or out of uniform.”
Though she wouldn’t mind seeing him out of his uniform, and she didn’t mean in his
civilian clothes either.

Tara nodded. “Jeans look so much better on him. Even the khaki dress pants he had
on tonight are an improvement over those camouflage pants he and Tuck wear.”

“Well, that’s the uniform. It’s my understanding they have to wear it. It’s, you know,
kind of the rules.” Emma had tried to temper her answer, but it still came out sounding
snarky. Luckily, Tara didn’t seem to notice.

Damn, had Emma ever been this young and naïve? Maybe a million years ago. She willed
Becca to hurry back from the ladies room before she lost patience with the college
coed with the stars—or rather Logan—in her eyes.

“I know it’s their uniform, but I’m used to Logan from before he joined the military.”
Tara’s voice took on a faraway quality. “When we were younger, Logan was always in
jeans and a cowboy hat. He had this old pair of boots that he loved. He said he’d
never find a pair like them again so he wore them until the sole flapped when he walked.
Even then he didn’t want to part with them. He nailed the sole back on and wore them
until his mother made him stop.”

Instead of the country song blaring out of the jukebox, Emma wouldn’t have been surprised
to hear a sappy soundtrack to accompany Tara’s memories. Violins or maybe a harp,
like the background music from a television show dream sequence.

It was obvious the girl was lost in the distant past. Her crush on Logan had apparently
been the result of a surge of prepubescent hormones. Tara wanted the Logan of her
youth back. The young cowboy version, not the mature adult soldier he was now.

In Emma’s opinion, Tara was barking up the wrong tree. Logan had to be in his mid
to late thirties, so he was obviously a career military man. From what Becca had told
her, he was an officer. He wasn’t going to up and retire to hang around in holey boots
with Tara.

Or maybe he would. Considering Emma’s bad track record with men, she might not know
as much as she thought she did. After all, she never would have guessed Jace, or any
living breathing man, would have given up a night of sex to change a flat tire.

That depressing thought left Emma torn between calling it a night and ordering more
drinks so she could get drunk enough to forget about this day. All of it. Every bad
decision she’d made. Accepting Jace’s invite when her gut told her it was a bad idea.
Noticing Logan when Tara was obviously already in love with him. And now, going out,
just the three of them.

“Hey. What did I miss?” Becca finally returned from the bathroom.

About damn time. Becca had taken long enough that Emma regretted not going with her,
but even as much as Emma had hated their conversation, it would have been rude to
leave Tara sitting alone at the table.

Emma let out a sigh. “Nothing. Just talking about boots.”

Becca sat. “You must be in heaven. You love boots.”

“Not this kind.” The flat tone of Emma’s reply had Becca glancing at her.

“Oh. Um, so, any interesting scenery show up while I was gone?” Changing the subject.
Smart girl. Her sister knew Emma well enough to know when something was up.

“What kind of scenery are you looking for?” Tara asked Becca.

“Not for me, it’s for Em—” The kick in the shin under the table shut Becca up.

Becca glared at Emma, who opened her eyes wide and mouthed, “Shut up.”

Becca frowned and continued, “Um, you know. Just some authentic western scenery. Like
farmers or . . . stuff. I want Emma to get the full Oklahoma experience while she’s
here.”

“Then you should take her to a rodeo. Logan used to take Tuck and Layne to rodeos
all the time, back when Tyler and I were so little we had to fight to go along and
not to be left home with Ma.”

If this girl said the name
Logan
one more time . . .

Emma gritted her teeth. “That sounds fun.”

Becca shot Emma a glance and then turned to Tara. “Ah, we’ve actually both been to
a rodeo. It’s where I met Tucker last year.”

“Oh, that’s right. I heard that story. I’d forgotten because I assumed when I heard
where he met you that you were a buckle bunny. Then when it turned out you weren’t
. . .” Tara shrugged and let the sentence trail off.

After that strange comment, Emma wasn’t sure whether to feel insulted on Becca’s behalf
of not.

Tara wrinkled her nose as she glanced at the collection of men gathered there. “You’ll
find more guys at the bar on the other side of town. The one with the pool table.
There are a few cowboys in here tonight. No one as cute as Logan, but at least there’s
some authentic western scenery for you. That way when you’re back in New York you
can say you saw some.”

“Yup.” Oh, yeah. That would make a hell of a story for Emma to tell around the water
cooler at work. How she went out and saw a guy in a cowboy hat sitting at a bar. Simply
riveting.

Emma drew in a deep breath. She was being ridiculous and acting like a child. She
knew that. Honestly, Tara was being perfectly nice and polite. Tara didn’t know Emma
was interested in getting to know Logan better. Why should she? Emma had only met
him a few hours ago, had only spoken a handful of sentences to him. And, as Becca
kept reminding her, Emma had a date with Jace. Aside from his unbelievably huge
faux pas
with her last year, Jace seemed to be a decent guy.

So why wasn’t Emma happy to be going to the wedding with Jace?

Because talking to Logan, even for that short time, had made her heart beat faster
than it had in years, that’s why. What did that mean? Love at first sight? Or just
lust because, like it or not, Tara was right—Logan had looked good in those khakis
and the cotton button-down shirt that complemented his rugged suntanned complexion
so perfectly.

It must be Emma’s inner competitive spirit set off by the challenge Tara presented
that had her blood pressure rising every time the girl mentioned Logan’s name. Certainly
not what Emma feared—that after meeting Logan once, she’d developed a schoolgirl crush
on him to rival even Tara’s.

What if Emma had said no to Jace’s invitation? Or if the cell phone hadn’t rung with
that call from Japan and she had gone outside for a walk in the rose garden with Logan?
What if Emma didn’t give a flying fig that Tara had an insane crush on Logan—probably
the biggest crush that Emma had ever witnessed firsthand—and went for it with him
anyway?

What if Emma was doomed to wonder for the rest of her life,
what if
? That would stink. There was nothing worse than living with regret.

Maybe all this introspection was alcohol induced and by tomorrow, Emma would forget
all about Logan. That would be good. She didn’t believe in love at first sight anyway.
Lust maybe, but not love.

Still, Emma decided to investigate that concept further. “Becs?”

“Yes?” Becca looked a bit wary when she turned to Emma. She knew to tread lightly
when Emma was cranky. Most likely Emma’s bad behavior tonight had given her sister
that impression.

“When you first met Tucker last year at the rodeo, did you know then, that night,
that he was—you know—the one?”

That brought Tara’s attention whipping back to the conversation at their table, just
when she’d been busy looking around the bar, probably for someone better to hang out
with.