Bad Boys Do (Donovan Brothers Brewery 2)

“I’m not into him,” she whispered to herself. “I’m doing this for me.” And she was. But she couldn’t pretend that Jamie Donovan’s charm wasn’t part of what she wanted. That charm felt like magic dust being sprinkled over her skin, and she wanted everyone to see the glow. Including her ex-husband.

She’d wash the magic off later and everything would be fine. But her heart was still racing when she made it home, and it didn’t have anything to do with nerves.

CHAPTER FOUR

SHE WASN’T THE TYPE OF WOMAN he normally dated. Tessa had pointed that out immediately, but Jamie had ignored her. After not dating at all for over a year, he didn’t have a type anymore. He’d hit the reset button.

He stole a glance at Olivia, who stared straight out the windshield of his car as if she were the one driving. She looked different tonight, though no less uptight. Her glasses were off again and her lips glinted with shiny color. Instead of a demure dress, she wore a little black number. Not short or low cut, as he’d hoped, but it draped over her body like skimming hands.

And she smelled good. She made him think of a crisp summer night. Flowers that were cooling in the dark.

Nice.

Jamie had sworn off women for a while, but he’d make an exception for her. She was different. Calm and mature. Responsible and sharp. Maybe she’d be good for him. A positive step on the new path he was taking. Tessa had certainly been surprised.

Jamie still couldn’t believe Olivia had come by the brewery. That she’d asked him out. Her earlier rejection had been fairly firm. It hadn’t stung; asking her out had been a long shot, after all. But he must have really gotten under her skin. He smiled at the thought of being inside her head.

“Just to the right,” Olivia said, pointing toward a very large house set among cliffs and pine trees. The city of Boulder sat five hundred feet below them.

“You’ve got friends in high places.”

“Oh, these people aren’t my friends. They’re just colleagues.”

He edged the truck onto a narrow shoulder lined with a dozen other cars. “Don’t you have friends at work?”

“A few. Gwen, for one. But she won’t be at this party. It’ll be almost all faculty and spouses. And dates.” She shot him a look, but he couldn’t read it. “Not as much fun as most parties you go to, I’m sure.”

“You mean like the biweekly kegger in my basement?”

“Um… Yeah. Sure.”

“That was a joke, Olivia. I’m way past my kegger days.”

“Way past?” she asked, her gaze dropping down his body. “I don’t think that’s chronologically possible.”

She seemed to think of herself as much older than him, which was funny. She was only thirty-five, after all, and looked closer to thirty. Jamie got out and circled around to her side to open the door. “Careful. It’s rocky here.”

She set one black heel on the ground, and Jamie’s mouth watered. She looked as good in heels as he’d imagined. God, he loved heels.

“Thank you,” she murmured, and he forced his eyes up. He took her hand, holding tighter when she wobbled. He felt her little gasp of surprise and she leaned into him, one foot slipping from a shoe. “I think I’m stuck.”

“Here.” He leaned down and Olivia’s fingers spread over his back as she held herself up. Jamie tugged the shoe out from its rocky vise and brushed dust off the heel. Then he curled his hand around her foot. Her skin was soft and her foot twitched as he dragged his thumb along the curve of her arch. He slipped her shoe on her foot and let his hand slide up to her ankle, smiling at the way her breath hitched when his fingers wrapped all the way around the delicate bones. “You didn’t hurt your ankle, did you?”

“No,” she whispered.

He set her foot down, still holding her ankle as if she needed support. “You’re sure?” He edged his hand up until his fingers opened over her calf.

“I’m sure.” She cleared her throat as if she was aware of how husky she sounded. “Thank you.”

“Then let’s go in.”

He offered his arm for the walk up the steep drive, and she accepted with a grateful smile. “We don’t have to stay long. I just need to make an appearance.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

“Is there anyone I need to watch out for?”