She rolled her eyes. “I can tell. Apparently, you’re a gracious loser, too,” she teased.
His rich chuckle warmed her insides in a way the heat from her brisk run couldn’t touch.
“You better get inside. Gregory’s not going to like the damp hair look.”
Her hands lifted. Oh, she bet she made a pretty picture all hot and sweaty. She looked at Rob and realized he stared at her clingy T-shirt, not that he could see much through the material and her sports bra. But it didn’t matter. Her nipples budded, straining toward him in a manner where he didn’t have to see through her clothes to know she was physically aware of him. Heat of a different kind spread through her.
Maybe she didn’t look as bad as she’d imagined. Or maybe it was because she was the only high estrogen producing body he’d seen in over a week.
“Uhm, I’ll see you later.” His gaze lingered a moment longer, before he waved and took off.
Jill watched as Rob disappeared. If he’d moved that fast during their race, he really would have won.
# # #
Jill glanced around the tavern, eyeing a pay phone at the far end of the room. Apparently, all phones had been removed from the castle. It was unlikely she’d get another opportunity to make a call home.
What was Jess
ie doing?
She slid out of her barstool and smiled at the seven men sitting at the two pushed together tables. She grinned. Jane Millionaire and the seven studs.
“Be right back.”
Rob’s hand shot out and grasped around her wrist, stopping her departure. Zing. Zing. Zing. Electricity shot through her. “Where are you going?”
“The ladies room.” And she’d make a detour by the phone on her way out.
“Just give a shout if you have any problems.” JP raised his mug in salute.
Jill smiled. She doubted JP would be able to do a thing if she had problems she couldn’t handle, but it was sweet of him to offer.
“I’ll do that.” She winked at him, eliciting a lot of good nature ribbing from the crew. Rob watched without commenting and Jill scooted away before he saw she had duplicitous motives.
Three minutes later, she hid behind a burly man as she charged a call to Jessie’s cell number. Ring. Ring. Ring. Come on, answer.
Jessie’s voice mail picked up.
“Jessie, where are you?” she mumbled into the phone. “I’m not sure when I’ll get another chance to call, but if you need anything, call Dan.”
She hung up the phone, snuck a glance at where the crew sat. No one had noticed her. She eyed Rob for a moment, enjoying soaking up his features unawares. In his usual garb, he wore snug blue jeans and a T-shirt depicting a superhero character from a film she’d read that he directed a couple of years ago. JP had kindly provided her with an entertainment magazine that had done an unauthorized spread on Rob.
As if sensing he was being watched, Rob scanned the room. Jill ducked back out of view.
She needed to quit dallying and check on Jessie. She grabbed the phone back up, punched in Dan’s cell number and her pin to charge it to her home number.
“’Lo,” Dan answered on the third ring. His voice sounded muffled. Still the familiarity of his voice felt good. She hadn’t realized she was homesick. Maybe she was just a little.
“Catch you at a bad time?”
“I was sleeping.” Sounded like he still half was.
Jill did a quick calculation of the time difference. “Oops. Sorry about that. Wasn’t sure when I’d get another chance to call.”
“It’s okay. What’s up, Your Royal Pain in the Butt?” he teased, sounding more awake. She could picture him scooting up to a sitting position in his bed, blond hair tousled and a sleepy look on his face.
“I wanted to check on Jess, but I couldn’t reach her when I tried calling.”