Making Him Sweat & Taking Him Down. Meg Maguire

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СКАЧАТЬ he could flirt. Nothing wrong with that. Might lighten the mood, break the ice, melt some of the tension that had marred their initial introduction…and turn the heat up under that other tension they had going on, which was far more fun.

      “So,” he said as they sat down at the table. “If I signed up with your little dating service, what type of woman would you match me with?”

      “A fairly desperate one, I imagine,” she teased.

      “So I’m your type, then?”

      She shot him a playful, killing look, probably wishing the sprayer were still within her reach. “Yes, very funny. But you told me yourself, you’re not interested in a relationship. I’m not going to waste my time trying to find love for men who’re only up for a random roll in the hay.”

      “I never said that’s what I’m about. Not exactly.”

      “Anyway, you’d have to go through an exhaustive interview before I could figure out who you’d hit it off with. I barely know anything about you.”

      He took the first bite of his dinner, finally understanding why it might be worth going to all the trouble Jenna had. Beat the hell out of takeout. “This is delicious.”

      “Thank you.”

      “But go on. Ask me one of your dating-thing questions. Interview me.”

      She looked to the ceiling, dredging up a mental questionnaire. How on earth was this Monty’s daughter? She’d been putting on a semiconvincing tough-cookie act with him when it came to the business stuff, but beneath that thin shell she was a softie through and through. Mercer watched her shiny brown hair as it swung about her shoulders, wondering how it would feel wound around his fingers.

      “Okay,” she said. “Where do you see yourself ten years from now?”

      He frowned, genuinely surprised to realize he hadn’t the faintest clue. “Um, in a perfect world?”

      “Sure.”

      “In a perfect world I’d still be here, running this place. But it’d be way different. All those things you snooped through and more.”

      “And…?”

      “What else is there?”

      Her fork clattered against her bowl and she gave him a supremely annoyed look. “You didn’t even mention a wife or kids or any kind of personal life.” She shook her head and resumed eating. “No way you’re getting anywhere near my clientele.”

      “That’s not fair. You tricked me.”

      “Didn’t. Even. Register.”

      “Fine, stick a wife in the picture. I’d be a great husband. To the right woman.” An exactly, perfectly right woman for him. There was no way he was taking a chance, only to wake up heartbroken or ditched, maybe miles away from a kid or two once the divorce dust settled. And if Mercer ever met such a woman, he’d know. Until then, no sense trying to make do with anything less.

      Jenna rolled her eyes and speared a pea pod on her fork.

      “What? I would be a great husband. Fix your car, rub your feet. Beat people up for you.”

      She laughed, shaking her head.

      “Grill a mean steak, rewire your toaster. Great kisser.”

      “All men think they’re great kissers. Just like you all think you’re the only decent driver on the road.”

      “Maybe, but I am. Amazing kisser. Dangerously amazing. Your panties would, like, disintegrate, I’m such an awesome kisser.”

      “Uh-huh.” Jenna seemed to bite back a smile.

      “Don’t act like that’s not important. Like you’ve never been on a date and thought the guy was pretty okay until he went in for the good-night kiss and it was all…” He made a grossed-out face.

      “It’s important, but it’s not everything.”

      “People should make out, like, ten minutes into a first date, and make sure that chemistry’s there. If it’s not, why waste the money on dinner?”

      “Some people won’t feel that with a person they don’t know yet. Most women, I suspect, at the risk of sounding sexist.”

      “Well, that’s what I’d tell my clients to do.”

      “You’d make a terrible matchmaker. And an even worse first date.”

      “Just leading with my strengths. I’d kiss you so good, you wouldn’t even notice what a cheap restaurant I took you to.”

      She laughed again.

      Mercer was happy to let the topic linger, enjoying flirting more than was advisable. But to his disappointment, Jenna changed the subject.

      “Where’d you get your name from? I’ve never met a Mercer before.”

      “It was my great-uncle’s name. He was a prizefighter in Baltimore, actually, back in the fifties. ‘No-Mercy’ Mercer McGill, he was called.”

      “Wow, now there’s a name.”

      “Tell me about it. Lucky bastard.”

      “Do you have a fight nickname?”

      “Nah. I was never a headliner. Decent record, though, brief as my semipro career was. Five and two, three knockouts. Don’t think my odds were ever much to write home about.”

      Jenna went noticeably still, not speaking for a protracted moment. “There was probably tons of that going on. Gambling.”

      “Sure. Goes hand in hand with the sport, for better or worse.”

      “My dad must have been good at it…guessing outcomes.”

      There was bitterness in her voice, impossible to miss. Mercer felt it, too, her condemnation of her dad—hell, his dad, for all intents and purposes—putting him on the defensive. Nearly everybody believed Monty had been involved all those years ago, though Mercer refused to think him capable of it. Not the man who’d personally drawn him away from what would’ve surely been a similarly ugly path.

      “Actually, your dad never gambled.”

      She met his eyes. “No? Why not? Was it forbidden if you’re involved with one of the competitors?”

      “Like that stops anybody. But no, he just wasn’t interested in that side of it. He thought it bred corruption and match-fixing.”

      “Huh.” Her perplexed expression told him she’d been fed a much different story.

      “Okay, actually, that was a lie,” Mercer said. “Your dad did gamble on fights. Once on me, to win.”

      She relaxed, clearly vindicated.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ