Gemma sat up, really happy to have her mind off her own problems. “There was an offer?”
Naomi’s eyes rolled. “Yes, a job offer.”
The doctor looked at Gemma. “What other kind of offer would I…absolutely not. Holly’s all the woman I can handle. No, girl with the dirty mind. I offered Naomi a very good job at my clinic.”
“And by very good job he means one with almost no salary, benefits that don’t live up to the word, and I would get to work with him.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about the working-with-me part. I can be obnoxious. And don’t sneer at the benefits. Holly’s banana bread is legendary. Besides, if you’re around for a while, maybe you can come to the wedding.”
Naomi’s face lit up. “Oh, are you getting married? I hadn’t noticed.”
He flushed a deep red, but it was charming on him. “I wanted to do a private thing, but Laura and Holly are best friends, and they should have a double wedding, you know. Well, I think I’m getting married. I mean, I am, but maybe not legally. No. Wait. Alexei’s got mob people after him and his real fake name is still Howard. I think it has to be me, right? And I have the money. And speak English. Well, mostly. Yeah. I’m signing the papers, but it’s Bliss, so we’re all getting married.”
“I am so confused.” Gemma tried to follow him, but it wasn’t happening. And she hadn’t even finished a damn drink yet.
The doctor tossed his hands up. “Absolutely. It’s weird, right? Except now I’ve had sex so many times with Alexei like right there that it feels weird when Holly and I do it alone. I mean, we do. Alexei works some late hours and I need to get my freak on, you know. But it’s weird. I can safely say that I never thought I would get married to a waitress and an ex-Russian mobster. Though I’m not married to Alexei. Right? There’s no actual sex and stuff so we’re not married. Fuck. I might be marrying Alexei. He gets his English really wrong. We could screw up and end up married to each other.”
Gemma sighed all the while thinking of the two men behind her. Were they still behind her? Had they given up? Did they think this was her way of flipping them off? Because it wasn’t. It was her way of being terrified.
Naomi laughed a little. “Well, if you do end up married to Alexei, I for one will pay for tickets to that show.”
The doctor flushed a little, and the ridiculously hot bartender slid him another round.
“Ladies, don’t tease the doctor. He has a rifle loaded with tranquilizer shots, and he’s not afraid to use it.”
Gemma was interested in that because if the doc could get away with it, she wasn’t sure why everyone had been horrified about the Taser. “You tranquilize the citizens of the town? Is that like on a random basis or just the people who annoy you?”
The doctor waved a hand. “God, no, Max Harper would never be awake. No, I just use it on Mel when he gets a little out of hand. And you’re one to talk. I had to have a whole checkup session with the Harpers to assure them Max suffered no real ill effects from his close encounter with your Taser. Nice work, Wells. Maybe you can hold the tranquilizer gun during the wedding. Holly wants to release doves. It could go really wrong if Mel decides they’re aliens. And Naomi, think about my offer. I could use a nurse. It’s just a matter of time until our next trauma.”
The hot doctor nodded, took his drinks, and walked off. The gorgeous bartender winked their way and turned to take the next woman’s order. So much hotness in a small area.
She didn’t have a future. The truth beat at her at the most inopportune times.
“This place is weird.” Gemma took a long drink of her vodka tonic. She still wasn’t sure she understood this place, and she didn’t like the feeling.
Naomi sighed and looked around. “I don’t know. I like it. It’s so different from Chicago. It’s softer here somehow.”
Chicago. Her mom had spent more time in Chicago than anywhere else, but it wasn’t home. Gemma didn’t have that one place where she could always go. Her whole life had been a blur of small towns and big cities and those years on the Renaissance Faire circuit. Lynn Wells had only been in Chicago to visit a friend, but she’d been forced to stay for two rounds of chemo before she’d gone into remission. And then she’d told Gemma she wanted to come home. To Bliss. This was where her mother felt safe. Gemma wasn’t sure she would ever have a place like this.
Silly name, Bliss. A misnomer since there was no such thing. She’d figured that out long ago.
But she was wondering if there wasn’t such a thing as an orgasm. Cade had asked her if it all had to be so serious. Why did it have to be? Because Jesse said so?
She glanced behind her. Cade was gorgeous. She really wanted to see him in his full glory. She wanted to see him walking around without a stitch of clothes on.
And Jesse. Jesse smiled and the whole damn world lit up. She’d tripped over her heels the other day going to lunch, and Jesse had thrown his body down so she would fall on him and not the concrete.
Patrick hadn’t noticed when she’d had her gallbladder out. She’d taken a cab from the hospital. Somehow she didn’t think Jesse or Cade would have allowed their woman to do that. Of course, they also seemed like men who would use the phrase “my woman.” Neanderthals. Really ridiculously wretched hot Neanderthals.
The jukebox wasn’t that far away.
“Damn, that’s a serious face.” Naomi leaned in, a smile on those beautiful lips. Maybe if she looked more like Naomi she would already be over at the jukebox. Maybe if she hadn’t let herself go, she would feel comfortable enough to walk over and just take control, but she’d indulged for six months. She’d gained ten pounds and lost most of her designer wardrobe. She’d left it behind in New York because she didn’t need it. Her hair was back to its normal color, and it brushed her shoulders, though she usually just shoved it in a ponytail.
Gemma shrugged. “Not really. It was just a passing thought.”
Naomi leaned forward. “Why passing? Look, Gemma, if you want them, I think you should go for it. You need to have some fun.”
She wasn’t sure she knew what fun was. Zane picked up a bottle of gin in front of her, his hands working to pour the proper amount. Family, huh? If they were “family,” then he could answer a couple of questions. “Zane, what do you know about those two guys at the table behind me?”
He looked straight at her. “There are five tables behind you. I know all the guys.”
Asshole. She rolled her eyes, biting back a grin. “The one right behind me.”
He sighed a little, staring out over the bar. “There are two men at that table, Gemma. Cade Sinclair and Ty Davis. If you’re the least bit interested in Jesse, I sincerely hope you’re asking me about Cade Sinclair.”
She hadn’t even noticed there was another man in the booth. “Black hair. Doesn’t like to wear a shirt.”
Zane slapped at the bar, his enthusiasm apparent. “That’s Cade. Excellent choice. The other one’s a man-whore. Seriously, he’s a walking venereal disease. Jesse’s good people. I don’t know as much about Cade, but I know they’re close. And Nate said they’ve been sniffing around you.”
She didn’t really care about how “good” he was. Well, she did, but she didn’t. And she probably shouldn’t get anywhere near him. “Nate needs to stop gossiping.”
“Ain’t happening, Gemma. Get used to it.” Zane went back to work.
Naomi leaned over. “Uhm, uhm. Those two men are practically eating you up, Gemma. What are you going to do about that?”