One Daring Night Read Online Free

was tempted to argue the point, but let it go. “So tell me about yourself, Eric.”
    He casually lifted one shoulder, then motioned for the waiter to keep the shots coming. “Not much to say that you don’t already know.”
    She appreciated his sense of humor. She’d been seconds away from a complete meltdown, then he’d shown up, invited her for a drink and now she was on the verge of genuine laughter. “Well, I do know you pretty well. You’re quite the open book.”
    “Exactly. I like steak, which I’m sure you noticed when you were in Prime 112.”
    She nodded, though she hadn’t seen anyone except Jeff through the haze of red. “Medium rare, if I’m not mistaken,” she added to the jest.
    “And, of course, I’m a suave charmer. A sexy son of a gun with irresistible green eyes.”
    “Are they green?” Joni asked, fighting the urge to laugh. “I hadn’t noticed.”
    Eric held his hand over his heart as if she’d mortally wounded him. “What? After I’ve spent the last ten minutes falling hopelessly under the spell of your chocolate-brown eyes, you say you haven’t even noticed mine?”
    “Apart from the obvious, Eric, what do you do for a living?”
    He waved to the bartender who set them up with another round of tequila shots. “I’m a partner at Barber and Clark Engineering. It’s a fairly large firm with branch offices in several states.”
    “Sounds incredibly boring, but profitable.”
    Eric shrugged, clearly not offended by her remark. “I do alright.”
    She wasn’t usually so brash and blunt, but her emotions were still riding close to the surface and she was finding it difficult to rein herself in. Not that she felt the need to. She’d warned Eric going in what he could expect. It sort of felt good to say the first thing that popped into her mind without guarding her words or pretending to be a nice person who thought polite things all the time. Truth was she was a sarcastic bitch, deep down inside.
    “What about you? How do you spend your days?”
    “I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”
    “Wow. You’re right. My job does sound boring compared to yours, but I’m still making more money.”
    She grinned and decided she liked Eric. She’d come here on a whim, her give-a-shit meter running on empty. She had accepted Eric’s invitation because she’d really needed a drink and he had seemed harmless, especially when he picked a bar they could walk to and that was on a very busy, well-lit street. If he turned out to be a huge creep, all she had to do was leave. Regardless, her mother would string her up by her toenails if she ever found out Joni said yes to a stranger who’d followed her out of a restaurant and into the parking lot.
    She’d asked him for honesty, so she bit the bullet. “Girlfriend?”
    He shook his head. “I wouldn’t be here if there was.”
    She tried to decide if he was telling the truth. She used to think she was a good judge of character. Then Jeff duped her. For three freaking years. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt…for now. “I guess my current relationship status is obvious.”
    “I don’t have a problem with your status.”
    It was an obvious come-on, but it seemed so sincere she didn’t call him on it. “Have you ever been married?”
    He shook his head. “No.”
    “Ever get close?”
    Again, the head shake. “Never.”
    Her brows creased. “Why not?”
    Eric hesitated. When the silence lasted too long, her temper flared. As long as they talked about surface-y stuff, he was willing to play along, but that promise of honesty appeared to come with limits. She stood. “Well, it’s been fun. Thanks for the drink.”
    He placed his hand on her arm, halting her escape. “Where are you going?”
    “I know how you guys are. It’s all fun and games until someone asks a serious question. Then the bullshit flies.”
    “I’ve never been married because I wasn’t willing to be tied down. I was never interested in having sex