She had to get a glimpse of that paper, she told herself with determination. Her heart was racing so hard she had trouble breathing, but she couldn’t let her nervousness stop her. Brianna suddenly knew that this was the story of a lifetime.
She moved over to the bar, trying to figure out how to get close enough to hear what the two men were saying and was instantly handed a drink by the bar tender. “What’s this?” she shouted to the man above the painfully loud music.
“From the man,” the handsome bar tender shouted right back.
Brianna’s eyes lifted, moving towards where the bartender was pointing and her heart leapt into her throat. It was the man! It was Rocco Antoniv!
When his eyes captured hers, she thought she might actually have stopped breathing. He was only a few people away from her now. Seeing him from a distance earlier this afternoon, she’d thought he was an extremely handsome man but with him this close, she just about passed out.
Oh, no, that’s from lack of oxygen, she told herself and took a deep, gasping breath.
She wasn’t a big drinker, but in this case, she needed both the prop to help her look the part she was trying to play tonight as well as the liquid courage from the alcohol.
And then he started moving towards her. The breath she’d taken a moment ago was lodged in her throat and she felt her knees begin to tremble. Hopefully this sophisticated, gorgeous and very…oh my! As he came closer, she tilted her head backwards, trying to keep eye contact, but the man was just too tall!
Um…and terrifying.
Brianna suddenly realized where her mind was going and she put the brakes on those thoughts. No! She wasn’t intimidated by this man! She was a tough, hard hitting reporter. She’d been comfortable in her role for so long, she’d forgotten what a real challenge was like! She had to do this.
With that in mind, she lifted her head back and stared right into his eyes, daring him as she’d seen other women do.
“I’m Rocco.” He took her hand in his, felt the trembling and was shocked. Rocco watched her carefully, realizing that this woman was not a member of the idly rich scene that normally would hang out in a nightclub like this. Of course, nor was he. Idle, that is. Rocco didn’t have time for night clubs and the irritating laziness that seemed to be part and parcel of the crowd which frequented this scene. But he read people easily and he knew that this woman, this lovely, nervous and gentle woman was not used to being in an environment like this.
If the lushness of her figure had not clued him in, the trembling in her hand certainly would have. He might intimidate other women, but they were experienced enough to dull their nerves with alcohol. This tiny woman delicately took a sip of the drink he’d bought her instead of gulping it down. He almost chuckled when she tried to smother her cringe at the taste. He suspected there was a great deal of alcohol in the drink. The bartenders at this establishment knew that patrons who were more inebriated were less tight with the cash as the evening progressed.
“What’s your name?” he prompted when she simply stared at him.
Brianna continued to stare up at the shockingly handsome man, trying to get her brain to start working. Unfortunately, she was stumped by his question. This was an easy one most of the time. She looked at him, looked down at her drink and shook her head slightly. When it finally came to her, she brightened. “Bri!” she gasped.
When the man chuckled, Brianna felt her face flame up and was eternally grateful for the dim lights of the club. “So you’re named after cheese,” he said softly, moving slightly closer as her inability to hide her feelings piqued his interest. “Interesting.”
She shook her head, trying to figure out why she felt like she’d just said something funny. “Brianna,” she stammered, feeling like a ridiculous school girl on a first date. She could do this, she told herself firmly. She had to! The man she’d been hunting tonight had walked right up to her so there was no excuse, no room for failure. She had to get this story!
With that in mind, she looked back up at him, her mind shifting from nervousness because she was inappropriately attracted to the man and moving into a “professional journalist” mindset. Or trying to. He was a bit too close and he smelled…delicious. Shaking her head, she focused on his eyes instead of how wonderful and spicy he smelled.
“So Rocco,” she said, trying to think of all the movies she’d seen where women picked up men in bars. “What are you doing here tonight?”
Rocco saw the transformation, realized what she was doing and could almost read her mind. She might be shockingly beautiful on the outside, but inside, she was adorable. There was no subterfuge with this woman. She might be here looking like every man’s dream woman, but she was ready to bolt out of here at the earliest opportunity. Rocco loved beautiful women and he was fascinated by mysteries. This lovely brunette stimulated both his body and his curiosity. A powerful combination to a jaded womanizer, he thought as his eyes sharpened on her pretty, green eyes.
“Besides talking with a beautiful woman?” he replied, amused by her obvious line. She was even more stunning closer up and he was intrigued by the transformation that had just happened. “Would you like to dance?” he asked.
Brianna was stumped. First of all, she didn’t know how to dance and secondly, the idea of those strong, large hands touching her was actually frightening. “You just bought me this drink,” she replied, swallowing as she tried to come up with another reason why they couldn’t go out onto the dance floor.
He almost laughed at her obvious attempt to avoid dancing. “I’ll buy you another later,” he said and started to take her hand.
She panicked and came up with the first thing she could think of. “I don’t really like this song,” she said, almost yanking her free hand back and hiding it behind her back. She smiled tremulously, but she could see the amusement in his eyes.
He leaned forward slightly. “We’ll wait then. How about if you come up to my table?” he suggested. “The music is a bit less overwhelming there.”
Brianna thought that was a perfect idea. “Lead the way,” she replied, smiling brightly.
Rocco put a hand around her waist, his fingers touching her lightly but Brianna’s nervousness still increased. Even in these ridiculous four inch heels, she didn’t come up to his chin. She didn’t like feeling small! She liked being tall and strong but somehow, this man made her feel silly and all girly. She wasn’t a girl! She was a journalist! She was tough and strong and completely non-girly!