He set her foot down, still holding her ankle as if she needed support. "You're sure?" He edged his hand up until his fingers opened over her calf.

"I'm sure." She cleared her throat as if she was aware of how husky she sounded. "Thank you."

"Then let's go in."

He offered his arm for the walk up the steep drive, and she accepted with a grateful smile. "We don't have to stay long. I just need to make an appearance."

"I'm sure it'll be fun."

"You're wrong about that."

"Is there anyone I need to watch out for?"

She stumbled a little, and he had to brace her. "What do you mean?" she demanded.

"Remind me to come pick you up at the front door when we leave. This hill isn't safe in heels."

"Okay. Sure. It's not safe for me in heels, anyway." Her laugh was tight and embarrassed, which he found damn cute on a woman like her.

"I just meant that I've heard these university functions can be tense. Who has tenure, who doesn't. Someone got the government grant another person was going for. I hear a lot of bitching about it at the bar. Is there anyone you want me to kiss up to?"

"Oh, that. No, I don't have any budget enemies. Or tenure tensions. I'm only an instructor."

"What does that mean?"

"No PhD. No tenured position. No research. I teach-that's all." Her tone was neutral, and she didn't look self-conscious about it, just matter-of-fact.

"That sounds nicer, actually."

She flashed him a smile. "I think so, too."

"All right. So no underlying tensions."

"Right. Yes. I mean no." Now she looked worried.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "I'll have a good time."

She swallowed hard enough that he heard it. "I bet you're the kind of person who has fun no matter what you're doing."

He shrugged. "I try."

"That's really nice." She stopped before the enormous wood door and took a deep breath. "But this is a university party, so I hope you're up for a challenge tonight."

Jamie let his eyes travel down her body while she was distracted by ringing the bell. "Oh, I am," he murmured.

When the door opened and they stepped in, Jamie was damn glad he'd decided on a pair of black pants and a button-down shirt tonight. Jeans would not have fit in here, and even though he'd amped it up a notch, Jamie definitely felt slightly out of place among the sculptures and polished wood. Olivia, on the other hand, fit right in. She was elegant and cool and said all the right things as she made the introductions. The notes from the piano music seemed to float around her.

But she'd been right about the party. It was boring, starting with the languid piano music that sounded as if it'd been designed to coax insomniacs to sleep. Time passed slowly. He answered the occasional question about his name and job-there never seemed to be a follow-up-and fantasized about putting his hands to her waist and pulling her in for a kiss. A long, deep kiss. He imagined that she would thaw slowly that first time. He'd have to coax it from her.

Jamie hadn't practiced his coaxing skills in a while, and he had to fight off the urge to stretch hard and crack his knuckles in anticipation.

"The brewery, right?" someone was saying to him.

Jamie blinked from his stupor to find a hulking man standing there with his wineglass held out like a pointer. An ex-football player if Jamie had ever seen one. "I'm sorry?"

"You're with the brewery, right? Donovan Brothers? I'm Todd. Been in there a few times. Good beer."

"Thank you." Jamie introduced himself and found that, just as he'd suspected, the guy had been a power halfback at the U twenty years earlier. Jamie wasn't much of an athlete. He'd played baseball for a couple of years in high school, but he'd never taken it too seriously. Still, knowing sports was part of his job, and he settled into a conversation about last year's football season. He often wondered why these guys never got tired of the same subject. Surely Todd had already discussed last year's season a thousand times over. Then again, Jamie never got tired of talking about beer. Maybe it was comforting to know you were an expert in something.

They soon moved on to next year's lineup, and Jamie's mind wandered. How long had they been at the party? An hour? He searched the room for Olivia, trying to find her among the crowd, as he agreed with everything Todd said about the up-and-coming starting quarterback.

When he finally found Olivia, she seemed to be in the same predicament. A tiny, ancient man had her cornered, and she nodded every few seconds even as her eyes glazed over.

Jamie was just settling into listening to the story of Todd's last big game when he noticed Olivia's gaze sharpen. Her body stiffened. She shifted to the other foot. Jamie followed her gaze-straight over the top of her companion's head. It took Jamie a moment to pick anyone out of the crowd, but he finally figured out who she was staring at.

A couple had just stepped through the door. The man was tall and good-looking and enthusiastically shaking hands with everyone within his radius. The woman was blond, tan and very, very young.

Olivia had turned away from them as if she was pretending to ignore them, but as Jamie watched, the man spotted Olivia, raised his eyebrows and headed toward her. He very purposefully took his date's hand and guided her through the crowd, though he stopped every few feet to exchange words with other guests.

When he got to Olivia, he pulled her into a hug as soon as she turned toward him. Olivia cringed.

Interesting.

Todd seemed to have wrapped up his story, so Jamie said, "Those were the glory days, huh?" then slapped Todd on the back. "Come by the brewery this weekend and I'll buy you a beer."

He left Todd grinning with pride and headed toward one of the servers. Olivia's wineglass was empty and she looked like she could use another. Just as he started toward her, she looked up and said something to the man as she gestured in Jamie's direction. Surprise flickered briefly across the man's face as he turned.

"Victor," she was saying when Jamie walked up. "This is Jamie Donovan. Jamie, this is Victor. And Allison."

"Great to meet you," Jamie said, holding out his hand to Allison first, then Victor. Victor's grip was tight as a vise.

"Victor Bishop," the man said very clearly, hitting Jamie with the exact amount of shock he'd hoped for. Bishop.

Jamie made his face stay neutral and pleasant. He didn't aim an alarmed look at Olivia, even though everything inside him wanted to pull her aside and ask for some quick clarification.

"So..." Victor said, giving Jamie's hand one last ridiculous squeeze. "How did you come to know Olivia?"

"I served her a few beers," he said dryly.

"Beers?" Victor shot Olivia an incredulous look. "You don't drink beer."

"She drinks my beer," Jamie offered with a smile. He finally dared a glance at Olivia. Her cheeks were flushed. Her hand white-knuckled around the stem of the empty wineglass. "I gave her a few lessons."

She met his gaze and tried to smile, but the result was a tense grimace. "Jamie is part of the Donovan Brothers Brewery family," she said.

"But I've got nothing against wine. Here, Olivia." He plucked the empty from her hand and handed her a new one. He was tempted to ask Victor how he'd come to know Olivia, but Jamie figured he already knew. They had the same last name and the guy definitely wasn't giving off a sibling vibe.

"Well," Victor said. "It's nice to see you dating again, Olivia." His words didn't quite sound genuine. In fact, they sounded pretty damned forced, not to mention patronizing as hell.

Jamie looked him over a little more thoroughly. Victor Bishop was older than Olivia by at least ten years, and he dressed as if he were trying out for the part of "stereotypical college professor" in a local theater production. Pressed slacks, gray button-down shirt, hound-stooth sport coat, brown suede shoes. But everything looked very expensive.

"So, Victor," Jamie said into the uncomfortable silence. "I haven't heard much about you." He thought he detected a faint wheeze from Olivia. "I'm guessing you work at the U?"

"Absolutely. I'm a professor of economics."

Jamie smiled. "And you, Allison? Do you work at the U or are you an innocent bystander like me?"

"Oh," the girl said, looking up at Victor as if checking on the answer. "I guess I'm an innocent bystander now. I was a teaching assistant last semester."

Victor's teaching assistant, Jamie would guess. He didn't need to rely on his years of bartending psychology to pick up on these undercurrents. He wondered exactly how long Olivia had been divorced. As if he'd attracted her attention with his thoughts, Olivia tucked her arm around his. Victor's gaze darted down.

"We'd better go find Rashid," she said with false cheer. "I haven't congratulated him on his new position at Stanford."

They strolled away as if they were searching for Rashid, but Jamie led her into the kitchen. There were some catering staff around, but no guests. As soon as they were out of sight of the party, Jamie let her go and stepped back. When he crossed his arms, she looked at the floor. "So," he said.

She didn't look up.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

Her hands twisted together, but she said nothing.

"I'm guessing that Victor is your ex-husband?" She looked more than a little ashamed as she nodded, so he was confident he'd figured out the rest of it. "And he's the reason you invited me along?"

Olivia swallowed. "I wouldn't say that. I mean...it's not..."

Right. Jamie felt more pissed off than he would've expected. His first real date in nearly a year and she was faking it. Shit. This was a new experience. "Well, I'm flattered, I guess."

"Jamie-"

"Your ex-husband is playing the field with younger women. You thought you'd show off with a younger man-"

"It's not that!" she interrupted. "Or...not only that. It's more about me than you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

She crumpled a little, her shoulders dropping, and Jamie realized it was the first time he'd seen her without perfect posture. "I'm sorry," she said. "He wasn't supposed to be here."

He was a little embarrassed about how much that cheered him up. "You didn't know he'd be here? Really?"

"No, not that. It was wrong. I know it was. I wasn't playing a game, or I didn't mean to, anyway. I only agreed to come to the party because he was supposed to be gone. I've got a new life now. I didn't want to see him. When I found out he was coming... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought you."

He didn't bother to disagree.

Olivia took a gulp from her wineglass, then set her shoulders back as if she'd realized she was slouching. "I apologize. I just wanted to loosen up a little."

"In front of your ex?"

"Yes, in front of my ex! He..."

Jamie saw the way she swallowed hard, her jaw clenching, and he worried she was about to cry. "Listen-"

"That girl he's with. Allison. She's not the first girl like that he's dated. And marriage didn't keep him from indulging."

"Ah."

"Predictable, isn't it? But I'm not bitter anymore. I don't hate him. I swear it's not like that. I want to have a life that has nothing to do with him."

"Except when it does?"

Olivia shrugged and finished her wine before setting the glass carefully on the counter. While she was still turned away from him, she murmured, "He told me I wasn't any fun."

Jamie ran a hand through his hair, wondering if it would be rude to leave right at this moment. He was probably justified. Surely she wouldn't object. He'd be kind enough to drop her off at her place first. "What?"

She turned to face him. "When I caught him cheating, he told me it was because I wasn't any fun."

Jamie grimaced. "Jesus Christ."

"And you know what? I'm not fun. But that doesn't mean I can't try to be."

"You want him back?" Jamie asked, his voice so loud that she blinked in shock.

"No! That's not it at all! I'm just trying to enjoy my life. Figure out who I am. I was only twenty-two when I met him. I'm not that girl anymore. So who am I?" She met his gaze head-on and, for the first time, she let him see something of herself. Something warm and vulnerable. "Am I the kind of woman who goes on a date with someone like you?"

"Someone like me?" Jamie ordered himself not to feel primal satisfaction at the way her eyes warmed.

"You're young. Handsome. Purposefully charming."

"I like to think of it as naturally charming."

"Oh, it's natural," she said, her mouth quirking wryly. "But you use it to great effect."

"I like people."

She smiled then, chasing the sadness from her face. "I know you do. And you're the definition of fun. So I thought..." Color climbed up her cheeks.

Whether he was angry or not, Jamie couldn't help his interest in this woman, and the color in her cheeks intrigued him. "You thought what?"

"I'm trying new things. Like the book club. So I thought..."

"You thought you'd try me out, too?"

She flashed a surprisingly wicked smile. "I thought I'd try a date with you. And, unfortunately, I thought I'd do it in front of Victor. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. It was a momentary impulse. I'd already changed my mind when you weren't at the brewery, but then you walked in...."

He shrugged. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have shown him up. But I would've appreciated a warning."

She touched his arm. "I really am sorry. Let's leave."

"I don't know. You're already using me. I'm all dressed up. We may as well make the most of it."