"You're right. You have nice deep-set dimples when you smile, too."

My body felt flush from the compliment that had come out of the blue. I didn't know how to respond, so I simply said, "Shut up."

"Just be careful," he said seriously, reaching into his back pocket. "Speaking of which...take this with you." It was his old red Swiss Army knife from when we were younger.

"You still have this?"

"I'll never stop needing this."

"You really want me to take this with me?"

"Yes."

Taking it from him, I said, "Okay."

"Are we done here?"

"We still haven't picked out what I'm wearing."

Justin walked over to my closet and ran his hand slowly along the lineup of outfits, eventually stopping at a simple black sleeveless dress that was far from revealing. It looked more like something you could wear to a funeral. Actually, it was the dress I had bought to wear to Nana's funeral before I realized she had explicitly written that she didn't want one. She wanted to just be cremated with her ashes thrown in the ocean without any fanfare.

"This one? Really?"

He held the dress in his hand. "Don't ask for my help if you're not gonna listen."

"Okay. This one it is." I took it from him and watched as he made his way out the door. My eyes focused on the rectangular tattoo on his back. Even though I always thought it was s.e.xy as h.e.l.l, I was never able to get a good enough look at it for some reason until now.

"Justin."

He turned around. "Yeah."

"What is that tattoo on your back?"

His body stiffened. "It's a bar code."

"That's what I thought. I always wondered. Does it mean anything?"

Refusing to answer my question, he simply said, "Get dressed. You don't want to be late for Dr. d.i.c.k."

Will was supposed to be picking me up in about twenty minutes. I sat on the kitchen counter sipping a gla.s.s of white wine to relax. The black dress that Justin had chosen actually looked pretty nice. There was no unnecessary skin showing, and that was probably the way it should have been. I ended up putting my long, dark brown hair up into a twist.

A waft of his cologne prompted me to look to the side. My heart clenched at the sight of Justin standing in the entryway. I hadn't noticed him until I smelled him. He seemed to be observing me without my knowing.

He'd just showered after his workout and looked so incredibly hot in a simple black shirt that hugged his muscles. The jeans he was wearing were the ones that always displayed his a.s.s in the best way. Even though I had the night off, Justin was supposed to be playing at Sandy's. The women were going to go apes.h.i.t over him tonight.

He walked over and pulled up a stool next to me. My nipples perked up at the closeness of his body.

He examined my face and said, "You don't look too excited."

"I'm not sure how I feel, to be honest."

"You're not nervous about going out with that jacka.s.s, are you?"

"A little."

"Why? He's not worth your nerves."

"It's the first date I've been on since Adam."

He sucked in his jaw almost angrily. "That's the guy that cheated on you..."

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Jade told me."

It surprised me that they'd been talking about me. I wasn't sure how I felt about Justin knowing about Adam.

"Oh."

"Don't let what happened with that a.s.shole make you think you should settle for the first Tom, d.i.c.k or Harry that comes along."

"Have you ever cheated on anyone?"

He hesitated before he answered, "Yes. I'm not proud of it. I was younger then, though. It's not something I would ever do today. The way I see it, if you want to cheat on someone, you should just break up with them. Cheating is for cowards."

"I agree. I wish that Adam had just broken up with me."

"I'm glad you're not with him anymore."

"Me, too."

"He was trying to have the best of both worlds. He'll end up doing it to the other girl, too. Watch."

"Jade is lucky to have you, to be with someone who is loyal."

His expression darkened before he said, "Temptation is natural. That doesn't mean you should act on it." He seemed to be pondering his own words in an attempt to convince himself of that very fact.

"Right. Of course."

Justin swiftly changed the subject. "You got your pocket knife?"

"Yes. I'm not going to need it, but it's in my purse."

"Good. You have my cell phone number?"

"Yes."

"You should be taking your own car."

"Well, I already agreed to have him pick me up."

"If he tries anything funny, call me. I'll come get you."

"But you'll be in the middle of performing."

"Doesn't matter. Call me if you need a ride."

"Okay. I will."

His protectiveness reminded me of the old days. Having someone looking out for me was a really good feeling. In fact, I hadn't felt it since running away from home all those years ago.

I took another sip of my drink. Before I could place it down on the counter, I felt Justin's hand on mine as he intercepted, taking the gla.s.s from my grasp and gulping down the rest of the wine.

My voice was practically a whisper. "I didn't know you liked white wine."

"I'm in a different kind of a mood tonight, I guess." He took the gla.s.s over to the small bar area and refilled it before sitting back down and placing it in front of me.

We quietly drank out of the same goblet, pa.s.sing it back and forth to each other, making silent eye contact. Whenever he licked the Chardonnay off his lips, it was utterly arousing. I felt so guilty for feeling that way, but it was beyond my control. Like he said, temptation was natural, right? Knowing that I couldn't and wouldn't act on it, made the feelings that much more powerful, though. The fact that he was unattainable made it all-consuming.

If I were being honest, no part of me really wanted to go out with Will tonight. Every part of me, on the other hand, wanted to go watch Justin perform, especially since we were coming upon the final days before he would return to New York.

The knock on the door was loud and confident. Justin rubbed the back of his neck to ma.s.sage the tension there. If I didn't know better, I would think he was the one nervous about this date.

When I hopped down from the stool to answer the door, he said, "Wait."

"Yeah?"

"You look really nice. I think that dress was the right choice."

My heart fluttered. "Thank you."

My heels clicked on the tile as I walked over to the front door.

Will was holding a small bouquet of flowers. "Evening, Amelia. G.o.d, you look stunning."

"Hi, Will. Thank you. Come in."

Justin's arms were crossed. His body language was more like an armed guard at a bank rather than a man standing casually in his own kitchen.

"You remember my roommate, Justin."

"Of course. How are you feeling?"

"Very energized at the moment, Dr. Danger."

Will seemed annoyed at Justin's misp.r.o.nunciation. "Dan-ger," he corrected.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to anger Dr. Dan-ger."

Will wasn't amused. "No problem."

"Where are you kids going tonight?"

"The Boathouse. You been there?"

"Right on the water. Smooth. Putting out all the stops."

Grabbing my purse, I said, "Well, we should get going."

Justin held his hand out. "I'll take care of the flowers."

Somehow, I wondered if they would end up in the trash the second the door closed behind us.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

When we got outside, Will turned to me. "Your roommate likes to butcher my name. He's a bit of a wisea.s.s."

"Yes. He can be."

Will opened the door to his Mercedes and let me in the pa.s.senger side. The conversation was easy on the way to Tiverton. He asked me about my teaching career, and we spoke about his time at the University of North Carolina Medical School at Chapel Hill.

My phone vibrated.

Justin: Those flowers were from the supermarket.

Amelia: How do you know?

Justin: He left the orange sticker on. What a tool.

Amelia: It's the thought that counts.

Justin: Look in the backseat. I bet you'll see milk and eggs.

Amelia: Don't you have to be at Sandy's?

Justin: Heading out now.

Amelia: Break a leg tonight.

Justin: Stay out of Danger. Better yet, keep Danger out of you.

Amelia: You're a goof.

Justin: Order the lobster. At least you'll get something out of tonight.