Breaking The Rules. Jamie Denton Ann

child to the emergency room the previous night, the chances of her making her shift tonight were slim. Still, Sunday wasn’t usually all that busy, except the Cubs were playing out of town and a few of his regulars would be in to watch the game on TV.

      “What do you know about tending bar, anyway?” he asked, then quickly shook his head before he completely lost his sense, common or otherwise. “No. Forget it, Carly. Go home.”

      He walked out of the kitchen and headed into the living room to the entertainment center. He had two hours until he opened the bar, and he had things to do. Things that didn’t include lusting after a tempting little distraction with a lethal body and a dangerous and determined glint in her ocean-blue gaze.

      “I can’t go home,” she said from behind him. “At least not yet.”

      His hand stilled above the power button to the small stereo system. “You ever been a waitress?” he asked, looking over his shoulder for his common sense and finding only Carly and those soft-as-silk legs tempting him beyond reason.

      “No.” She crossed her arms again, drawing his attention to her breasts. “How hard can it be?”

      He forced his mind out of the gutter. “The Wilde Side isn’t some trendy, upscale club in a nice, safe part of town. The tips are lousy and the customers aren’t looking for chitchat from some perky number like you. It’s a neighborhood tavern that serves hard drinks to hardworking men. You won’t fit in.”

      “How do you know that unless you’re willing to give me a chance?”

      He punched the button to the stereo and adjusted the volume low. “I just know.”

      “That’s a cop-out.”

      A grin he wasn’t really feeling tipped his lips. “It’s my bar, Princess.”

      His uncle’s bar, but his responsibility. Carly was a distraction, plain and simple. The fact that he couldn’t get her out of his mind was more than enough reason for him to send her packing back to her safe world where people cared about her and were worrying where she’d gone.

      With Karen off, he really could use the extra help, even if it was only to give him time to take care of other business matters regarding the bar. Matters that might allow the doors of The Wilde Side to remain open so he could keep his promise to Hayden, though it was a long shot.

      “Why is this so important to you?” he asked before he could stop himself. Whatever happened to not caring?

      She moved closer and trailed her finger along the entertainment center. “Before I go back home, I have to know I can make it on my own. I’ve never done anything important or even exciting my entire life. What everyone else wanted me to do, I did. I’ve always been the quintessential good girl. I’ve listened to and followed every single rule ever created. Boring and predictable. That’s me,” she said, then looked down at the dust-free pad of her finger with a frown before glancing up at him.

      “All right,” he reluctantly relented. “I could use the help for a couple of days. But if you’re bored and looking for a vacation from staid and predictable, look elsewhere, Princess. The Wilde Side doesn’t have what you’re looking for.”

      “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, flashing him a grin full of sass that tightened his gut, instantly making him regret his decision. “I think spending some time on The Wilde Side could be very interesting.”

      Cooper didn’t even want to go there. “It’s only temporary,” he managed, trying to shake a few wild images from his mind.

      She stepped closer and looked up at him with those deep sea-colored eyes. Before he could guess her intent, Carly slipped her hand behind his neck and applied the slightest bit of pressure. “Thank you, Cooper,” she said, her voice dropping to a husky whisper, sexier than anything he’d heard in a very long time. “You won’t be sorry.”

      He was more than sorry when her sultry gaze shifted to his mouth. Against his will, his common sense fled faster than rats fleeing a sinking ship. There was no other explanation available, he thought, angling his head to capture her sweet lips beneath his.