JENNIFER LABRECQUE - Barely Behaving

“I apologize again for Gigi’s bad manners. I’m Niall Fortson.” He extended a massive hand.

Hadn’t she heard once that the size of a man’s hand, or was it his feet—instinctively she glanced down—indicated the size of…She yanked her gaze up and her mind out of the gutter. She had to stop thinking this way.

“I’m Tammy Bran-uh, Cooper,” she stumbled over the last name, but now was as good a time as any to go back to her maiden name. “No harm done with Gigi.” She grasped his hand. His palm was warm and dry, his clasp sure and solid, and his touch echoed through her, setting off sparks. She desperately needed a good…dose of control. One touch and she was ready to jump him.

Her hand still tingled, even after the handshake ended. Actually his touch had more than her hand tingling. She checked out his ring finger. Naked. Of course, the lack of a wedding ring didn’t mean much. Any minute now she expected a perky blonde to bounce around the corner with a couple of cute-as-pie kids in tow. Gigi had woman’s dog written all over her. Tammy discreetly squinted past him to his front porch.

“Are you looking for something?” He glanced over his shoulder.

So much for discretion. “Just thought I’d meet the rest of the family.”

Niall whistled. A massive dog lumbered out the front door. “Tammy meet Memphis. Memphis, Tammy Cooper.”

Memphis hiked a leg before ambling over to sniff her crotch in greeting—definitely a man’s dog. “Uh, hi there,” she offered. Good grief, her entire hand would fit in the dog’s massive mouth.

“He’s harmless,” Niall reassured her.

“I’ll take your word for it.” She wasn’t nearly as comfortable with this beast as she was with the toe-biter.

He laughed, a low pleasing rumble that slid over her like a warm blanket on a cold night. “So, you’ve met Memphis and Gigi. The cats are still in their carriers. They don’t travel well so I sedated them before we left.” He grimaced.

Okay, this was why she usually skipped subtlety. It didn’t get her anywhere. She’d met her fair share of married men who conveniently forgot to mention the wife and kids. She’d openly fish and if he didn’t bite she’d point blank ask him if he was married. “We as in the rest of your family?”

He grinned and she realized he’d known all along she wanted to find out he was married. “We as in me and the animals. No kids. And my ex-live-in—or significant other, whatever you want to call her—stayed with the house in Oklahoma City.”

The significant other business surprised her. Niall Fortson didn’t look like the shacking up type. She didn’t exactly know what the shacking up type looked like but it wasn’t him. The ex-significant other explained Gigi.

“Gigi belonged to your ex?” She’d bet the farm.

Surprise flitted across his face. “How’d you know?”

Aha. Her instincts hadn’t failed her. “Lucky guess. How’d you wind up with her? The dog, not your ex.” Shoot her for being nosy, but inquiring minds wanted to know.

“Mia wanted Gigi and then decided she was too high-maintenance.”

Mia. She sounded like an urbane sitcom character. Tammy had a feeling the woman had been far more high-maintenance than the dog.

He peered over her shoulder in teasing imitation. “What about your family?”

Tammy laughed at his easy ribbing. “It’s just me.” It felt good to say that—no, make that great. “My ex-husbands, all three of them, stayed with the houses.” Might as well air the multiple divorces up front.

“Probably a good thing. It could get crowded with three ex-husbands hanging around.” Niall quirked his mouth in a lopsided smile that started in his eyes and radiated to engage the rest of his face. A small scar along his upper lip added a hint of rugged sexiness. Tammy’s pulse quickened and a slow heat curled through her. A sense of humor and a bone-melting smile. “Any pets?”

“No. No pets.”

“And now you’re living next to Wild Kingdom.” Another dose of that smile and her heart rate did another bump and grind. “I’ll try to keep Gigi on my side of the fence.”

“Your animals are fine. I don’t have anything against animals—I just don’t want the responsibility.” Or another gaping wound that came with losing a pet. Once had been enough. Pets and kids were cool as long as they belonged to someone else.

Thank God she’d had the sense to go on the pill at a young age and not jump into motherhood during any of her marriages. She’d been thrown into the mother role when Martha Rae, as she’d thought of her mom for years now, abandoned their family. Not only had Tammy done a lousy job mothering Olivia and their brother Marty, she’d had enough of it to last a lifetime.

“They do require commitment.” Did she simply imagine it or did his ready smile falter a bit? He obviously had a thing for animals.

“What brings you to Colthersville?” Tammy asked, filling in what had become an awkward silence. And she was curious.

“I’m a vet. I’m joining Dr. Schill’s practice.”

Didn’t that just rip? Yeah, he had a thing for animals. “Congratulations. Dr. Schill’s a good vet, even if he is an old goat.”

Surprise raised his brows. “Okay. Thanks for the information.”

She thought she’d shown some restraint. She positively loathed the man. She could’ve called him a lech. It was a much more accurate description. “Sorry. I call ’em the way I see ’em. I was married to Dr. Schill’s son.”

Niall winced. “Things didn’t end well?”

The beginning had been great with Allen and the ending had been fine. It was the in between that had stunk on ice. From the day they’d married, Dr. Schill acted as if Tammy wasn’t good enough for his son. Then the randy old goat had cornered her in the kitchen and put the move on her one Thanksgiving. A well-placed knee had taken care of the immediate situation. Later, when she’d mentioned it to Allen, he’d defended his father, claiming Tammy had misunderstood his dad. In her book, it was difficult to misunderstand the old guy squeezing her breasts. Her marriage had gone downhill from there.

She shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Allen was my second husband. He’s remarried and he and Jenna have two kids now, so all’s well.”

An ant marched across her bare foot. She shifted to one foot and nudged it off with her toe, swaying slightly. Niall reached out and wrapped his hand around her upper arm. “Steady.”

“Thanks.” A soft shiver slid down her spine at his touch. He dropped his hand and in an instant she was back to two feet firmly on the ground, but the heat evoked by his touch continued to radiate through her.

“It’s safe to mention you’re the girl next door?”

She laughed aloud at the idea of her being the girl next door. Like any other place, small or otherwise, Colthersville had its share of gossips and she’d given them plenty to talk about over the years. It’d take about two seconds for anyone in Colthersville to fill him in on her reputation.

“That’d be a poor choice of words. I don’t think anyone who knows me would buy into the girl next door label. I’m the resident bad girl.”

And he might just be Mr. Right Now.

“BAD IS A RELATIVE TERM. You don’t strike me as bad at all.” As a rule, Niall liked people—almost as much as he liked animals—but in the span of five minutes he found himself inordinately drawn to Tammy Cooper.

A cynic would’ve said it was due to his first glimpse of her naked, but it was more than that. Of course, he’d never forget that first sight of her—and she wasn’t going to let him, either.

“In case you missed it, I was naked when I met you.” He would’ve had to be dead to have missed it but, thank you, Jesus, he’d been alive, cognizant and fully appreciative. “Has it been your experience that nice girls sit around naked?” Her amazing blue eyes sparkled. The little vixen was thoroughly enjoying needling him.