A Better Reason to Fall in Love by Marcia Lynn McClure Page A

unable to hide her amusement that even Naomi was involved in the prodding.
    “I promise,” Tabby agreed.
    “Well, hello, ladies.”
    Tabby felt her eyes widen—felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle with delicious understanding at the realization that Jagger Brodie stood behind her.
    “Hi, Jagger,” Naomi greeted.
    They’d been sitting at a small table in one corner of the room. Tabby watched as smiles spread across Emmy’s and Jocelyn’s faces as they looked beyond Tabby and simultaneously greeted hello.
    Tabby felt Emmy step on her foot in urging her to turn around. Mustering every ounce of redheaded courage she could, Tabby swiveled around in her seat to see Jagger Brodie standing behind her. He was grinning and looking at her—rather expectantly.
    “Hi,” she managed.
    “You girls eat lunch together every day, don’t you?” the girl Naomi knew from accounting asked. She was pretty—really pretty. Tabby’s stomach began to burn with a thick stew of jealousy.
    “We do,” Naomi said.
    “Yeah,” Jagger said. “I saw them at the Acapulco the other day,” he said as he continued to look at Tabby.
    “We brown bag it most of the time,” Emmy said. “But every Friday we pick a restaurant to try.”
    “So I’ve heard,” Keira from accounting said. “You know the guys in accounting call you the Foxy Four.”
    “Really?” Jocelyn giggled. Her flattered smile was as wide as the Mississippi.
    “It’s true,” Keira said, though Tabby couldn’t tell if she was amused by the fact or insanely jealous. “Isn’t it, Jagger?”
    Jagger’s grin broadened to a smile as he nodded. He was still looking at Tabby, and she suddenly felt overly warm. His smile had the same effect on her that the noonday sun in Tombstone had had when she’d visited the old western town as a kid: she felt fiery hot and wondered whether she might faint. It had been heatstroke that had overwhelmed her in Tombstone, and now she knew that Jagger Brodie–stroke could be just as threatening.
    As Jagger continued to stare at her, Tabby managed to stammer, “Well…I suppose everyone at the office has some sort of nickname.” She blushed as the endless variety of nicknames assigned to Jagger Brodie by the women in the office began to roll through her head like long movie credits.
    “Maybe so,” he said.
    “Come on, Jagger,” Keira from accounting said. “You’ll make us late getting back.”
    “Oh!” Jocelyn gasped. “Me too. I’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes!”
    “Good afternoon then, ladies,” Jagger said. He offered them a smile and a friendly nod and then turned to follow Keira toward the exit.
    Tabby watched him go—watched the way he sauntered—smiled as he opened the door for Keira.
    “Anything can happen,” Emmy said, drawing her attention back to her friends.
    “Nothing is impossible,” Jocelyn echoed as they all stood.
    Naomi even smiled. “I suppose making out in the break room wouldn’t be so bad…if it were Jagger Brodie you were making out with.”
    “Shut up, you guys,” Tabby said as she tossed her empty cup and brown paper bag into the nearby trash receptacle. Her friends giggled, and she knew more teasing was in store. Thus, before they could begin, she preempted their tormenting her by saying, “I’ve decided where I want us to go for lunch on Friday.”
    “Oh, yeah? Where?” Jocelyn asked.
    “It’s a new place,” Tabby answered. “It’s only been open a couple of weeks, but I’ve heard it’s really cool. It’s called Sweet Genevieve’s, and there’s live entertainment at lunch.”
    “What? More cliff divers?” Naomi rather whined.
    “No,” Tabby said as Jocelyn rammed an elbow into Naomi’s ribs. “It’s like a blues and jazz thing. They supposedly have really good food too.”
    “Sounds fun,” Emmy exclaimed.
    “Kind of,” Naomi said. She shrugged and added, “If we can’t have poetry recitation…then at least we can have some music. Hopefully good