She shook her head, knowing that answer wasn't the one she wanted it to be.
She shifted back on her stool, so that the few people between them would shield her from view. And him from her, too. All she needed was for him to see her ogling him at the end of the bar. With any luck, he'd have no idea she was here.
Maksim knew the exact moment when Jo spotted him. Her eyes widened and she shrank back in her seat, trying to hide behind Erika. The reaction irritated him a lot.
The bartender, a girl in her early twenties in a pair of skintight, low-rise jeans and an equally tight black camisole placed a whiskey on the rocks in front him.
She leaned forward, offering him a hint of her cleavage. "Can I get you anything else?"
She smiled invitingly.
Maksim lifted the drink to his lips, downing the amber liquid in one swallow.
"Yeah. Another," he said, sliding the empty glass back to her.
She looked slightly disappointed by his blatant disinterest, and while he wasn't particularly worried about her feelings, he could relate to her displeasure. He'd love to have his attention drawn to another woman. Hell, little Miss Bartender would do. But that didn't seem like a possibility while Jo Burke filled his every thought.
Taking no more notice of the bartender, he shifted forward to sneak a look at Jo. He could only make out part of her face and her shoulder.
Sadly, the partial glimpse of her did more to his libido than the obvious and provocatively clad bartender. He closed his eyes, blocking out the limited image of her.
He was losing it. That was the only explanation. Going completely mad. The cut of a cheekbone, the corner of a mouth, the curl of brown hair around the pink shell of an ear, the curve of a shoulder. None of those features should be enough to drive him to utter distraction.
But they did. She made him nuts. Lust pulsed through his body as much a part of him as his blood. Just from having her in the same room with him. But something else mixed with the lust, making it more powerful, more intense. He didn't want to consider what they thing could be.
Crazy. That's what he was.
He opened his eyes, needing just another glimpse. But this time broad shoulders blocked his view of her.
A man in faded jeans and a T-shirt stood between Maksim and her, his elbow leaning on the bar, his body swaying toward Jo.
Maksim could see her hand reach for her drink. The curl of her fingers around the glass, the leisurely lift of it out of sight. Maksim could visualize those pretty lips of hers, as she took a small sip. The movement casual, not agitated. Maybe she smiled at the guy afterward, her lips wet and glistening from the liquid she'd just sampled.
The glass returned back to sight, but she didn't take her hand away. One of her elegant fingers circled the rim, the swirling hypnotic, a little flirty.
She liked this guy's attention.
Fuck that.
"So what's your name?"
Jo debated whether she should tell this guy, or just be straight up and advise him he was wasting his time. She decided that while she was in no mood to make small talk with a stranger, much less flirt with one, it wouldn't hurt to answer.
"Jo."
"Jo. I like that. Is that short for Josie?"
Jo shook her head. Did people have nicknames for Josie?
"Jolene?"
She supposed the guy was getting closer. Sort of. And she'd have to give him a little leeway, he was clearly a few drinks into the night.
"Josephine," she supplied for him, a little afraid of what his next guess might be. Joanie? Jody?
"Oh, Josephine. That's a pretty name." He swayed toward her, his gaze on her lips.
She took a sip of her drink, not wanting to risk him moving in for a kiss, although he was likely swaying because of the alcohol and focusing on her lips because the room was spinning.
"What's your name?" she asked, not that she particularly cared, but it seemed the polite thing to do. And actually, he was doing a terrific job of hiding her from Maksim. He wasn't necessarily keeping her mind off him, but he was a distraction of some sort.
The guy rocked forward again, this time enough to make Jo lean back in response. Okay, a pretty poor distraction, but she'd take it right now.
"My name is Cameron." He squinted, looking like he didn't know why he was telling her that. Clearly her question had become a distant memory in a matter of seconds.
She wished she could drink. Maybe then Maksim could become a distant recollection to her.
"So, are you from here?" Cameron asked.
"Just moved here."
"Me, too!" Cameron raised his huge plastic tumbler filled with some sort of orangey-pink liquid that looked pretty noxious. It seemed to be doing a number on him.
"To us. And our move to the best city in the world."
Cameron clearly had been toasting many things over the course of the evening. But she lifted her glass, again to be polite, tapping the rim to the side of his cup.
He sloshed a little of the toxic mixture on his oxford shirt on his way to his mouth, supporting her theory this might be one toast too many.
He just chuckled as he wiped the liquid off with his hand, which made her laugh, too. He wasn't an obnoxious drunk, just a jovial one, and she decided maybe she was enjoying the distraction.
She set down her drink, her hand lingering on the coolness of the glass. She absently circled her finger around the rim, her thoughts skipping back to Maksim. He was so close, but a lot of good that did her.
Okay, maybe good ole drunk Cameron wasn't much of a diversion after all.
"What do you do for work?" Cameron asked as if he'd read her mind and was trying to do a better job for her.
Sorry Cameron, but there's fat chance of that.
"I'm the director of a community center," she said.
"No way! I work at the Micro Center. It's a computer store."
Jo stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if he was making a joke. She concluded he wasn't, but laughed anyway. Because he was so sincere in their almost eerie kinship that what else could she do.
"Wow, that's so spooky," she managed to say once she stopped laughing.
"I know," he agreed wholeheartedly, his eyes widening at the very thought.
Jo laughed again, but the laughter died on her lips as Maksim walked past them. His green eyes sought hers, leaving no doubt that he was aware she was here. Without even turning to follow his path, she knew he stopped and took the stool on the other side of her.
To confirm her thoughts, she heard him call out to the bartender.
"Hey sweetheart, mind bringing me another down here?"
The bartender smiled at him, clearly pleased with his endearment. She nodded and bounced off, happy with his attention.
As most woman would be, Jo supposed. And the idea rankled her.
Jo didn't turn around, but she could feel him right behind her. His presence was like a physical touch across her back.
Maksim didn't bother to slide the stool next to Jo away from her. He wanted to be in her space. He wanted her aware of him. But if she was, he couldn't tell.
"Do you like being a director?" the guy who was standing far too close to Jo's other side asked. He swayed slightly, and Maksim could see he was pretty well wasted.
Jo's voice was muffled slightly, because she wasn't facing him, but Maksim could still make out her words.
"Umm, yeah, I do."
"Do you have pottery classes?"
Maksim raised an eyebrow and fought the urge to roll his eyes. Jo had given him the deep freeze just to go out and talk to this winner. He didn't know whether to be insulted or amused.
"No," Jo said slowly, clearly finding the guy's question a little strange too. "No, we don't."
"Ah, that's too bad. People like to do pottery."