4
OF ALL THE CRAZY,ridiculous ideas.Shari made herself stare at the wedding invite in all its grisly embossed-silver-roses glory. This ghastly evening pretending to be picked up in a bar by a man she wasn’t at all certain she wanted anything to do with was B.J.’s fault. As if the woman hadn’t tortured her enough in college, she’d followed Shari into the rest of her life just to screw that up for her,too.
Grumbling, she hauled on a skirt and a red clinging top. After all, she reasoned, no need for Luke to have it easy with her dressed as a little brown mouse hiding in the corner. With luck, he’d actually have to put a bit of effort into this absurd faux pick-uproutine.
With that in mind, she outlined her full lips in a nice deep mulberry shade and added an extra layer ofmascara.
War paint in place, she was on herway.
By the time she got to the hotel, she was feeling a little ticked. What was she? Some kind of prop to be used so he could act out the part of Luke the Seducer in his own privateshow?
Shari wasn’t at all the passive type. She lifted her chin. Luke might as well find out that the road out of Total Moronism wasn’t as easy as reading a few chapters in abook.
Women likedto star in their own stories, as Luke Lawson was about tolearn.
She walked into the dimly lit Rainbow Room and glanced around. It was fairly busy with an after-work, predinner and theater crowd. All the good tables were taken, but there were a couple of empty tables in the middle and a few vacant stools at thebar.
It would be so easy to take a seat at an empty table and wait for her “date” to pick herup.
She strolled past the tables, made her way to the back and settled herself on a bar stool. The bartender tossed her a grin from where he was pulling a beer. “Be right withyou.”
She returned the smile. “Thanks.”
It gave her a moment or two to decide what to drink, but by the time the bartender stood in front of her, she still didn’t know. She wrinkled her nose in indecision. “Whitewine?”
The bartender shook his head and leaned close. “Not for a lady inred.”
Damn, he was flirting with her. Her plan was already working. Was she good orwhat?
She twinkled back at him. “What do yousuggest?”
He leaned his elbows on the wooden counter, just an inch closer than necessary, and studied her. “I’m thinking exotic but cool. Maybe a little spicy with a touch of salt. And I happen to make the best margarita this side of MexicoCity.”
She giggled. He was cute. Probably a couple of years younger than she, but he definitely had attitude and was obviously only too happy to while away a few minutes between customers flirting with the only lone woman in the vicinity. “A margarita sounds perfect.Thanks.”
He turned her drink into a performance complete with swagger and bravado, and she enjoyed every second of it. When the drink arrived, it was perfect. Cool, salt-sweet and tangy. She surfaced from the first shivery sip and nodded herapproval.
“What’s your name?” he asked, wiping the dark bar in front of her with a towel, although it looked perfectly clean toher.
“Shari. What’syours?”
“Les. I don’t remember seeing you herebefore.”
“I don’t come here that often.” She’d dated an engineer a couple of times and they’d dropped by after a night at the theater, she remembered. But that had been more than a year ago. In fact, since she’d broken up with the perfectly nice but unexciting Peter six months ago, she hadn’t been to very many places likethis.
“What brings you here tonight? Meeting someone?” He let her see the light of interest in hiseyes.
“Yes, she’s meeting someone,” said a deep and somewhat annoyed voice from behindher.
She turned her head to find Luke wearing a possessivescowl.
“And who might that be?” she asked. According to chapter one, they were supposed to be strangers, afterall.
“Me.” He must have forgotten he was supposed to play a stranger. She’d rattled him out of his textbook exercise already and, luckily for him, that made her feelcharitable.
“You know this guy?” her new friend Les asked, ready, she was certain, to have Luke thrown out on his arrogantass.
However, she needed a date for B.J.’s wedding and somehow she didn’t think getting Luke tossed into a back alley was going to improve his role as her devoted loveslave.
