Luke shrugged. “So don’tgo.”
Her jaw dropped, her attention snagged from a mental review of her wardrobe. “Not go? I have to go. This—” she flapped the pale cream, engraved invitation at him “—is a slap in the face, a challenge to mortal combat. Oh, no. I’mgoing.”
She checkedthe date of the wedding. A month away. “I’ve got four weeks to prepare,” she said, only vaguely aware that she was speaking aloud to a virtual stranger. “I’ll need a great dress, a great date—” She dropped her hand to her stomach and tested the muscle tone. “An intense fitness regimen. Maybe cut back on fats and try to lose a couple ofpounds.”
She glanced at her watch. If she could get rid of Luke, she could drop to the carpet and do some abdominal crunches and push-ups right away. With only a month to prepare, she didn’t have a moment tolose.
The sad truth was, she’d never entirely recovered from the humiliation of losing Randy to B.J. back in their senior year. She hadn’t exactly been shy about wearing her broken heart on her sleeve, either. All her old college friends probably still thought of her as the girl who couldn’t hang on to herboyfriend.
B.J. wanted to go another round? Shari was more than ready. She was older, smarter, and a lot better at handling her emotions. She had a good job and a life sheliked.
This was her chance to prove it. She needed a fabulous dress, new accessories. She groaned mentally. The most important accessory she needed wasn’t a new purse or high heels. It was a gorgeous chunk of testosterone hanging off her arm. Where was she going to find one ofthose?
With only a month to go, she couldn’t afford to waste a minute. She snapped her attention back to Luke. The quicker she got rid of him and started on her master plan, the better. “You wanted to talk to me aboutsomething?”
“Shari, I need yourhelp.”
She paused, while she tried to forget about B.J., the boyfriendthief.
“You need my help withwhat?”
“You know that book you saw?Sex for TotalMorons?”
“Yes.” Blushing was childish and embarrassing. She would notblush.
“It’s kind of forcouples.”
She forgot all about the heat creeping into her cheeks and felt her eyes widen. “You mean, total morons pairup?”
He grinned. “It’s not that, exactly. The book is separated into chapters, and there are lessons and, um, exercises. I need someone to practice with. Since you’re the only woman who knows about the book, I wondered if you’d do them withme.”
She jumped to her feet, all thoughts of B.J., orange blossoms and “Ave Maria” flying out of her head. She could not believe this man. “You’re asking me to have sex with you? Maybe you should grab yourself a copy ofPolite Conversation for Total Morons.I’ll give you a hint. We are not havingone.”
She stalked to the door. What kind of sick game was this creep playing with her? No wonder he couldn’t getlaid.
“No, wait.” He rose and followed her. “You misunderstood me. I’m not asking for sex. Just some compassion. You seem like a person with a goodheart.”
“I also have a brain bigger than a pea.” With a jerk, she opened the door and glared at him. “Out.”
“There’s nothing but kissing until ChapterFour.”
“Tell someone whocares.”
“I didn’t put that well. I’m sorry. Look–” He ran a hand through his already disheveled hair, looking little-boy lost and adorable. “The women I meet, they have preconceived notions about me. They expect certain things. But you, you’re different. You don’t see me that way at all. I thought maybe you’d help me. Just to get started. The first few chapters. I promise we wouldn’t do anything you didn’t feel completely comfortablewith.”
Once again she wondered how someone so gorgeous could be such a dud under the blankets. One of life’s unsolved mysteries. “You’re asking me to sleep with you out of pity? There’s a term for that, youknow.”
He made a gesture of dismissal with his hand. “Forget about sex. I just want to see if the book works. If you’d practice the first couple of chapters with me, say, every Friday night, I’d be reallygrateful.”
She was ready with an unqualified no. A “Hell, no” so firm he’d never darken her doorway again. But her attention was caught by the invitation still clutched in her hand. Instead of no she stared at Luke as a brilliant, fully formed notion popped into herhead.
She narrowed her eyes at him. Apart from the little problem no one else needed to know about, he was better-looking than anybody else she was likely to dig up in one short month. If she kept him on a tight rein and didn’t let him talk much, he could pass as a major find in the boyfrienddepartment.
“You said there was nothing but kissing until chapter four,right?”
A grin of pure hope lit his face. “Right.”
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go to chapter four with you if you go to B.J. and Randy’s wedding withme.”
The grin vanished, replaced by an expression of revulsion. “You want me to go to this cheesy wedding as yourdate?”
“No. I want you to go to this cheesy wedding as my devoted loveslave.”
