Chapter 51
Standing in the lobby, I considered her last statement."I saw he had a girlfriend, but I was hoping that wouldn’t be an issue."
Right. Because when it came to Jake, I'd just love to share, and who knows, maybe join in the fun. The more the merrier, right?
At the thought of Jake with anyone else, I felt my fingers clench and my mouth go dry. But of course, that was supposed to be my reaction, wasn't it?
Obviously, her words were scripted to get under my skin, to cause friction between me and Jake, to start yet another argument, and cause Jake trouble.
But that wasn't going to happen. Not this time.
With new resolve, I kept my smile in place. "Oh, hedoeshave a girlfriend, but you're right. We can't letthatstop us." I leaned close and lowered my voice. "Tell me, do you still have that dress?"
She took a half step backward. "What dress?"
"You know, that sexy, sequined thing." I licked my lips and practically purred, "It lookedsohot."
She hesitated. "Why, uh, thank you. It was supposed to, actually." She gave a little wince. "I hope you're not angry about that."
I gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "Angry? Why would I be angry?" In a breathy voice, I said, "You know whatIwant?"
From the look on her face, she didn't really want to know. But I had to give her credit. After the briefest hesitation, she managed to ask, "What?"
"A repeat performance."
She blinked. "I'm afraid I'm not following."
I gave a breezy wave of my hand. "Oh, don't be coy. We're all adults, right?" I leaned even closer and said, "Tell me, what do you think of mayonnaise?"
She hesitated. "Uh, it tastes fine, I guess."
"Oh, please." I gave a little giggle. "We don't want you toeatit. We want you to roll in it. We've got this big room upstairs that we cover in plastic…" I gave another hand-wave. "Well, you know, you've probably got one of those, too, right?"
From the look on her face, she apparently didn't.
When she said nothing, I asked, "Don't tell me you're more of a mustard girl?"
She gulped. "Mustard?"
Her gaze shifted toward Pete, who was still standing outside, near the curb. The way it looked, she was praying for some sort of rescue, or maybe just a distraction.
Oh, I had a distraction for her. "If you like him," I said, "we can ask him to join us."
She turned back to me and said, "Pardon?"
"The doorman," I said, giving her a sloppy grin. "You like his uniform. Am I right?"
"Uh, yeah. It's um, really nice."
I leaned toward her. "I know what we'll do. We'll make him wear it." I gave a dreamy sigh and gushed, "Ijustlove a man in uniform, don't you?"
"Uh–"
"Oh hey, a quick question… Do you have glasses?"
"Uh, glasses?"
"You know, like reading glasses."
