Chapter 16
The leggy brunette stared at me with obvious disdain. "But she's a mess," she said.
I felt my cheeks grown warm in the cool penthouse air. "Gee thanks," I said.
"Bianca," Jake said in a warning tone. "You don't wanna do this. Just say so."
As if by magic, her voice morphed from ground glass to warm velvet. "I never saidthat."
Jake pulled out his cell phone. "I'll call someone else. No problem."
"Oh stop," Bianca said, reaching for his arm. She gave him a sultry smile. "You know me. I justloveto shop." She turned toward me, and her smile became predatory. "Especially with a new friend."
A scoffing sound escaped my lips.
"Pardon?" she said.
I cleared my throat. "Nothing. Sorry."
I snuck a quick glance at Jake. His gaze drifted from me to Bianca and back again. Hehadto know this wasn't a good idea. Then again, hewasa guy. Even the smartest guys could be surprisingly clueless when it came to stuff like this.
The three of us were standing just inside the door of Jake's penthouse. I'd taken a quick shower and thrown on some clean clothes. Unfortunately, none of those clothes were mine – not my size, and definitely not my style.
Embarrassingly, I was pretty sure that most of them were castoffs from whatever girl – or girls – Jake might've been seeing. I glanced down. Or maybe some hooker was missing half her laundry.
From the corner of my eye, I studied Bianca. She wore a sleek, cream-colored dress with matching heels.Shedidn't look like a hooker. Or at least, she didn't look like a low-rent hooker.
That made one of us.
As I watched, Bianca leaned toward Jake and whispered something flirty in his ear. He pulled away before she finished, leaving her frowning in obvious frustration.
"Remember," he told her. "Dress. Shoes. Extras. Whatever. You've got three hours."
Bianca's lips formed a pout. "Only three hours?"
"Is something wrong?' Jake asked.
"No. Of course not." Bianca hesitated, giving me a long, pointed look. Then, she leaned toward Jake and said in a low whisper that somehow managed to fill the whole room, "except, look what we're starting with."
"Hey," I said, "I heard that."
"Oh, you did?" She winced. "I'm sorry. It's just that our styles are so different. That's all."
I glanced down. "This isn'tmystyle."
Her gaze dipped to my skirt – too tight, too short, and too dangerous, considering I'd refused to wear another girl's underpants. And wearing my own wasn't exactly an option, given the fact that some unseen housekeeper had swooped them up, along with my other dirty clothes while I'd been in the shower.
Bianca gave me a sympathetic look. "Of course it isn't."
My gaze narrowed. "I don't shop at Hookers-Are-Us if that's what you're thinking." I turned to Jake. "You know what? Just get my suitcase, alright? I'm sure I havesomethingin there."
He didn't budge. "Not for this thing, you don't."
Damn it. I turned to Bianca. "If you could just point me to the nearest store," I said, "I mean, I'm sure you're busy with, uh..." Actually, I had no idea what she did.
She gave me that same cool smile. "Never too busy for Jake." She turned to Jake and ran a manicured fingernail along his jawline. "Isn't that right?"
Jake gave her a long, cold look. She pulled away and gave me a nervous glance. Jake reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He peeled off way too many hundreds and handed them over. To me, not her.
