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“I wouldn’t reject him,” Betina said. “But it will never work. We’re on a project together. I’m too old for him and I’m too fat.”
“You’re six years older, which is nothing, and you’re not fat. You’re totally curvy and lush. Guys go for that.”
They always had. Meri had spent the last decade marveling at the number of men her friend met, dated, slept with and dumped.
“Not Colin. He barely speaks to me.”
“Which is interesting,” Meri said. “He talks to everyone else.”
It was true. Colin was tongue-tied around Betina. Meri thought it was charming.
At first, when her friend had confessed her interest in Colin, Meri had been protective of her coworker. Colin might enjoy the ride that was Betina, but once dumped, he would be heartbroken. Then Betina had admitted her feelings went a whole lot deeper. The L word had been whispered.
After getting over the idea of her friend being in love with anyone, Meri had agreed to help. So far, she’d been unable to think of a way to bring the couple together. Hunter’s lodge had offered the perfect opportunity.
“You have time,” Meri pointed out. “Jack and I never come down here, so you have the whole floor to yourselves. You can talk to each other in a casual setting. No pressure. It will be great.”
Betina smiled. “Hey, it’s my job to be the positive, self-actualized one.”
“I know. I love being the emotionally mature friend. It doesn’t happen often.”
“It happens more and more.”
Meri leaned in and hugged her friend. “You’re the best.”
“So are you.”
Jack looked up as he heard footsteps on the stairs. Seconds later, Meri appeared in his loft office.
She’d changed into a tight skirt and cropped top, curled her hair and put on makeup. Always pretty, she’d upped the stakes to come-get-me sexy.
A quick bit of research on the Internet had told him that the guy she’d mentioned wasn’t one of her scientists. Instead he worked for a D.C. lobbyist and was safely several thousand miles away. Not that Jack cared one way or the other. The only issue for him was researching the man more thoroughly. If things were getting serious, it was his job to make sure Meri wasn’t being taken.
His low-grade anger was something he would deal with later. He didn’t know why he minded the thought of her marrying some guy, but he did.
“We’re going to dinner,” she announced when she stopped in front of his desk. “You might not believe this, but we’re actually a pretty fun group. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Thanks, but no.”
“Want me to bring back something? The fridge is still fully stocked, but I could stop for chicken wings.”
“I’m good.”
She turned to leave. He stopped her with, “You should have mentioned you were engaged.”
She turned back to him. “Why? You claim you’re not sleeping with me. What would an engagement matter one way or another?”
“It makes a difference. I wouldn’t have kissed you.”
“Ah. Then I’m glad you didn’t know.” Her blue eyes brightened with amusement. “Does the fact that I belong to someone else make me more tempting? The allure of the forbidden?”
He had to consciously keep from smiling. She’d always been overly dramatic.
“No,” he told her. “Sorry.”
“You’re not sorry. And, for what it’s worth, the engagement isn’t official. I wouldn’t be trying to sleep with you if I’d said yes.”
A cool rush of relief swept through him. “You said no?”
“I didn’t say anything. Andrew hasn’t actually proposed. I found a ring.” She shifted on her high heels. “I didn’t know what to think. I’d never thought about getting married. I realized we had unfinished business, so here I am. Seducing you.”
He ignored that. “You’re sleeping with him.” The point was obvious, so he didn’t make it a question.
She leaned forward and sighed. “It bothers you, doesn’t it? Thinking about me in bed with another man. Writhing, panting, being taken.” She straightened and fanned herself. “Wow, it’s really warm here at the top of the house.”
He didn’t react, at least not on the outside. But her words had done what she’d wanted them to do. He reacted on the inside, with heat building in his groin.
She got to him. He would give her points for that. But she wouldn’t win.
“So no on dinner?” she asked.
“I have work.”
“Okay. Want a goodbye kiss before I go?”
He hated that he did. He wanted to feel her mouth on his, her body leaning in close. He wanted skin on skin, touching her until he made her cry out with a passion she couldn’t control. “No, thanks,” he said coolly.
She eyed him for a second, then grinned. “We both know that’s not true, don’t we, Jack?”
And then she was gone.
Four
Meri arrived home from dinner with her team feeling just full enough, with a slight buzz. They’d taken the shuttle van into town, and that had meant no one had to be a designated driver. Wine had flowed freely. Well, as freely as it could given no one drank more than a glass, preferring the thrill of intellectual discussion to the mental blurriness of too much alcohol.
But just this once Meri had passed up the wine and gone with a margarita. That was fine, but she’d ordered a second one and was absolutely feeling it as she climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
As she reached the landing, she saw two doors and was reminded that it was also the same floor with Jack’s bedroom.
What an interesting fact, she thought as she paused and stared at the firmly closed door. He was in there. By himself, she would guess. So what exactly was he getting up to?
She was pretty confident he was stretched out on the bed, watching TV or reading. But this was her buzz, and she could imagine him waiting for her in the massive tub in front of the fireplace if she wanted to. Because in her fantasy, he wanted her with a desperation that took his breath away. In her fantasy, he was deeply sorry for hurting her and he’d spent the past eleven years barely surviving because his love for her had been so great it had immobilized him.
“Okay, that last one is total crap,” she whispered to herself. “But the other two have possibilities.”
She walked to his door, knocked once, then let herself in before he could tell her to go away.
A quick glance around the room told her that he wasn’t about to fulfill her bathtub fantasy. Probably for the best. She was really feeling the margarita, and drowning was a distinct possibility.
Instead of being naked and in water, Jack sat in a corner chair, his feet up on the leather ottoman, reading. At least he’d been reading until she’d walked in. Now he set the book on his lap and looked at her expectantly.
She swayed as she moved toward the bed and sank down on the edge. She pushed off her sandals and smiled at him.
“Dinner was great. You should have come.”
“I’ll survive the deep loss.”
She smiled. “You’re so funny. Sometimes I forget you’re funny. I think it’s because you’re so intense and macho. Dangerous. You were always dangerous. Before, it was just about who you were as a person, but now you have access to all kinds of weapons. Doubly dangerous.”
His gaze narrowed slightly. “You’re drunk.”
She waved her left hand back and forth. “Drunk is such a strong term. Tipsy. Buzzed. Seriously buzzed. I had a second margarita. Always a mistake. I don’t drink much, so I never build up any tolerance. And I’m small, so there’s not much in the way of body mass. I could figure out the formula if you want. How many ounces of alcohol per pound of human body.”
“An intriguing offer, but no.”
She smiled. “It’s the math, huh. You’re scared of the math. Most people are. I don’t know why. Math is constant, you know. It’s built on principles, and once you learn them, they don’t change. It’s not like literature. That’s open to interpretation and there’s all that writing. But math is clean. You’re right or you’re not. I like being right.”
“It’s your competitive streak,” he said.
She swayed slightly on the bed. “You think I’m competitive?”
“It’s in your blood.”
“I guess. I like to be right about stuff. I get focused. I can be a real pain.” She grinned. “Doesn’t that make me even cuter? How can you stand it?”
“I’m using every ounce of willpower not to attack you this very moment.”
“You’re so lying, but it’s sweet. Thank you.”
She stared at him. If eyes were the windows to the soul, then Jack’s innermost place was a dark and protected place.
Secrets, she thought. They all had secrets. What were his?
Not that he would tell her. He kept that sort of thing to himself. But if he ever did decide to trust someone, it would be forever, she thought idly. Or maybe that was another of her fantasies.
“You need to help me with Betina and Colin,” she told him. “We’re going to get them together.”
One dark eyebrow rose. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be such a guy. This could be fun. Just think of it—we could be part of a great love match.”
“Colin and Betina?” He sounded doubtful.
“Sure. Betina has a serious thing for Colin. I was skeptical at first because Betina changes her men with the rhythm of the tide. A long-term relationship for her is a week. But that’s because she’s afraid to really care about someone. She had a bad early marriage years ago. Anyway, she’s liked Colin for a long time, and that liking has grown into something more. Something significant.”
She paused, waiting for him to grasp the importance of the information. Obviously he missed it, because he said, “I’m not getting involved.”
“You have to. It’s not like you’re doing anything else with your time.”
“We’re going to ignore my work and the effort I put into avoiding you?”
“Oh, yeah. There’s hard duty. A beautiful single woman desperately wants you in her bed. Poor Jack. Your life is pain.”
She could think of a thousand ways he could have reacted, but she never expected him to smile.
“You think of yourself as beautiful?” he asked quietly, sounding almost pleased.
Meri shifted on the bed. “It was a figure of speech.”
“The last time we talked about your appearance, you said you were a freak.”
She didn’t want to think about that, but if he insisted… “The last time we talked about my appearance, you emotionally slapped me, trampled my heart and left me for dead.”
His smile faded. “I’m sorry. I should have handled that differently.”
“But you didn’t. I wasn’t asking for sex right that moment.” She didn’t want to be talking about this. It was too humiliating. “My point is, Betina is crazy about Colin and I’m pretty sure he likes her. Which is where you come in. I want you to find out for sure.”
“What? No.”
“Why not? You’re a guy, he’s a guy. You can ask him if he likes Betina.”
“Should I pass you a note in homeroom?”
“I don’t care how I get the information, I just need confirmation.”
“You’re not getting it from me.”
She remembered his being stubborn but never this bad. “Have I mentioned you’re annoying? Because you are.”
“I live to serve.”
“If only that were true. Look, they’re both great people. They deserve to be happy. I’m just giving them a little push.”
“Did you need a push with Andrew?”
She sighed. “I wondered when you’d bring him up.”
“You’re nearly engaged. Why wouldn’t I be curious?”
She tried to figure out what he was thinking from his tone of voice, but as usual, Jack gave nothing away. It was one of his more annoying characteristics.
“We met at a charity auction,” she said. “There was a pet fashion show to start things off. Somehow I got tangled up in the leashes and nearly fell. Andrew rescued me. It was very romantic.”
“I can only imagine.”
She ignored any hint of sarcasm in his voice. Maybe knowing there was another man in her life would make him a little less arrogant.
“He was funny and charming and I liked him right away. We have so much in common. What movies we like, where we go on vacation. It’s been really fun.”
