Almost Like Love(29)

Her earlobes turned pink, and it took a real effort of will not to close his teeth over one.

His eyes met hers. “It’s a good thing we’re not attracted to each other,” he said. “Because otherwise, I might misinterpret that blush.”

It was her turn to scowl. “I’m not blushing.”

The lie was so blatant that he couldn’t resist trying to make her blush even more. He tucked another curl behind her ear, and this time he let his hand linger, tracing the line of her ear with a fingertip. Then he trailed his fingers down the side of her neck.

Her breath came faster, and her cheeks were so red she looked as if she’d been hiking in the Alps.

“Yeah, you’re not blushing at all,” he said, his voice low and intimate as his eyes locked on hers again. “My mistake.”

Then he backed off, giving her a smile as he opened the door. “I’ll call you in a few days about Jacob. Take care, Kate.”

A minute later, heading down to the lobby, Ian wondered why he still felt unsettled—and why he wasn’t feeling more satisfaction at having made Kate blush like that. Then he caught sight of his reflection in the metal wall of the elevator.

Maybe it was because if Kate had looked down, she would have noticed that his body was reacting just as powerfully as hers.





CHAPTER FIVE

So, Kate . . . tell us about this rebound fling of yours.”

That was Jessica, her eyes alight with curiosity. When Kate glanced around the table at the other women sitting there, she saw avid interest but no surprise—which meant that Jessica had already informed them of Kate’s supposed adventures.

Of course she had.

Simone, sitting on her left, chimed in. “Yeah, Kate, tell us. We’re all agog.”

Kate kicked Simone’s ankle before smiling at the other six bridesmaids. It was Thursday, which meant that they were at the Ritz-Carlton having afternoon tea, a ritual Jessica had instituted a few months ago. She used this weekly meeting as a chance to go over wedding-planning details, to talk about her latest hair and makeup ideas for The Day, and, of course, to gossip.

“There’s not much to tell,” Kate said, going for a blasé tone—the tone of a woman who ate men like Ian Hart for breakfast.

But then she flashed back to the kiss in her apartment, and her lips tingled from the memory of Ian’s hot, hard, demanding mouth.

She felt her face heating up as she continued. “It was just a hookup. No big deal.”

Jessica looked at her in exasperation. “At least give us some details. What does he look like, for starters?”

“I can tell you that much,” Simone said smugly. “I’ve met him.”

This elicited a chorus of questions from the bridesmaids.

“What’s he like?”

“What’s his name?”

“Is he hot? I bet he’s hot.”

“ ‘Hot’ doesn’t begin to describe it,” Simone said, giving Kate a sideways grin. Kate attempted to shoot daggers with her eyes, but like so many other great metaphors, it wasn’t possible in real life.

Simone leaned back and crossed her legs. She made an interesting contrast with the elegantly brocaded armchair, dressed as she was in black leather and combat boots.

“He’s tall and built like a mixed-martial-arts fighter. He’s got the kind of upper body that makes you imagine him in bed, supporting his weight with his arms . . . the way his chest and shoulders and biceps would be all rock-hard, you know? Not to mention other parts of him. His face is rugged—firm jaw, sexy cheekbones, the whole package. He’s got green eyes and black hair. His arms are covered in these gorgeous tattoos—”

“Tattoos? He’s got tattoos?” Jessica sounded intrigued and titillated.

“Yep.”

In spite of herself, Kate couldn’t help feeling a little pleased at the reactions of the other women. She was so used to being the one with no wild escapades or tales of seduction to share.

The truth was, it was kind of fun to be seen as a woman who could bag a sexy bad boy. But it was probably time to change the subject. “Okay, I think that’s enough about my rebound fling. Jessica, weren’t you going to tell us something about our dresses? You said it was urgent,” Kate reminded her.

Jessica wavered a moment, torn between the salacious details of Kate’s adventure and the overmastering importance of anything related to her wedding.

The wedding won out, as Kate had known it would.

“Well,” Jessica said, leaning forward, “I had an inspiration. As some of you know, my sister has never been thrilled with her bridesmaid dress.”

“It makes me look like a Twinkie shrink-wrapped in cellophane,” Vicki said.