Filling up the Virgin(147)

If he was going to be back in town anyway, he wondered if maybe he could look her up. But...no, he knew he couldn't. Michelle would probably still be bad at him for seducing her friend and then leaving her after a one-night stand. And besides, Amanda had probably moved on. She'd been a beautiful and amazing girl. She must have found someone else by now.

He got up and finished throwing the rest of his clothes into a bag, then headed downstairs to check out and head to the airport. Maybe he'd ask Michelle about her friend when he got into town. It couldn't hurt to ask.





Chapter 3



Amanda looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She was wearing a skimpy black dress she'd first bought more than two years ago for a date. The date, as she recalled, had ended badly, with the guy feeling her up in the front seat of his car while they were parked outside Amanda's apartment, then getting mad when she wouldn't invite him upstairs. She hadn't wanted to sleep with anyone on the first date—her experience with Cole had made her wary of one night stands—and she definitely wasn't going to bring anyone upstairs while her son was in the apartment with the babysitter.

The dress was probably a little too flirty to wear to meet her friend's fiance, but it was the newest and nicest thing she owned. It had been years since she'd been able to afford new clothes, other than a few cheap pairs of jeans and t-shirts from Walmart. It was either this dress, or something that was old, frayed, and possibly stained. James had once had the bad habit of vomiting all over her clothes when he was an infant, and her wardrobe had never recovered.

The doorbell rang. She hurried into the living room and scooped James up in her arms. “Come on, sweetie, you get to spend the night at Mrs. Carter's and play with Billy.

She dropped her son off at the neighbor's, then headed downstairs. Michelle was waiting at the door, wearing an expensive-looking dress. It was hard to tell at a glance, but Amanda was guessing it was a designer label.

“Hey, you!” Michelle squealed and took Amanda's hands, shaking them excitedly. “Oh my God, I've missed you so much!”

“Hey,” Amanda said, trying to put as much enthusiasm into her voice as Michelle had in hers. “It's good to see you.”

“I can't wait for you to meet Blake,” Michelle said. She led Amanda to the car. It was a luxury rental, and Amanda tried not to think about how much it must have cost. It was starting to look like Michelle was marrying money. Amanda was a little jealous.

Amanda got into the backseat. Blake half turned in his seat to flash a smile at her. He was a gorgeous man, dressed in an expensive silk shirt and a black blazer. Even his designer sunglasses looked like they cost more than Amanda made in a week.

“Blake, this is my absolute best friend ever, Amanda.” Michelle gestured from the front seat, a huge smile on her face. “Amanda, this is my man.”

“Nice to meet you,” Blake said. He eyed her over the rim of his sunglasses for a moment, smiling flirtatiously. Then he turned around and put the car into gear. “I hope you brought your appetite.”

“I'm starved,” Amanda said. She had skipped lunch when Michelle called to say that Blake insisted on taking them all out to dinner. She felt a little guilty about taking advantage of his generosity, but she planned to fill up at dinner as long as the meal was on Blake. Though from the looks of things, he could more than afford to treat them to a night out.

Blake took them to a fancy restaurant in a part of the city Amanda never went into. She usually considered a night at Applebee's to be a luxury. This place was so upscale it made Applebee's look like her old high school cafeteria. They even took reservations, and someone at the front offered to take Blake's coat.

They sat and ate, and at first the conversation was all about the wedding. Michelle went on and on about all of the last-minute planning that had gone into it, how they were flying in a photographer from Boston because they'd needed someone who could work on short notice, and how her dress was being shipped in from Paris. Amanda sat there, stunned, having a hard time processing how the girl she'd went to high school with had somehow managed to snag someone who was rich enough to spoil her like this.

When there was finally a pause in Michelle's wedding-related rants, Amanda asked, “So, how did you two meet?”

“Well,” Michelle said, “you remember how I told you I was doing everything I could to land a part in a commercial to jump-start my acting career?”

“Yeah,” Amanda said, her face turning red. She distinctly remembered Michelle saying she'd be willing to sleep with a producer or director if it would get her a part.

“Well, Blake here,” Michelle squeezed Blake's arm, flashing him a smile, “had some really fascinating projects in the works. He gave me a chance to audition, and, well, one thing led to another.” She shrugged, still smiling innocently. Though from the smirk on Blake's face, Amanda was pretty sure that Michelle's “audition” had been performed on her back.