Her aunt sniffed. “Please don’t take that tone with me, Shelby. I was trying to be helpful. And don’t be late.” Then she hung up.
Shelby tossed the phone into her purse and crossed her arms. Dammit. Now she was going to have to spend money on a new dress she’d probably never wear again on top of springing for a tux for her date.
Nick cleared his throat. “Problem?”
“I have to make a command performance at my aunt and uncle’s club Saturday night. The snooty Bay View, which is a stupid name because there aren’t any bays in Denver. Should be a scintillating evening.”
“My dad belongs to that one too. Only the best for him.”
Shelby rolled her eyes. “Same with my aunt and uncle.” But who should she ask to accompany her? Someone who’d shock her aunt and uncle could be fun. Maybe she’d ask her friend Mike. He was a tattoo artist. It’d drive Uncle Jack insane.
But poor Mike would be bored out of his skull. No, she liked him too much for that.
Then it hit her. Nick was a slick guy who dressed to impress. And he still owed her a favor. “Do you own a tux?”
He eyed her warily. “Yes. Why?”
“Then you’re my date because you owe me.”
“I thought you didn’t date clients?”
“It won’t be a real date, so it doesn’t count.”
“No way.” Nick shook his head. “I hate wearing the monkey suit. Just hit me with your bat and let’s call it even.”
“You said if I went to the hospital, I get a free swing. So I get the swing and a favor. But, if you go with me, I promise I won’t hit you on the head.”
“Name anything else. I hate the country club set. My ass of a father might be at that party, and I don’t want to run into him.”
“If you say yes, I’ll sweeten the pot by throwing in a stuffed Chester doll that’s not coming out until next month. Emily will be the most envied kid in her class.”
Emily was clearly Nick’s weakness. She counted in her mind while he contemplated. Four, three, two—
“Oh, all right.” He scowled as he pulled into her drive. “Do women come out of the womb knowing how to blackmail? You’re worse than my sisters.”
She grinned at her victory. “Pick me up at six thirty and don’t be late or I’ll sic my aunt on you. You’re just her type.”
***
Just to annoy Shelby for making him wear his tux, Nick showed up on Saturday night at six ten. Women hated when their dates arrived early and paced.
He didn’t even care that his tie didn’t look right because that’d irritate her too. She was cute when she was mad at him.
While tugging at his overly starched collar, he made his way up Shelby’s front path. When the door swung open, his mouth went dry.
Shelby stood before him in the sexiest red dress he’d ever seen. She had more cleavage than he’d realized and curves aplenty.
“Good, you’re early. Let’s go.” Shelby grabbed her purse and shut the door behind her.
He’d been tempted to let her open her own car door in retaliation for making him risk seeing his father, but he just couldn’t do it. Instinct took over and he beat her to the handle. As he swung the door open wide, Shelby stopped and frowned.
“You really suck at tying bow ties. Here, let me.” She threw her sparkly little purse into the car and then fixed his tie in under thirty seconds. “That’s better. Although you probably did that just to annoy me.”
He checked out her amazing rear end while she maneuvered herself into his low car. Damn she was hot. But totally off-limits. She wasn’t the sex-with-no-strings type.
He slid behind the wheel and backed out. He’d known plenty of beautiful women, but what was it about Shelby that made him want to know more? It threw him off-balance.
But he still wasn’t happy about the tux. “Just to be clear, if it’s not an open bar, you’re buying the drinks tonight, Shelby.”
She pulled down the visor and flipped open the lit mirror. It was torture watching her swipe shiny gloss onto her full lips before she gave them a smack.
“A Marx never throws an event in which one would have to pay for alcohol. That would just be déclassé Nicolas.”
Her rich-bitch imitation drew a chuckle from him.
Damn. He honestly liked her. Originally, he was just going to study her setup, extract key marketing, client, and sales info, and then disappear. But maybe she didn’t have to find out what he was up to. Especially if he played along so she thought he was really trying. He’d just make sure she went along on his dates using her little Bluetooth thing and he’d pretend to be clueless. He really didn’t want to hurt her, just save his stubborn sister who wouldn’t let him help keep her business in the black.