Lost in the sultry rock song playing, her hips moved in a slow deliberate semicircle as if dancing a sensual rumba. Released from her usual pulled-back style, her golden brown hair swung in a soft sheet past her chin, and he felt a sudden urge to sift its weight through his fingers as if it were pure silk.
Nick hadn’t even started on the dress. Man, that was one helluva dress. Enough to bring a room full of investment attorneys to the closing table. Not at all what he’d been expecting. The prim skirt and sweater combo had been replaced by a cocktail dress that was spectacular, but not nearly as spectacular as the curves swaying to the music, filling out the lines of the dress, coasting past full hips to a pair of strappy sandals. Nick bit back a groan. Those killer legs let loose in a pair of high heels practically knocked the wind out of him.
“Holy hell,” he said, standing at the edge of the room.
Startled, she turned to look. Right. At. Him.
Damn.
Nick scrubbed his face with his hands. If the back of the dress was spectacular, then the front was…holy shit.
She took a step toward him, stumbling a bit in those smokin’ hot stilettos. “Hi, I hope you don’t mind…”
Her words drifted past him, but none of them mattered. He was struck by the voice, all sweet and sultry. The voice…the curves…the stumble. How could he not have seen it before?
He felt the air rush from his lungs and the kick in his stomach. Only one other time in his life had he felt this hammer-to-the-gut type feeling. At his party, the moment the cake girl wished him happy birthday in that hushed, knock-me-out whisper. He stood there, leaning against the wall, his hands buried in his pockets.
Surprise, surprise.
Little Miss Cardigan was his cake girl. Un-fucking-believable. All this time, she’d been right under his nose, stammering and blushing, hiding beneath her buttoned-up sweaters and horn-rims. She was like a naughty librarian fantasy transported into his living room, all glasses and pencil skirts. A crystal-clear image skyjacked his brain—his hands tracing the curves of those hips she concealed with wool skirts, skimming down her toned, upper thighs, caressing those killer legs. A crazy-wide grin broke across his face. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she said, tucking a strand of blond-streaked hair behind her ear in a gesture that was equal parts cute and seductive.
Same girl, all right. Same addictive, vulnerable-sexy way.
He kept smiling as a half dozen puzzle pieces clicked into place. His instantaneous reaction to her and the way she climbed into his thoughts. Jane’s willingness to set him up with a fiancée. Charlie’s inexplicable inability to find her. But most especially, his protective feeling, his whole wrap-cake-girl-in-a-protective-jacket-and-take-her-home-with-me response suddenly made sense. On some level, he must have recognized her, known it was the New Girl, or rather, Marianne.
Nick couldn’t believe his luck. The situation was perfect.
He had an ideal temporary fiancée, a partnership waiting to be confirmed, the chance to get cake girl out of his system. Ever since that night, he’d wondered why one innocent kiss had left him with a short-term obsession, but clearly, his fascination was about the mystery, not the actual woman. Now that the puzzle was solved, now that he knew who she was, well, odds were good he’d be back to living by his dating rules in under six weeks.#p#分页标题#e#
“Nick, are you okay? You look a little strange.”
“I’m fine…” he said with a reassuring smile. “You look amazing.”
In fact, she looked…perfect.
“Really?” She chewed on her bottom lip, one of the crazy-sweet, seductive gestures that made him want to kiss her until she was breathless. “Are you sure it isn’t too sexy?”
He walked over to where she stood by the window. “Sexy enough to send one or two of the older partners into cardiac distress.”
Her brows rose above the glittery new glasses. “Is that too sexy?”
Nick chuckled and took her hands in his. His fiancée was his cake girl, and while the New Girl had been off-limits, the woman standing in front of him was a different deal. He made a low sound of appreciation in the back of his throat. “Not in my book. You look absolutely perfect.”
A small giggle of pleasure bubbled up from her throat. “Well, then, we better go before I lose my nerve.” She turned away, but he pulled her back, tugging her against his chest. She blushed and smiled at him. Nick felt a strange light-headed rush. Damn, he did not want to go to casino night with the partnership. He wanted to play his own games right here at home.