Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(20)
Author: Gena Showalter

Tanner groaned when he spotted me. "Not the button-up shirt." Perhaps I wore it a little too much. But damn it, I liked when Rome unbuttoned me.

"If I know Lexis, and unfortunately, I do," Tanner said drily, pushing to his feet, "she’ll be wearing a dress. A sexy, I-want-your-hands-all-over-me dress. Your jeans and T-shirt won’t compare. You’ll resemble her poor frumpy cousin from Hick Town."

Ouch. Honest friends were not as wonderful as I’d always assumed. "Yeah, but he split with Lexis.

Remember?" Hopefully someone did. "A glamazon is not what he wants for himself."

"At one time, he did. And that one time is the state of mind he’s in right now." Shit. Tanner was right. My shoulders slumped as I said, "I need five minutes."

"Do everyone a favor and take ten."

Rolling my eyes, I stomped off. I rifled through my closet, but didn’t have anything that could compete with the ever-fashionable Lexis’s wardrobe. Just pick something already. I had people to interview and a meeting to attend.

Finally I stripped to my underwear and jerked on a too-fancy-for-work chocolate dress that boasted thin straps, an empire waist and a flowing skirt. Very Greek-chic, I hoped. I couldn’t wear a bra because I didn’t own a strapless and the straps of my comfortable white cotton would have showed. And not in the oh, so sexy you’re-seeing-something-you-shouldn’t way, but in the granny-got-dressed-in-the-dark way.

On my feet I wore shiny brown sandals that ribboned up my calves. I removed the band in my hair and let the (silky, I liked to think) mass fall. It was straight and hit the middle of my back. Rome liked to sift his fingers through it. Or rather, he used to. Bastard. Lexis had long hair, too, so I was probably okay in that arena.

I straightened my shoulders and studied myself in the full-length mirror. Not bad. Kind of pretty.

Definitely elegant.

"This is war," I told my reflection. "Lexis is going down." I dumped the contents of my purse into a nicer one with one quick shake – a girl had to match – and sailed from the room, ready for the battle to begin. Tanner now stood in the entryway, once more leaning against the wall.

He nodded in approval. "Nice. Your ni**les are hard."

I punched him in the stomach, but I was grinning. From Tanner, that was the highest of compliments.

Besides that, he’d sounded like his old self. The happy, perverted boy I knew and loved, not the sad wounded puppy he’d been.

"I need my cell," I muttered, rushing back into my bedroom. The little black device flashed red in the upper right-hand corner, which meant that I’d somehow missed a call. A search of the ID showed that it had come from the caterer. Not another one, I thought with a groan. I should call them back, but damn it, if I called I’d have to cancel and I didn’t want to cancel them. They served chocolate cake that tasted like it had fallen straight from a rainbow in heaven and booked up fast. Two seconds after I canceled, someone else would already be lined up.

As I joined Tanner in the foyer, I made a mental note to call them, as well as the dress shop, later today and beg a new date.

He opened the door and I sailed past him. Or tried to. Instead, I tripped over a box of…chocolates, I realized, righting myself. Three tiered boxes, one stacked on top of the other like the cake I’d just been imagining, and all wrapped in gold foil. A card was taped underneath a bow.

"Are you seriously that clumsy?" Tanner asked.

"Yes." Warm, humid air beat around me, sunshine hot against my bare arms as I peered down at the boxes, motionless. Idiot! Check them out. Heart racing, I tore open the card and read, "There’s nothing as sweet as you, though I do hope you enjoy these. Your admirer." Again, no name.

They weren’t from Rome, then. My secret hope that he’d suddenly remembered me and now thought to romance me back was once again dashed. I could have drop-kicked those chocolates into a new dimension.

"First the flowers and now candy," Tanner said. "This guy’s serious about getting you into bed."

"Shut up. Not all men have sex on the brain."

"If they don’t, they’re dead."

Or maybe their intentions were nefarious, I thought, reminded of my fears last night.

Tanner crossed his arms over his chest. "So what I want to know is who the hell admires you?"

"Like it’s impossible," I replied, ignoring the fact that I’d wondered the same thing. I grabbed the box and clutched it to my chest, determined to find answers. Was there a camera strapped to the outside, someone watching my every move? Were the little treats poisoned? "Some men do think I’m cool."

"That’s not what I meant, so sheathe the claws, Viper. You’re an engaged woman and the only guys you meet are scrims."

Though our minds were on the same track, I said, "Maybe my banker or my grocer finds me irresistible." We headed toward his car. A sleek red Viper – the very vehicle he’d named me after.

Okay, fine. First time we met, I’d told him Viper was my name.

"Yeah, well, maybe your banker and your grocer need a beat down. My bet is the chocolates are from a rival agency. You know, to lure you to the dark side. Or maybe even kill you." This wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to soften me up before attacking. Once, a scrim had jumped behind my car as I was backing out of a parking lot – I hadn’t known she’d jumped at the time – and I’d slammed into her. She’d known how to absorb the impact without truly damaging herself, but again, I hadn’t known that. Concerned, I’d thrown the car in Park and rushed to her, only to watch in horror as she pulled a gun on me. Only problem with her plan was that she’d already engaged my emotions. My fear froze the bullets inside the gun’s chamber and her ass to the pavement.

"And to think, this is the life Sherridan craves for herself," I said. "I can’t even enjoy a box of chocolates." A fate far worse than being shot at.

We reached the car, but Tanner didn’t open my door. He slid into the driver’s side and waited for me to let myself in, the turd. Once I settled beside him in the plush leather seat, my dress tucked daintily around my legs, the candy resting in my lap, I said, "I’m in silk." A lie. I’m sure it was a poly-blend. "At the very least, you could treat me like a lady."

He snorted. "You. A lady. Funny."

"Just drive us to PSI, Mr. Sensitive." As I spoke, I popped open the lid to the top box and gazed in amazement at the assortment of truffles, chocolate squares and cookies. How innocent they appeared…how delicious. My mouth watered, and my stomach rumbled.

Tanner backed out of the driveway at Mach one, his preferred speed. "Don’t eat them. They could be poisoned."