If You Dare (23 page)

Irene looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. I believe you said something about sex in public places.”

Oh man.

Thursdays had never been one of her best days, but as Cordelia looked at her cute new clothes in the mirror, she couldn’t help but hope today would be better.

The nagging hangover headache had finally subsided. And if she tried hard enough she could push all thoughts of Joe, talks with Joe, sex with Joe, fun with Joe, out of her mind.

Liar.

Okay, so Joe was constantly on her mind, and since she’d made a ridiculous promise to her sister and Taylor—which they were holding her to even though she’d been drunk off her butt at the time—thoughts of Joe would never be far from her mind again.

Well, at least not if she made any purchases.

“Hurry up in there, Vegas.”

“Yeah, come on, Del. I can’t wait to show you two the best toy shop in town. You’re going to love it.”

Oh lord. Why had she said the word vibrator in the same room with her sister, and why had she ever allowed Taylor back in the apartment? Taylor alone was dangerous. Taylor and Irene together needed some kind of hazardous material warning. Who knew what she’d end up with by the end of the day?

She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and walked out the bedroom door to a chorus of “finally” and “about time.”

“Hey, Vegas, that looks good.”

Cordelia sent Taylor a thank you look and grabbed her black purse while Irene stared at her.

Finally she could stand it no more. “What?”

Irene shrugged. “Nothing. Don’t pay attention to me. I just can’t believe you’re wearing anything other than Birkenstocks on your feet willingly. And I think those might be your knees I’m seeing.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “You sent me a dress that nearly fell off on the airplane and barely covered my butt, Irene. I’ve been prancing around Vegas looking like a showgirl…”

“Hey!”

“Sorry. But that’s you. Besides, I don’t have to be dared to wear these clothes. I just had to discover them.”

She twirled around in her black short skirt and floral tank top but stopped when she heard Taylor’s question.

“You wore those other clothes on a dare?”

Yikes. “Well…yeah.”

“You didn’t sleep with my brother on a dare too, did you?”

“Not exactly.” Cordelia looked to Irene for help.

Thankfully Irene read the look.

“I didn’t dare Del to sleep with your brother. I just dared her to come out to Vegas and have a good time. I hoped she’d sleep with your brother because I figured who better to have a fling with. But that wasn’t the dare.”

“My sister’s a sneaky, sneaky woman. If I’d known she set me up, I probably would’ve stayed in the condo the entire week.”

Taylor raised an eyebrow looking so much like her brother, Cordelia felt her heart drop just a little. “I guarantee you that once my brother saw you, you didn’t stand a chance. He’s very determined that way.”

Oh boy did she know all about Joe’s determination.

By the time they parked in front of the store, they were all laughing. Irene and Taylor hit it off perfectly, and Cordelia couldn’t help but wonder what Joe would think about that.

When they walked in the front door of the shop that from the outside looked just like any upscale boutique—well, other than the eighteen and up only sign—Cordelia couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Oh my God! Is that a…”

Irene laughed. “You betcha. And that’s not even the good stuff.”

She was right. When they left, all three were still laughing.

Cordelia couldn’t believe the variety, the fun, the ideas she now had. Damn. Somehow she didn’t figure Joe would take her up on the offer to try them out.

Just like that her mood shifted. One minute she was laughing. Happy. Having fun. The next her heart lodged itself somewhere around the area of her big toe.

Irene and Taylor picked up on the change. “Come on, Vegas. You can’t be frowning with that bag of goodies.”

“No doubt. What all’d you get again? Vibrator. Cotton candy dust. And did I see silk handcuffs?”

Her sister was teasing her and she tried to smile. Really tried. It just didn’t work.

Taylor wasn’t ready to give up. “If Joe sees my bag, he’ll have some sort of stroke. He almost lost it when I kissed Keith. Imagine if he sees this.” And she pulled out the chocolate flavored body paint.

Man. She’d love to use that on Joe. Would love to see his reaction to the silk handcuffs. And what good was cotton candy dust anyway? She wasn’t going to lick it off herself. Ick!

Chances were Taylor would leave her bag out on Joe’s kitchen table just to cause him grief. She was just that kind of kid sister.

And Irene’s purchases were just a bunch of gag gifts for friends because she already had a bedside table full of sex toys.

Hello pity party.

She really had to get past this.

“Hey Vegas, you’re not leaving until Saturday, right?”

Cordelia tried to get excited about the shopping excursion. Tried to have fun again. “Already trying to get rid of me?”

Taylor laughed. “Na. Just thinking Keith said something about a pool party and you and Joe. And sparks. And I seem to remember seeing a few sparks between the two of you last Friday night myself. Maybe you could…”

Cordelia shook her head. “No. I mean I’ll be at the party, but that’s it. Your brother’s an awesome guy. But he’s not the guy for me.”

“You can’t know that.”

Cordelia wished that were true.

“It’s pretty obvious, Taylor. Joe belongs here. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t. The end.”

“You know, Del, you could move.”

Cordelia couldn’t believe her sister’s suggestion. “I hate the city.”

“But you love Joe.”

“And what good would that be when he won’t give me the time of day?”

“My brother will definitely get over this. Just give him time.”

Cordelia continued. “But it won’t change me. I’d be miserable here. In traffic, crime, the rush to do and get and be everywhere. I like home. I like my garden. I love my neighbors. I have a cat—who goes outside. He’d die here.”

Irene didn’t take her eyes off the road, but she did answer. “I’m here. And Joe’s here. You could at least think about it.”

She had. She’d thought of almost nothing else since Joe had asked her to move in with him. And the answer hadn’t changed a bit.
 

She’d changed.

This vacation had been a journey of sorts, and she liked what she’d discovered about herself for the most part. But the woman she’d been with Joe didn’t exist.
 

And she didn’t mean the sex. That was real. Oh man was that real.

The woman she’d pretended to be was cosmopolitan. She was big city chic all the way. And ew! She couldn’t imagine that lifestyle.

Her mother’d tried to cram that idea into her mind from birth and she’d rejected it the same way Irene had. Irene rebelled against her mother’s mega money mantra by becoming a showgirl. She’d done the same by embracing her hometown lifestyle.

It wasn’t only rebellion though. It was who she was at her very core.

And her mother’s mantra was Joe’s reason for living. He’d said as much. Love simply wasn’t enough. And certainly not a love built on five days of fantasy.

Cordelia slipped on the white swimsuit she’d worn that first night and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked the same. Her hair still curled from the humidity. Her legs still seemed to go on and on—not usually a bad thing, but man they were white! She really had to do something about that. And seeing that much of her cleavage still left her a little on the shocked side.

But she knew she wasn’t the same at all.

One week had completely changed her entire life. Her entire self-perception.

And even though things couldn’t work out for her and Joe, she’d never forget this incredible time.

Her sister’s reflection as she walked in the room caught her attention, and Cordelia could only shake her head and laugh.

Good grief! If she wore any less, she’d be naked. But she looked just like she always did. Outrageous.

“So, Taylor said Joe spent the last two days working non stop. He was even thinking about skipping tonight. Something about outlet malls and taxable incomes. I don’t know.”

Cordelia didn’t want to care. So what that this was her last night and she would probably never see him again? That he hadn’t stopped by once in the last two days? It didn’t matter.

Yes it did.

No. Honest. This was better anyway.
 

She could go down and have a good time and not worry about awkward silences. About lusting after a man who wouldn’t give her a second thought after tomorrow.

“I guess he’s busy making that money.”

Irene pulled her hair up off her shoulders and threw a mock kiss to her reflection. “Don’t be ridiculous, Del. He’s avoiding you. But I put a kink in that plan.”

Leave it to Irene. “Kink how?”

Irene shrugged. “I might’ve called and left a message on his voice mail.”

“And said?”

“Something about how I’d invited a show director over for the party. And how she was looking for new topless talent. And I think I might’ve mentioned that tonight Taylor could at least make the contacts necessary for a walk on audition.”

Cordelia just shook her head. “You left that on his voice mail?”

Irene looked down at her red lacquered nails and flicked at an invisible chip. “He wouldn’t return any of my other calls.”

Cordelia didn’t buy the guilty look on Irene’s face for a second. “And I suppose the director won’t even be here.”

“Of course she will. But I don’t have a clue if Taylor’s interested in a job or not.”

Great. If Joe didn’t wreck on the way home, he’d be furious with Irene for even suggesting his sister take up the glamorous show girl lifestyle.

But mad and there beat avoidance all the way around.

Cordelia wrapped the green sarong around her waist and followed her sister out the door.

Joe had a million things to do. A million calls to return. A million dollars to make. And all with the knowledge that he’d finally been offered the junior partnership.
 

But all he could think about was the fact that tomorrow Cordelia Lewis would get on a plane and fly out of his life forever.

He looked down at the contract he was supposed to be reading and got lost on after the first whereas.

It pissed him off royally that she hadn’t just told him the truth. Hell, how hard would it have been to tell him she was there for a fantasy week. That she only wanted sex. That she wanted him to be her fantasy.

Okay, so she’d said that more or less in her actions if not her direct words.
 

She was the only woman he’d ever had to coax into talking with a sexy game of tell me first.

That had been one hell of a night. Every night with her had been like that. Spontaneous or planned, the sex was incredible. Beyond anything he’d ever experienced.

But that wasn’t all. Not that he was knocking the sex—but something about her clicked with him. Of course, none of that mattered because the part that had clicked wasn’t even real.

Or if it was real, she refused to acknowledge it.

Damn.

He looked down at his watch and tried not to think about the fact that across town Cordelia was probably diving in the cold pool water right this minute.

She’d probably worn the same white swimsuit, the one that made his mouth water on sight.

Joe shifted in his seat and tried to concentrate on the contract again, but the words kept running together.
 

With a muttered expletive he finally gathered the papers together and shoved them in a file.

They could wait. He wasn’t going to do a good job right now anyway.

He tossed the folder on his desk, saw the blinking light on the phone and for the first time in his career ignored it. If it were an emergency, he would know already. He’d be back tomorrow.
 

For now, he had a party to go to.

Cordelia didn’t want to swim. She didn’t want to dance. She didn’t even want to eat.

What she wanted to do was go upstairs, slip into bed and spend the night remembering the last week.

“Quit moping.”

Cordelia looked up and smiled at Taylor who seemed to be having the time of her life surrounded by her brother’s friends.

“I’m not moping. You’re not really thinking about auditioning for the show are you?”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Are you joking? Do you have any idea one, how hard it is, and two, how competitive those jobs are? No thanks. But I did learn about a new business opportunity. I’ll talk to you about it later.”

“Talk to me about it now.” Cordelia really didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts.

But Taylor had spied a water polo playing Keith in the pool, and she’d had enough of the heart to heart. Cordelia figured she understood that just fine.
 

Sighing she turned to look and see if Irene was still manning the cooler or if she’d moved on to her next conquest.

But Irene was nowhere to be found. Or if she was, Cordelia didn’t care. Because walking toward her, dressed in what looked like a thousand dollar suit, carrying a briefcase that looked way too professional, was Joe.

And he didn’t seem to care one way or the other about whether Taylor auditioned for the show.

In fact, his eyes were on her and her alone.

When he finally reached her side, Cordelia didn’t know what to say so she settled for simplicity. “Hello, Joe.”

“Hello.” He reached down, held out his hand and waited. She didn’t even think about turning away. Putting her hand in his, she let him help her up.

“I didn’t plan on being here.”

Cordelia could only imagine.

“You know Irene was only teasing. You don’t have a thing to worry about.”

He looked confused. “What?”

“Aren’t you here because of Irene’s call about Taylor and the possible job?”

He shook his head. “No. I figure you know exactly why I’m here.”

Oh lord. Cordelia felt her heart drop to her toes at the way he said the words. “I thought…well, never mind.”