Raising the Stakes

“But it is. Go on, take a look.”

She did. What she saw was a stranger, a woman with her hair streaming down her back and her cheeks flushed with color, wearing a pair of snug jeans and heels that were like nothing she’d ever worn in her life.

“I must have gained weight. The jeans are tight.”

“They fit the way they should.”

“They’re tight.” Dawn sucked in her flat belly and turned sideways. “And look at these shoes. They’re—they’re—”

“Sexy?” Cassie said helpfully.

Sexy

was exactly the word. The heels were skinny and high; the straps crisscrossed her bare feet, left her toes peeping out. Dawn stared at her reflection. Sexy shoes. Sexy jeans. Her hair loose and wild. If Gray saw her like this, would he give her that little smile he’d given her yesterday, when he’d leaned in close and her heart had banged straight into her throat?

It banged now, just at the thought. What was the matter with her? Why would she ever want a man to look at her that way and want the same thing Harman had wanted? A little shudder of revulsion sliced through her. She turned away from the mirror and kicked off the shoes.

“Show’s over,” she said briskly. “How about if I phone for some Chinese?”

“What do you mean, how about if you phone for Chinese? You told this guy you’d meet him. You can’t just stand him up.”

“You’re right. I’ll call and tell him I changed my mind.” Dawn picked up the scrunchie and tossed it on the bed. “I’ll order first. What’s it going to be? Hunan Shrimp? Kung Pao Chicken? Would you rather have something light? I could put together a tuna—”

“Don’t look to me to save you,” Cassie said. “I have a date.” She began taking clothes from the bed and putting them away. “Some of us believe in letting guys buy us dinner.”

Dawn decided not to rise to the bait. “Who is he?”

“Someone I met last night. A dentist from Kansas. He’s taking me to that steak house, the one that advertises—”

“Kansas City ribs. Yeah. I figured. Is he nice?”

“He seems okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Okay is fine with me. I gave up looking for Prince Charming years ago…and stop trying to change the subject. Why are you canceling your date?”

“Are we back to that? It’s not a date. I only said I’d have dinner with him.”

“If it’s not a date, why not go ahead and keep it?”

“For heaven’s sake…” Dawn took a breath. She felt edgy and irritated, and why let it out on Cassie? If she’d let Gray fast-talk her into this, whose fault was it but her own? “All right. It’s a date. And that’s just the point. I don’t do dates. I’m not looking for Prince Charming or even a reasonable stand-in. I’m happy the way I am, single and unencumbered, and that’s that.”

Cassie lifted her eyebrows. “Wow,” she said, very softly. “I’m impressed. You’re unen—whatever.”

“Unencumbered, and don’t play dumb with me.” Dawn snatched a blouse from the bed and jammed it onto a hanger. “You know exactly what I’m saying. I don’t want a man in my life. Not now. Not ever. Once was more than enough, thank you very much.”

“You met this guy yesterday, he asks you out on a date and now he’s trying to move into your life? Huh. That’s amazing.”

“I didn’t say—”

“Look, he wants to take you to dinner. That’s all he wants. Well, okay. He’s a man and you’re a woman, and unless he’s brain dead, he’s hoping for more than that—but the rest is up to you. If you want to stop at a drink, fine. If you want to tack on dinner, great. And if it turns out that he makes your temperature climb and you want to end up in bed with him—”

“Never!” Dawn whirled around. “I don’t want to go to bed with Gray or anybody else.”

“Hey. I didn’t mean—”

“I’d sooner enter a convent than—than—” Dawn’s voice trembled. From the look on Cassie’s face, she knew she’d said far more than she’d ever intended. “This is silly,” she said, fighting to sound calm. “We’ve gone from why I should go out with a man to why I should sleep with him.”