“He sure is,” Bonnie agreed. She held her mascara and leaned her butt against the sink as Marley shut off the water and reached for a paper towel.
“You know, Marley, with your coloring, this shade would look awesome on you.”
Marley regarded the tube of lipstick Isabel held out as if it were a live electrical wire.
“Give it a try,” Bonnie urged.
Their expectant expressions started a flutter of anxiety in Marley’s chest. The same feeling she got when picking out dress clothes with a sales woman hovering nearby. Hoping she didn’t look clueless, she took the lipstick and turned toward the mirror.
Having watched Isabel a moment ago, she applied it with a minimum of insecurity, then stared at herself. Her lips looked bigger—fuller. Was that a good thing?
“Here, blot it.” Bonnie handed her a tissue. “You were right, Isabel, it looks great. Now for mascara.”
Before Marley could protest, Bonnie lifted her hand and the wand came straight at her eye.
She leaned back in alarm. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Just a little to frame your eyes. God, I’d kill for that color.”
Marley felt Isabel’s hands working the tie from her hair, then a brush being pulled through the thick length that fell halfway down her back.
“Natural curls,” Isabel lamented. “You’re so lucky.”
Marley grimaced. She’d always cursed her hair. Thick as could be, but so fine and slippery, stray strands were forever escaping anything she confined it with. If it weren’t easier to just pull it back in a ponytail or tie it in a knot, she’d have cut it all off years ago.
Bonnie undid the top two buttons of Marley’s work shirt, then untucked it from her jeans. She undid a few bottom buttons before tying the tail ends at her waist. When Marley saw the bare skin of her stomach, she finally stepped back out of reach. Isabel stared at her and Marley wondered if she’d sprouted horns. Her chest tightened.
“I can’t wait to see his face,” Isabel said.
Bonnie nodded. “Me neither. Marley, you’ve got to let us go ahead of you so we can watch.”
“Who’s face?” she asked, facing the mirror.
Her reflection stared back with amazement. She looked like one of those women she always felt so dowdy around. How was that possible with just a little bit of make-up?
She opened her mouth to repeat her question, then realized Bonnie and Isabel were on their way out. Oh, shit. She didn’t want to walk up to the table like this all by herself. She hurried after them, nervously tugging the knotted tails of her shirt lower.
Chapter 6
Justin lifted his beer, but the glass never made it to his lips. Bonnie and Isabel had just rejoined them, and right behind was—
Marley?
Damn. He’d been right, only she didn’t need a dress. And instead of traffic, she’d stopped conversation. Dead silence reigned around the table as the men stared at her.
Her chestnut hair flowed freely over her shoulders and down her back. Overhead lights caught blonde highlights lightened by her days in the sun. During the short week he’d been at the job site, he’d never seen anything other than a ponytail. Judging by the looks on their faces, neither had the others.
His gaze settled on her lips, now a muted shade of burgundy. He fought the urge to head straight over and taste them again by forcing his gaze down. That’s when he noticed her shirt had been rendered…sexy. Buttons had been undone, revealing the graceful line of her neck, and knotted shirttails showed off her flat stomach and the curve of her hips.
Justin realized he was having a physical reaction about the same time Marley swiped up her beer and downed half of it in a few gulps. Damn if watching her swallow didn’t intensify the sudden throb in his groin. He was thankful for the shadow of the table. At the moment, it covered more than just the coffee stain on his jeans.
Bonnie’s delighted laugh broke the spell. “Warren, honey, dance with me,” she called above the noise of the bar.
Warren finally looked away from Marley and led his wife out onto the dance floor. Felipe invited a grinning Isabel to join them, and as they left, Chuck launched back into the discussion they’d been having.
Justin noted Tom’s reluctance to look away from Marley and it annoyed him even though he knew it was none of his business. Over the next half hour or so, he began to pick up on a few other things. Previously, Marley had passionately participated in the conversation, but now she remained quiet. Neither did the guys try to draw her in or provoke her like earlier.
She also drank more. That surprised him since he was almost positive she’d been leaving when she ran into him earlier. He’d figured she’d stay for one drink, then head out.