Christine swallowed a groan as she heard her friend give the usual advice. “I was really afraid you would say that.”
“Get out from under the desk,” Jill told her, “look him in the eye and tell him that you are a married woman with seven children.”
“Jill!” She covered her mouth again as a laugh threatened to escape. There was no way she could tell a lie like that.
“You have a better idea?”
“I don’t want to see him.” That wasn’t true. She wanted to see Travis again. Wrap her arms around him and claim a kiss. Feel the sizzle in her veins and the throb of pleasure as he awakened her body. But she needed to do it on her terms. She glanced down at her brown shift dress and sensible shoes. “You saw how I looked this morning.”
“What was wrong with your appearance? It’s a clean, tailored look. Very proper and ladylike.”
“That’s the problem.” Christine leaned her head against her desk and winced from the unyielding metal. “He’s under the impression that I’m a sexy and exciting woman.”
“You are a sexy and exciting woman,” Jill insisted.
Christine smiled. Her friend was loyal but wrong. “I’m not wearing strapless dresses and high heels day after day. I’m not having all-night sex in my real life.”
“Well, no wonder he followed you from Vegas,” Jill muttered. “What exactly did you do during the sex marathons?”
“Nothing!” She didn’t do anything that would have him chasing her for more. That was what made this so confusing. “I just don’t get it.”
“Okay, what do you want to do?”
Christine held her hands out as she considered her options. “I got a plan. I need you to come over here and smuggle in a little black dress and some stiletto heels.”
“Right,” Jill said in a drawl. “Like that’s not going to cause a scene. Your coworkers are so used to you walking around the bank in evening wear.”
Her friend was right. If she sexed up her appearance, it would create more gossip. But it would hurt to approach Travis now and watch the desire in his eyes fizzle. “I can’t let him see me like this.”
“Why not? It’s the real you.”
She tilted her foot and looked at her shoe. They were dowdy but comfortable. Just like every other pair of shoes in her closet. “He wouldn’t be interested in the real me.”
“Now I’m confused. Do you want him here or not?”
Christine sighed. “I want to see him again, but not like this. Not in my natural habitat. He’s going to expect a swan and find a colorless, boring duck. My pride is at stake here.”
“If he’s that kind of guy, you don’t want him in the first place.”
“I know. I just wish...” Christine bit her tongue before she voiced her deepest desire. She wanted Travis to think she was so fascinating that he couldn’t believe his luck that he was with her. She wished she could have one person in this world think she was special. Even if it was a lie.
“You need me to come over there and run interference?” Jill offered. “I can cause a distraction while you crawl out the window.”
“Thanks for the offer,” Christine said as she reluctantly withdrew from her hiding place. “But that didn’t work in high school, and I don’t think it’s going to work now.”
“What are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can do. I’m going to show Travis the real me. He’ll walk out of here and I’ll have a chance to contain the gossip. No one will know about my secret weekend.”
“It’s for the best,” Jill assured her.
Christine knew that, but her heart wasn’t in it. This had been her one chance to be a man’s fantasy. Now that moment was gone.
* * *
TRAVIS TOOK A SIP of coffee and cast a quick glance at Christine’s office. She was still hiding under the desk. Did she really think he wouldn’t have noticed? The desk was on short legs and he had seen her feet.
The anger swirling inside him was cold and hard. He wanted to walk around the desk and crouch down, surround and trap her until she handed over the emerald. But his instincts told him to play dumb. Pretend the way she was pretending. He had struggled to remain standing in the doorway, but he trusted his instincts more than the hurt and anger that tore him up inside.
“You’re telling me she raced a sports car?” Laurie said slowly. “Our Christine Pearson?”
Travis turned to face Laurie. She had a motherly quality about her. Her salt-and-pepper hair swung just below her chin. Her blue eyes sparkled with interest and concern behind the cat-eye glasses. She wore a thin green cardigan over a floral-print dress. Laurie appeared unassuming, but he wasn’t going to lower his guard.