“Mmm-hmm.” Her friend gave a wise nod before her smile broke free. “I heard that when you came out of the restroom your lipstick was all over his mouth. And some other parts of his body.”
Claire jerked her head. “How would anyone know that? We were clothed.” She found it surprising that the witnesses were embellishing the story.
“I also hear that he’s been staying over at your place every night.”
“Mmm.” He had been there two nights in a row. Two gloriously wild nights! Had people heard about them being together and noticed his car parked in front of her apartment? Had they decided it had been happening for a while? Creating a fake reputation was easier than she’d thought.
“And,” Deanna continued in a squeal of delight, “that this weekend you two were seen skinny-dipping in the Sammamish River.”
Claire’s eyes widened. “Skinny-dipping?” Where had that rumor come from? She and Jason had walked along the trail following the river, but they hadn’t gone in. The trail had been crowded with cyclists and joggers. “It’s too cold to swim.”
“I’m sure Jason would have found a way to warm you up.”
“Skinny-dipping,” Claire repeated, and she shook her head in amazement. She would have to tell Jason about that one.
“Well, you are a dark horse, aren’t you?” Her friend tilted her head to the side as she studied Claire. “All this time we thought you were too serious and quiet for the likes of Jason Strong. He must have seen a wild streak that you kept hidden. I had no idea you were his type all along.”
His type? She wasn’t even close. She wasn’t a wild and fun woman who was the center of the party and the star of every man’s erotic fantasies. She tried to remember how Deanna had described the women Jason slept with. Stupid, she believed her friend had said. That was the last thing she wanted anyone to think about her.
“Well, I have to go,” Deanna said as she moved toward the door. “Don’t forget we’re meeting up tonight. And then you can tell me all about how you hooked Jason.”
Whatever story she came up with wouldn’t be as scandalous as the rest of the town imagined. Claire nodded and waved goodbye to her friend.
She hesitated at the door, unsure if she should stay when she saw Jason walk out of the kitchen.
She felt the kick of pleasure as she noticed how the blue henley he wore matched his eyes while accentuating his sleek chest and muscular arms. His faded jeans hung low on his hips. Her gaze drifted to his legs as she remembered how powerful and heavy they had felt this morning when he had straddled her shoulders and—
Claire abruptly looked away as the blush scorched her cheeks. She shouldn’t think about that right now. Not unless she wanted Jason to suspect that she was taking this fling far too seriously.
She frowned as she realized he had been in the kitchen. How many times had she found him in there? she wondered. Why hadn’t she noticed that he gravitated to that room or that he had always enjoyed cooking? She’d noticed details but she hadn’t put them all together when it came to the man who had fascinated her for years.
Claire already knew the answer. She saw Jason Strong as fun, sexy and wild. She’d been aware that he was creative but she hadn’t considered his dreams or what he wanted out of life. She was no better than the rest of her circle of friends.
His eyes lit up when he spotted her and she tried to squelch the joy that flowed through her. Four more days, she reminded herself. She only had four more days to indulge in this fantasy and then she had to focus on landing the gig in LA.
“Claire, what are you doing here?”
She saw that his expression had become guarded and realized she had overstepped her boundaries. She wished she hadn’t followed the impulse to visit him. She was making assumptions and taking privileges that she didn’t have. “I wanted to show you the progress for the party,” she lied.
“You didn’t have to come all this way. You could have emailed it to me.”
Claire kept her smile steady. He had asked her to come over all the time to discuss business before. Now that their relationship had changed, he didn’t invite her over. Did Jason think she was crowding him?
“I’ll do that, but I also have something for you. I found it when I was in Seattle,” she continued brightly. “I wanted to give it to you before I forgot.”
“You never forget anything,” Jason declared as he placed his hand at the small of her back. “Come into my office.”