And oh God, he thought—” She set her coffee mug down and covered her mouth, laughing.
“What? He thought what?”
“No.” She shook her head and waved her hand in front of her face. “It’s too embarrassing. I can’t—”
“Now you have to tell me.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled some more. “Okay—” She cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. “Believe it or not, he thought you were hitting on me.” She burst out laughing again.
“Why is that so funny?”
“Oh, c’mon. You hitting on me ?” She laughed so hard her eyes teared up.
“It’s not absurd, you know, me hitting on you.” He smiled, cocked one eyebrow, and Nikki’s body instantly filled with a whoosh of heat.
Trying to recover, she managed to say, “I still can’t believe Matthew got that jealous from meeting you. If he thought we were actually dating he’d probably come crawling back on his hands and knees, begging me to forgive him.” She was still laughing, only something about what she’d said rang true. She knew Matthew. Knew how competitive he was. She may have said it in jest, but she was absolutely spot-on about it.
Dallas leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “How bad do you want him back?”
“What do you mean?” Suddenly Nikki wasn’t laughing anymore.
“If you want, we could make Matthew a whole lot more jealous.”
She looked into his eyes and her stomach fluttered. That’s crazy. Isn’t it? In an effort to compose herself, she went for a nonchalant response. “Don’t even offer something like that unless you’re serious, because I’m liable to take you up on it.”
“I am serious. Look, if that little exchange out in the hallway made him sit up and take notice, we could have that boy talking to himself in no time.”
Was he really offering up his so-called services? “Dallas, you mean to say that if I asked you to pretend that you were into me, you know, just to make Matthew jealous, to make him appreciate what he had with me, you’d go along with it?”
“Anything to help a lovely lady in need.” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up.
God, everything about him made her think of sex. In her mind she was already running her hands over his hard body, kissing his neck, her tongue teasing his earlobe and— Stop it. She kept her eyes on him and her head out of the gutter. “You’re serious about making my ex jealous?”
“If that would make you happy, I’d be happy to oblige.”
She thought about Lori and Ned’s wedding coming up. If she walked in there with Dallas, Matthew’s jaw would hit the floor. It wouldn’t matter who his date was, he’d be completely focused on Nikki and Dallas. It was kind of perfect.
“Well,” Nikki said, hesitantly, “if you’re really serious about helping, I do have something coming up. It’s a wedding. Two of our closest friends, and, well—”
“Great. When is it?”
She bit down on her lip. “Saturday night. I know it’s really short notice and you probably already have plans, but…”
He placed two fingers over her lips to quiet her. Her entire body tingled at his touch.
“Nikki, would you like me to be your date?”
“Oh, would you?” Everything inside her filled with anticipation. “Matthew’s bringing someone and it’s killing me.”
“Saturday night, huh?”
“I know—I know, you probably have a date or something.”
He held up a finger again and reached for his cell, punching in a set of numbers. “Hey, mate, yeah it’s me… Listen, I have to take a pass on Saturday. Yeah, everything’s cool. Something came up…” He looked at Nikki and winked. “No worries. We’re good. Catch you later.” He clicked off his phone and set it on the counter. “So Nikki Norris, it looks like I’m taking you to a wedding Saturday night.”
Chapter Seven
Dallas wrapped his shoot for the day and signed a slew of release forms for his crew and the models to take back to their
“What? He thought what?”
“No.” She shook her head and waved her hand in front of her face. “It’s too embarrassing. I can’t—”
“Now you have to tell me.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled some more. “Okay—” She cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. “Believe it or not, he thought you were hitting on me.” She burst out laughing again.
“Why is that so funny?”
“Oh, c’mon. You hitting on me ?” She laughed so hard her eyes teared up.
“It’s not absurd, you know, me hitting on you.” He smiled, cocked one eyebrow, and Nikki’s body instantly filled with a whoosh of heat.
Trying to recover, she managed to say, “I still can’t believe Matthew got that jealous from meeting you. If he thought we were actually dating he’d probably come crawling back on his hands and knees, begging me to forgive him.” She was still laughing, only something about what she’d said rang true. She knew Matthew. Knew how competitive he was. She may have said it in jest, but she was absolutely spot-on about it.
Dallas leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “How bad do you want him back?”
“What do you mean?” Suddenly Nikki wasn’t laughing anymore.
“If you want, we could make Matthew a whole lot more jealous.”
She looked into his eyes and her stomach fluttered. That’s crazy. Isn’t it? In an effort to compose herself, she went for a nonchalant response. “Don’t even offer something like that unless you’re serious, because I’m liable to take you up on it.”
“I am serious. Look, if that little exchange out in the hallway made him sit up and take notice, we could have that boy talking to himself in no time.”
Was he really offering up his so-called services? “Dallas, you mean to say that if I asked you to pretend that you were into me, you know, just to make Matthew jealous, to make him appreciate what he had with me, you’d go along with it?”
“Anything to help a lovely lady in need.” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up.
God, everything about him made her think of sex. In her mind she was already running her hands over his hard body, kissing his neck, her tongue teasing his earlobe and— Stop it. She kept her eyes on him and her head out of the gutter. “You’re serious about making my ex jealous?”
“If that would make you happy, I’d be happy to oblige.”
She thought about Lori and Ned’s wedding coming up. If she walked in there with Dallas, Matthew’s jaw would hit the floor. It wouldn’t matter who his date was, he’d be completely focused on Nikki and Dallas. It was kind of perfect.
“Well,” Nikki said, hesitantly, “if you’re really serious about helping, I do have something coming up. It’s a wedding. Two of our closest friends, and, well—”
“Great. When is it?”
She bit down on her lip. “Saturday night. I know it’s really short notice and you probably already have plans, but…”
He placed two fingers over her lips to quiet her. Her entire body tingled at his touch.
“Nikki, would you like me to be your date?”
“Oh, would you?” Everything inside her filled with anticipation. “Matthew’s bringing someone and it’s killing me.”
“Saturday night, huh?”
“I know—I know, you probably have a date or something.”
He held up a finger again and reached for his cell, punching in a set of numbers. “Hey, mate, yeah it’s me… Listen, I have to take a pass on Saturday. Yeah, everything’s cool. Something came up…” He looked at Nikki and winked. “No worries. We’re good. Catch you later.” He clicked off his phone and set it on the counter. “So Nikki Norris, it looks like I’m taking you to a wedding Saturday night.”
Chapter Seven
Dallas wrapped his shoot for the day and signed a slew of release forms for his crew and the models to take back to their
Similar Books
