He waved away the suggestion. “Appreciate you thinking of me, but I don’t even have my high school diploma.” It wasn’t something he liked to talk about, but it was the truth. “I know your guys have minimum of two-year degrees.”

Griminski leaned forward, studying him. “Don’t rule it out.”

Chapter Fifteen

Riley had decided to treat herself to an evening in her PJs. Her acrobatic penguin nightgown and the company of Jaws, who lay on the couch gnawing on a new rawhide, were the least she deserved after the week she’d had.

Her cell buzzed with a new text. The screen notification reminded her there was someone else she needed to clear the air with.

“Lace, we need to talk.”

Lacey looked up from her People magazine and frowned. “Okay. What’s up?”

Riley took the magazine from her friend, placing it on the end table.

Lacey’s eyebrows shot up. “Wowza. Important stuff.”

“I just got a text message,” Riley said, holding up her phone. Among other things she’d failed to do in the last twelve hours was fix the programming mix up on her phone. To illustrate her point, she positioned her phone so Lacey could see the screen that read: Text Message from Charles Spencer.

Lacey’s face said it all. Her eyes grew wide, her jaw dropped an inch.

Riley sighed. “So it was intentional.”

Her friend pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “What happened?”

Riley leaned back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. “Some text messages. Real harmless stuff at first, but I thought it was Chaz…” She swallowed, letting Lacey draw her own conclusions.

“Ry, listen. It was impulsive. I was programming your phone and their numbers are right there next to each other in your address book: Charles Singleton and Charles Spencer. At first, it was a mistake. I just swapped the numbers. When I realized what I’d done, I immediately went to fix it, and then…” She looked at her hands. “I decided not to fix it.”

“And proceeded to suggest I send Chaz dirty text messages.”

Lacey winced. “It was stupid. Dishonest. But I hate seeing you with someone who doesn’t make you happy.”

Riley tugged at her ponytail. “You can’t just mess with my life.”

Lacey huffed. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to live with you? I see you spend every day trying to be this perfect daughter. You sacrifice everything to get your father’s approval, and what kind of life is that?”

Riley bolted to standing. “It’s my life.”

Lowering her head, Lacey frowned. “I love you too much to keep being silent. You have life and passion inside you. Why keep it bottled away?”

Riley couldn’t be mad at her friend. Not after what she’d seen at Chaz’s place last night. Would she have ever have learned the truth if Lacey hadn’t switched their numbers? Likely she would have, but when? After another two years of him leading her to believe their relationship was going somewhere? Would she have learned the truth after five years of marriage?

“Listen, I didn’t mean to push you on my brother. I mean, he’s sweet on you, but he might not be The One. I don’t want you to think—”

She stopped when Riley huffed. “I don’t think Charlie ‘the Devil’ Singleton is ‘The One’ for anyone, Lace. Finding ‘The One’ is like finding the perfect cup of coffee. Charlie’s more like a mimosa—a treat, an indulgence, but nothing you should plan on waking up to every morning.”

Lacey frowned.

“What?” Riley smiled. “That’s who your brother is, and—last I checked—he’s damn proud of it.”

“Maybe he just hasn’t found the right girl yet.”

Riley waved away Lacey’s protest. Lace probably liked to imagine her brother would eventually settle down, get married, have a couple kids.

Still frowning, Lacey sat back in her chair. “So, are you dating him?”

“Not dating.” Riley wasn’t sure what she would call what she and Charlie were doing. In fact, she wasn’t sure there was a name for it aside from having hot sex in inappropriate places.

“But you broke up with Chaz?”

Riley nodded. “More or less.”

Lacey mumbled something, and Riley thought she might have said, Well, that’s good at least.

She took a breath, pushing aside the temptation to ask Lacey about Charlie’s paternity suit. If Riley wanted to know more—and she didn’t—she needed to go to Charlie, not his sister.

“I’m really sorry, Riley,” Lacey whispered. “It was stupid and I hope you’ll forgive me.”

Riley exhaled sharply and nodded. “Of course I do. But Lacey, that’s it, okay? No more running interference between me and the life I choose to live.”

Lacey chewed her lip. “Fair.” She nodded to Riley’s phone. “You going to answer that or do you plan to keep my brother waiting?”

Riley smiled and opened the text.

I can’t stop thinking about you.

The second her eyes ran over the words, she wanted him. Wanted to hear his voice, smell his scent, feel his hands on her. She licked her lips. Could she do this? Could she carry on with a man with whom there was no possibility of a future? Could she have a true affair just for the pleasure of it?

So, tell me more about these thoughts…she wrote, taking a self-conscious peek at Lacey from the corner of her eye.

You, that bustier I bought you, and leather handcuffs. And that’s just the beginning.

She smiled. Yes, she could. Charlie would keep her on track. He’d remind her what this relationship was really about. She bit her lip as she typed her reply. Three sentences, two texts, and he had arousal turning slow circles low in her belly. You keep mentioning these handcuffs, but I’m not sure I believe they exist.

Careful, Riley. That sounded like a dare.

Maybe it was.

The silent seconds as she waited for his response were filled with the sensation of her ni**les tightening and blood rushing between her legs.

So f**king tempting. But not tonight.

Are you buying some other woman lingerie tonight? she typed. She meant to be teasing, but she realized there was a part of her that hated the idea of him with another woman.

You got part of it right. Have you found the package yet?

Riley frowned. What package?

I left it on your pillow.

Standing, Riley looked to Lacey. “Was Charlie here earlier?”

Lacey nodded. “Yeah, he visited a little while you were at dance class.”

Riley shot to her bedroom, smiling as she wondered what Charlie had left her.

The Fredrick’s box sat on her pillow, a skinny ribbon encompassing its middle. Riley fought her schoolgirl grin as she lowered herself onto the mattress. She positioned the box in her lap.

After casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Lacey hadn’t followed her into the bedroom, she slid the ribbon off the end and lifted the lid. There wasn’t much inside, but the little that was there made her insides flip-flop.

Black lace panties with ties at each hip, and a barely-there black lace bra that had so little fabric, she wasn’t even sure it qualified as demi-cup.

But what really sent her belly a buzz was the note in Charlie’s solid hand: I’ll be by at seven. Wear whatever you want on top and these underneath. Tonight, I show you what’s it’s like to do Vegas with the Devil.

She pulled her lip between her teeth and clenched her thighs together. How could he send her this and then tell her they’d spend their evening in public? Didn’t he know that this gift would make her want to be alone with him?

Her phone beeped. Will you be ready?

Yes.

She took a breath. She was an adult who’d had twenty-six years of practice in self-restraint. She could do this. Her only real problem was she had no idea what to wear. She hadn’t spent much time in the casinos—she preferred managing the controlled chaos to experiencing it—but she knew enough to know that not a single item in her closet was appropriate for the kind of night Charlie had in mind.

She glanced at the clock. Six p.m. She didn’t have enough time to go shopping. There was only one solution.

“Lacey!”

Lacey stuck her head in Riley’s door. “Yes?”

“I need an outfit for a night on the town,” she said. “Can you help?”

Lacey’s lips curved into a cat-who-ate-the-canary grin and she pressed her door open all the way and gestured inside. “This is going to be fun.”

***

There was only one thing in this world that Charlie enjoyed more than a beautiful woman: a woman who had made herself beautiful for him. And the only thing that could top that was Riley making herself up just for him.

She wore a red gown in some filmy fabric that draped over her curves and stopped just below her knees. Red-painted toes peeked out of strappy red sandals. Her hair was down in waves around her shoulders, a lock swept back from her face in sparkling clip, exposing glittering rubies at her ears. Her eyes were lined, and her lips were painted to match her dress.

At the sight of her, his stomach clenched with some emotion he couldn’t identify—or wasn’t sure he wanted to.

He ran his gaze over her again—bare toes to bare shoulders to wide eyes—and thought that he had to be the luckiest f**king bastard on the planet.

“I don’t normally dress like this,” she explained.

He raised a brow. “Damn shame.”

Her lip twitched, a smile pulling at it. “Your sister helped.”

He extended his hand for hers, and as she put her small fingers into his palm, he said, “Remind me to buy her something really expensive to express my gratitude.” In one quick movement, he pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers.

She responded instantly, opening her mouth beneath him and sliding a hand inside his jacket.

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close so he could feel all those curves pressed against him. Knowing what she wore underneath only added to the sweet torture.

“Er-hum!”

Charlie broke the kiss, and looked over Riley’s head to see Lacey standing behind her, hands on hips. “Can I count on you to have her home by midnight?”

Charlie swallowed, his mind still swimming from the effects of Riley’s kiss. At the moment, he wasn’t interested in taking her anywhere but her bedroom. He’d resist that urge. He was here to woo her. Sex could wait.

Riley turned to her friend, leaning back against Charlie’s chest. “Midnight is unlikely, Lace.”

Lacey frowned. “Well, I won’t be at work in the morning to shut off the fire alarm, so you better bring her home instead of taking her up to that suite of yours.”

Charlie looked down at Riley, questioning. Riley shook her head.

Lacey crossed her arms over her chest and looked them up and down. “You two look good together.”

“Then why do you look so worried?” Riley asked.

“Because I can’t decide which one of you is more likely to get hurt.”

Riley waved a hand, dismissing her concern. “See you later, Lacey. Don’t wait up.” She laced her fingers with Charlie’s and led him into the hall.

Charlie pulled the door shut after them. “Wait,” he said softly as Riley started to head to the stairs.

She turned, looking up at him.

His breath caught. Would he ever get over how beautiful she was? Tracing his thumb along the edge of her jaw, he said, “You know I won’t hurt you, right?”

She wrinkled her nose, still smiling. “Said the lion to the gazelle.”

“No, I—” He dipped his head, kissing her softly. When he pulled away, her eyes were closed, and she touched her tongue to her bottom lip, as if looking for his taste there. “I won’t hurt you,” he repeated.

Her eyes fluttered open and she shook her head. “I may be relatively inexperienced, Charlie, but I’m not naïve. I know what this is. Don’t worry about me.”

She headed for the stairs and Charlie frowned. What did she mean by that?

Chapter Sixteen

“So, where are we going? Didn’t we do the romantic dinner thing a couple nights ago?” Not that she minded. She’d had too few romantic dinners for a twenty-six-year-old woman. Chaz had taken her out, but it had never felt like wooing. And he’d never picked her up in a limo. Not unless her father had somehow footed the bill.

Charlie leaned forward and opened the mini-fridge. He studied its contents for a moment before choosing a bottle. “Last time,” he explained, “you belonged to someone else. Tonight, you’re mine.” He turned the bottle to her. “Champagne?”

Riley nodded. “Please.” She bit her lip. “What makes you think I’m yours now?”

Charlie popped the cork on the champagne and poured her a glass. “Well,” he said, offering the golden liquid to her, “are you his?”

As she took the glass from him, their fingers brushed, and for a moment the air between them thickened with awareness, lust, and primitive need. “I’m not his,” she said, shaking her head to clear the fog, and thinking I’m not anyone’s. “Let’s not talk about Chaz. Tonight isn’t about him.”

“No, tonight’s about letting go, cutting loose.” He raised his glass. “To fun.”

She clinked her glass to his. “Your specialty.”

He winked at her as he took a sip of his champagne, and she followed his lead, pouring the bubbly liquid on her tongue.

Riley had indulged in champagne on five other occasions in her life. Four times belonged to the midnight on each New Year’s Eve since she’d turned twenty-one. The other time, she’d been sixteen and snuck a boy into her house. Charlie Singleton reminded her all too much of Adam Renard, the tall, dark, and handsome jock from the wrong side of the tracks. Adam had talked her out of the key to her father’s wine cellar then, later, her virginity.