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“Are you kidding? I would love to.”
“Yeah?” A grin spread across his face. He looked adorable. “Cool.”
“You getting a group together? How many tickets did you get?”
His smile froze. “Just...two.”
“Oh.” Natalie was clearly taken aback. “So it’s you and me going?”
“Yeah.” Tom cleared his throat, pulled at his collar. “Should be a great concert.”
“Well, yes.” Natalie was eyeing him suspiciously. “Yes, it should be.”
Silence.
“Uh, so, Eva.” Tom fidgeted in his chair. “Back to your—”
“Yes, Eva.” Natalie whirled back around. “The shop.”
“Right.” Eva jumped on her cue. “I was thinking of a more playful atmosphere, more inviting, maybe a theme, like beach or jungle or toy store or—”
“No, I don’t think you want to go that far.” Natalie had apparently recovered. “Soften the edges maybe, add color, maybe, but not go crazy.”
“I agree. But Eva, you’re right, the place needs something,” Tom said. “I come here because it’s close to my apartment. But it’s not what I’d call homey.”
“What do you have at home that you’d like here?” Eva asked him.
“Oh...I guess, neon lighting and 24/7 access to large-screen video games and porn.”
The women stared in horror.
“Uh.” Tom cracked a smile. “I’m kidding.”
Natalie and Eva burst into laughter.
“And you believed me.” He shook his head mournfully, clearly eating up the attention.
“Sorry.” Natalie touched his arm, making him blush again. “But I do know people like that.”
“We all do.” Eva sneaked an encouraging wink at Tom. This was going fine! She was so proud of him. She hardly had to do anything!
The shop door opened. Eva turned and gave a shout of pleasure. “Ames!”
He strode to their table, grinning, rain glistening in his hair and on his jacket. “I had a break, thought I’d come get a cup of my favorite coffee. Hi, Tom. Hey, Natalie. Eva, why is the store—”
“Hello there, stranger. Haven’t seen you for a while.” Natalie plunked her elbow on the table, rested her chin on her hand. She might as well have been saying, By the way, I’m totally naked under my clothes, want to see me prove it?
A good part of Eva’s joy turned sour. “You know each other?”
“Sure.” Natalie winked at Ames.
Eva had never socked someone in the nose before, but she could totally see herself doing it right now. Natalie had slept with half the city—why not the half containing Ames?
“We’ve bumped into each other here once or twice.” Ames sounded politely amused. “I think you made fun of me for bringing Chris a box of pastries she’d just added to her own lineup.”
“Mercilessly, as I remember.” Natalie gave a sexy, satisfied smile. Her voice was lower, dripping sensuality. It was as if she’d turned into a completely different person. An icky one. No wonder she attracted men and then repelled them. She was faking it. “You totally deserved being taunted, Ames.”
Eva gritted her teeth. She rarely gritted her teeth over people’s behavior, but they needed gritting right now. She sneaked a look at Tom, whose jaw was tight enough to assume he was gritting right along with her.
“I probably did deserve it.” Ames pulled up a chair between Natalie and Eva.
Natalie made a show of moving back her chair to make room for him, then yanked it closer after he sat down.
Come to think of it, Eva had never growled at anyone before, either, but...
Well, she was having all kinds of new and unpleasant impulses today, wasn’t she?
“So what are you up to these days, Ames?” Natalie angled her body toward him. “Business going well?”
“Pretty good. A new restaurant here and there, fabulous menus to try. Trips abroad to sample excellent new wines.” He whacked his forehead in despair. “Will it never stop?”
Natalie giggled archly. “You are fun. I had no idea.”
Ames sent Eva a warm smile and put his arm around her. “That’s because I only turned fun recently.”
