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Jane shoved her feet into some jogging shoes, brushed her teeth, and gathered her mess of curls into a ponytail. By the time she stepped outside, the morning was drenched in sunshine, and her neighbors were getting in their cars, driving off to work. No psychotic weirdos in sight, but that didn’t make those first few steps toward the car any less terrifying.
On her way to her sister’s house, she turned on the radio and tuned in to Jax Reed. He was busy ranting about something his producer had done to piss him off, so Jane half listened as she drove and watched her rear-view mirror obsessively.
The house Heather had recently bought with Michael, to be their home after they got married, was only a fifteen-minute drive, and when Jane pulled into the driveway, she got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach to see Heather’s Miata parked in the driveway. If her sister was home, why wasn’t she answering the phone?
Jane rang the doorbell and waited a minute, then rang it again and knocked loudly just to be sure she was heard. A few moments later, she heard footsteps in the hallway, and then Heather opened the door and stood there, safe and sound, obviously having just woken from a dead sleep. She tugged a red satin robe tighter around her waist and blinked into the morning light. Her hair was standing out in odd directions, and her red lipstick from the night before was smeared on her chin. Strange. Heather always removed her makeup before bed.
“Jane? What are you doing here?”
“Why aren’t you answering your phone? I’ve been trying to call.”
“Oh. I turned the ringer off last night.”
Jane heard footsteps in the hallway and decided not to ask why. Obviously Heather and Michael’s little one-month stab at restraint had failed miserably.
“So nothing strange has happened here?”
“No, why?”
“Can I come in? It’s a long story.”
Heather’s expression went from confused to panicked. “Um… Um, sure. You can come in, but… It’s just that Michael’s friend Bradley is staying here right now. He’s using the guest room while his place is being fumigated.”
Bradley?
She couldn’t possibly have meant her Bradley… Could she?
“Where’s Michael?”
“Oh, um, he does an early-morning workout at the gym on weekdays before work.”
“So much for your vow of abstinence, huh?”
Heather blinked, looking first confused and then chagrined. “Yeah, so much for that,” she said and stepped aside to let Jane in.
Heather’s living room was a tribute to herself. A giant portrait of her hung over the sofa, and her modeling portfolio shots, from her short-lived stint as a wannabe model, occupied much of the other space on the walls. Barring that, the room was comfortable and homey, so long as you could be comfortable lounging on a white couch and resting your feet on a white rug.
Jane nervously glanced around for what she hoped was Michael’s heretofore unknown other friend named Bradley, and she was about to sit down on the couch when her Bradley exited the hallway bathroom and stood shirtless, staring at her.
“Oh,” she said, “hi!” But the greeting came out a bit too enthusiastically, making her sound like a used-car salesman.
Heather’s gaze darted back and forth between Bradley and Jane, until she finally said, “I was just telling Jane how Michael invited you to stay here while your apartment gets fumigated.”
He flashed a huge grin. “Oh, right. I’ve got an…ant problem. Damn ants.”
He came into the living room and sank into an over-stuffed white chair, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was topless. Jane took the opportunity to look at his chest and found herself oddly unmoved by it. Not even the hard bulges of his pecs stirred her inner slut.
Heather mumbled something about getting dressed and making some coffee and disappeared down the hallway. Meanwhile, Jane realized exactly how much preparation she’d done to her appearance before coming over—next to none. She pictured her frizzy ponytail hair, her puffy sleep-deprived eyes and her fashion-challenged outfit and decided that if Bradley really was her dream guy, he could overlook her lackluster appearance.
After all, she’d come here to check on Heather, not flirt with a guy. But then she realized—this was her big chance!
She could simultaneously make her move with Brad, clear her thoughts of Luke and set her romantic life back on the right track in one fell swoop. It would just require a bit of bravery, a good dose of faith and an ounce of luck, and she’d have Bradley right where she wanted him.
Fate had dropped this opportunity in her lap, and she would not waste it this time. Before she left Heather’s house today, she’d ask Bradley out. Maybe invite him to that new exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art.
