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“Oh.” Jude blinked down at his own drink. “It’s, um, a Roy Rogers. There’s no alcohol.”
“No alcohol? Then what’s the point?”
“I had to order something so I wouldn’t look awkward,” he said defensively. “But I wanted to keep my head clear. For the work thing.”
“You should lean in the other direction to calm your nerves. Have a cocktail. Or five. Loosen yourself up before the meeting. That’s what I always do.”
Thatwasn’twhat I always did. In fact, I hadn’t had many business-related meetings at all in the past five years. But I found myself charmed by this guy, and I wanted to gethimto loosen up more.
He looked down at his glass, then put it down on the bartop. “You’ve convinced me. What should we order? A martini?”
I snorted. “Martinis are for James Bond and suburban housewives. You, on the other hand, should order…”
I made a show of looking him up and down. It also gave me an excuse to really check him out. The suit must have been tailored to Jude because it fit his lean frame perfectly.
“…a Seven and Seven.” I turned to the bartender. “Two Seven and Sevens, please.”
“Why not skip the trouble and order a twenty-eight?” Jude said.
I let out an unladylike guffaw. “Damn. He’s got math jokes.”
He gave me a crooked grin. “They’re the best kind.”
The drinks came, and we each took a long sip. Jude nodded approvingly.
“That’s good. Okay, what else do you recommend for my meeting?” He glanced at his watch. “It doesn’t start for another ten minutes.”
“Well, for one thing, you’re trying too hard. Even though you look sharp in that suit, thereallygood tech-bros wear T-shirts and sweatpants in this town.”
“A tech-bro? Surely you don’t think that of me,” he said.
“Of course not! You’re definitely a classier breed of coder. A tech-master, if you will.”
“Tech-master. Like dungeon master. I like it.”
“D&D references? You know how to get a girl all hot and bothered.” He started to blush, so I added, “You don’t need to go home and change, but we can fix you up.”
I unbuttoned his jacket and peeled it off him. My fingers brushed against the muscles of his shoulders in the process; I could feel the lean body underneath the crisp dress shirt. He wasn’t buff by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly wasn’t scrawny, either. I draped the jacket over the back of a bar chair.
“Now roll up your sleeves.” I took one hand, unbuttoned his cuff, and began rolling it up. His skin was warm to the touch. “Just to the elbow.”
“Rolled-up sleeves,” he repeated. “Check.”
“The last detail is your tie.”
He blinked. “What’s wrong with my tie?”
“Nothing. It’s great, as far as ties go. But you should ditch it.” I leaned in close to loosen his tie, pulling it from his neck. As I unbuttoned his collar, I felt his breath stirring in my hair. We were close. My breasts were almost—almost!—touching his chest. I could smell his cologne or deodorant, a pleasant spicy scent in my nose. And even though my touches were purposeful, our closeness felt more intimate than I expected.
“You can get this back after your meeting.” I shoved his tie into my purse and looked him up and down. “There. You look much better than before.”
“Yeah?” He looked down his glasses at himself, and I found myself admiring him. The slender cut of his body. The bare forearms that he shoved into his pants pockets. He was a sharply-dressed man before, but now? Now he was firmly insexyterritory.
“Yeah,” I said, hoping that I wasn’t blushing again.
He adjusted his glasses on his nose and flashed a white smile. “I do feel a lot more natural now. Thanks for helping me out, Amber.”
“Any time, pal.” I made my hands into finger-guns and pointed them at him, then immediately turned back to the bar to get my drink.
