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“We organized a stripper for her,” Angie continues, “but he’s just texted to say he can’t make it. So we wondered whether you’d stand in for him.”
Catie sends me a mortified glance and rolls her eyes. I get the feeling Angie’s lying.
“You want me to strip for you all?” I ask. “Here, in the bar?”
“We’ve put a song on the jukebox for you,” Angie states. At that moment,I’m Too Sexyby Right Said Fred starts up, and I give a short laugh. “Come on,” Angie says, her eyes lighting up. “Make our day.” The rest of them whistle and cheer.
Catie puts her face in her hands. Her glorious red hair gleams in the low light.
I feel a surge of mischief and glance over my shoulder at Huxley and the others, who are all watching with amusement.
I look back at Catie. “All right,” I say.
She goes still. Then she lowers her hands and stares at me.
As I start unbuttoning my jacket, it occurs to me that I might have drunk more than I realized. But it’s too late now. God forbid that anyone ever accuses me of going back on a promise.
Moving my hips to the music, I flick open the buttons, then I hold the sides of the jacket and open first one, then the other before letting it slide off my shoulders. Catching it, I toss it back to Elizabeth, who takes it and laughs.
The girls all squeal, including Catie, and she covers her face with her hands and peers through her fingers as if she can’t bear to watch.
Keeping my eyes on hers, I slowly undo the buttons of my waistcoat, and then when I reach the bottom, I slide that off too.
By this time, half the bar has turned to look, but all I care about is the girl at the table, who can’t seem to tear her eyes from me.
After tossing the waistcoat to Elizabeth, I tease the knot of my tie undone. Removing it from under my shirt collar, I loop it around Catie’s neck.
“Oh my God,” she says, “please stop.”
Shaking my head, I methodically undo the buttons of my shirt. Behind me, I can hear Mack and Huxley laughing, but I continue until I reach the bottom. By now the rest of the people in the bar are cheering, and when I pull the two sides apart to reveal my bare chest, there’s a huge cheer.
Leaving the shirt on, I undo my belt, then flick open the button of my trousers. Catie’s eyes widen as, tantalizingly, I slide the zipper down.
Then I stop. “You’ll have to dance with me if you want to catch the rest of the show,” I say, doing my shirt buttons back up.
“Awww…” Half the audience boos.
Laughing, I tuck in my shirt, do up my trousers and belt, then take the waistcoat and jacket back from Elizabeth and put them on. Catie watches me, her face scarlet. She’s still wearing my tie.
The song changes, and, after doing up the buttons of my waistcoat, I hold out a hand. “Come and dance with me. I like this song,” I tell her.
“You like ABBA?” she asks in a disbelieving tone.
“Doesn’t everyone?” It’sDancing Queen, and I can’t help but move to the music as I flick up my fingers. “Come on.”
She looks past me to the tiny dance floor. “Nobody else is dancing.”
I laugh. “So?” I flick my fingers again. “Come on, Catie-with-a-C. Make my day.”
The others look puzzled at the name, but she gives me a beautiful smile. Not looking at them, she puts her hand in mine, and I pull her to her feet. Quickly, she slides off her jacket and leaves it on the chair, and then I turn and thread through the crowd toward the dance floor. I wink at Mack and the others as I pass them, and they grin. Catie just watches where she’s walking, not looking up at anyone until we reach the square tiled floor.
I turn to face her, sliding my hands around her waist, and she loops hers around my neck. Not sure yet whether she’s a dancer, I just move slowly, as ABBA tells us that the night is young and the music is high.
“You don’t care what anyone thinks of you, do you?” Catie says.
“Nope.” Her black boots are flat, but she’s tall, maybe five foot nine or ten. I like that. Up close, I can see how many freckles she has. I have no idea why, but I find them really sexy. Does she have them all over?
I’ve already noticed that her left hand is bare of rings. The only jewelry she’s wearing, in fact, is a pair of silver earrings in the shape of shamrocks. A nod to her Irish heritage?
