Page 77 of Only You

Twenty

The next day, Kayla informed Jack that she’d changed her mind about going with him to the company party. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense for us to drive separately,” she said.

Jack played it cool, but inside, he congratulated himself on the minor victory. Three days later, on the night of the party, he waited in the living room for Kayla to come downstairs. He was straightening his tie when the floor creaked above him. Jack looked up and spotted Kayla at the top of the stairs. Like a cartoon character, his jaw dropped to the floor.

Kayla was wearing a red dress, similar to the one featured in his dream. The silky material molded to her curves and was the perfect combination of sweet and sexy. The V neckline showed a hint of cleavage, and a red tie cinched in her waist. The hemline was just above her knees, and black patent leather heels accentuated her shapely legs. Her hair fell in soft waves, and her dark eyes shone under long, curled eyelashes. Her red lipstick matched the dress.

Kayla descended the stairs and came toward him. “Is everything okay?”

Jack snapped his jaw shut. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just—”

“I know. I don’t dress up very often. You’re used to seeing me in jeans and sweatshirts.”

“You look beautiful.” He’d taken a risk in saying so, but she smiled in return.

“Thank you. You look pretty dapper yourself.” She reached out and tugged on his tie.

“I hate these things.”

Kayla chuckled. “You won’t have to wear it very long.”

Suddenly, Jack envisioned Kayla slipping off his tie and out of her dress. He cleared his throat. “We should get going.”

Kayla nodded and tucked her sparkly, black clutch under her arm.

“It’s pretty cold outside. Don’t you need a coat?”

She shook her head. “It’ll ruin the look. Besides, you can drop me off at the door.”

“Of course.” That way, they wouldn’t be entering the party together, which was what she wanted. Jack tried not to let it bother him because at least they’d be coming home together.

As they drove to the venue, Jack forced himself to keep his eyes on the road instead of staring at Kayla. Still, whenever he could, he stole sideways glances at her.

“We should have an escape plan,” she said.

“We haven’t even gotten there yet, and you already want to escape?”

“Work parties are boring. We see these people all the time. What more do we have to talk about?”

“You and I see each other all the time, and we don’t run out of things to say,” Jack pointed out.

“That’s different. We’re friends.”

“Right.” Like he needed the reminder. “So what’s our escape plan?”

“What if I tug on my left earlobe?”

“Like Carol Burnett?”

“You know about that?”

“My parents loved that show,” Jack said.

“Mine too.”

“So if you tug on your earlobe, I’ll go outside and pull the car around.”

“Right. And I’ll come out a few minutes later.”