“Avery, it’s a very generous gift, but you can’t just throw money at a situation and expect everything to be okay. The flowers were enough, but not really necessary. I just needed a minute to be mad.” She glanced at the back seat. “That’s overkill, and a little offensive.”
“Fine. I’ll give it to my housekeeper if you don’t want it. But for your information, I bought it Saturday morning. Mom and Mary helped me decide which one to get.”
So, that was why he was showing them his phone. He’d planned another surprise for her, andshit,here she was being a bitch about it.
“I asked you to wait for me.” His tone, quiet but accusing, along with the abrupt change in subject, caught her off guard.
“I’m sorry. I knew right away the place was too big, so there was no point in staying. I didn’t see your text until after Lincoln offered to give me a ride.”
“I’ll bet he did,” he grumbled so low she almost missed it.
What the fuck? He almost sounds jealous.
But that was ridiculous.
“What’s going on with you andLincoln?” He made air quotes around Lincoln’s name and scoffed, “No one calls him that.”
Okay, maybe not so ridiculous.
She’d chalked up his sour mood to a stressful meeting and then the refusal of his gift. The possibility that he might be jealous had never crossed her mind.
She snorted mentally.Now, who’s being ridiculous.
When it was more likely he thought Lincoln would sweep her off her feet and ruin all his scheming.
“It’s not that big of a deal, really. People always assume Jo is short for Josephine or Joleen.” Funny, Avery never had. “So whenLincasked me what my real name was, I asked him if his name was short for Lincoln. See, nothing to read into.”
Of course, Avery wasn’t good with names. Maybe she should feel special he remembered hers at all. Probably because she wasn’t Tits or Curves, ready to get on knees to worship his dick.
Okay maybe I’m ready now, but give a girl a break. He’s so hard to resist.
Even when he called her Legs.
Avery grunted, but the white of his knuckles faded to pink and his shoulders relaxed a bit.
“Did you know he’d be there—” His dark eyes sliced over her, lingering on her legs. “—’cause I sure as fuck didn’t.”
Jo threw her hands in the air. “How would I know he’d be there? You put this together. I didn’t even want to come.”
Except to take advantage of a whole day of foreplay that would end with a win. Team orgasm, fifteen—team virginity, zero. Did baseball scores even get that high? Did orgasms?
You’ll never find out if you don’t turn things around.
“Then what’s with the dress?”
Ha! Now, the asshole notices.
Giving it one last shot, she swiveled to plant her back against the door. The slit opened wider, and the sweater slipped off one shoulder, taking the strap of her dress with it. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s a little fancy for walking around old buildings.”
“Lincoln didn’t seem to mind.” The taunt tasted bitter on her tongue, but it was as if he was deliberately trying to piss her off.
“Fucker couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”
Straightening in her seat, Jo yanked the sweater up over her shoulder and closed the slit on her dress. “Yeah, well, I didn’t wear it for him.”
Silence thickened the air in the car, making it hard to breathe. Or maybe it was the humiliation choking her. Thiswasn’t going how she’d imagined, but then she’d never tried to seduce a man. Failure had never entered her mind.
