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“A sort of party—it’s an annual dinner-dance the regiment puts on. I’ve managed to be out of the country for the past few years, so I’ve missed it.”

“You don’t like parties?”

“Not my scene. But my commanding officer has made it clear he expects me there.”

Was he going to ask her to go with him? What the hell would she say? She didn’t do parties, either. And she was hardly the sort of girl to impress his commanding officer. Impress anyone for that matter. And she had nothing to wear. Christ, was she even considering saying yes?

“We never got around to talking about my job the other night.”

“We got sidetracked.”

“A little.” He looked away, and she was pretty sure the memory of the blowjob was rearing its head again.

He blew out his breath, took a sip of coffee, and then pushed the cup away. “Yeah. Anyway, I’m up for a new posting. It’s something I’ve been working toward, and I want it. But my life’s been a little disorganized recently, and though they’ve said yes in theory, they gave me a month to get everything in order before they make it final.”

Maybe she could borrow a dress from Summer. She had the sort of stuff that made you look like a good girl, the sort an officer would have on his arm.

“So I need to impress my boss. He needs to see that things are going smoothly at home. That I can give my all to this new position.”

“And can you?”

“I believe so.”

Or maybe Regan or Summer would come shopping with her. Steer her away from her usual style. Maybe something with long sleeves to hide the tattoos.

“Anyway,” he continued. “I thought I’d take Diana.”

All thoughts of shopping ceased as her brain ground to a standstill. “What?”

“To the party. She’s the sort of woman who’d make a good impression.”

“Of course she is.” It was a guarantee that the perfect Diana probably had a whole wardrobe full of appropriate dresses and not a single tattoo to cover up.

He gave her an odd look but pushed on. “The thing is, I could get Gary or Angie to babysit—though last time, they did say never again. But I thought you might like to spend some extra time with Lulu.”

She took a gulp of coffee to get herself under control. It was some consolation that she was pretty sure he hadn’t even realized she’d thought he was going to ask her. It had probably never occurred to him. She was okay for blowjobs but not to meet his goddamned commanding officer. She didn’t know why this was affecting her so much. She hated goddamn parties and she wasn’t all that fond of Captain Matt. He might have a gorgeous dick—but that was the only part of him she liked.

She plastered a smile on her face. “Of course. I’d love to babysit.”

What looked like a relieved smile curved his lips. “Good. You can just stay on after you bring her home. And it’s probably best if you stay the night—the party might go on quite late.”

“No problem.” It was Saturday night, but it wasn’t as though she had a date. She was tempted to bang her head on the table. God, she’d come so close to totally humiliating herself. Right now, she just had to get away from him, because her reaction had raised a whole load of insecurities that she hadn’t even realized existed. She shoved back her chair. “Look, I’ve got a class in ten minutes, so I have to go. But I’ll see you tomorrow.” She dug into her pocket and tossed some money on the table. Without waiting for him to say anything else, she stood up and walked away.

She could feel his gaze on her as she crossed the road. Though that was probably just more of her overactive imagination. The same imagination that had just thought Matt was going to ask her to a swanky party.

Never going to happen.

…

She didn’t go through the gym—she’d lied about the class, but she’d needed an excuse to get away—and she also hated that he’d turned her into a liar. Instead, she went down the alley that ran alongside the gym. She pulled her keys from her bag and let herself into the building, then headed up the stairs, pausing at the top. The door to Regan’s office was open. Regan was setting up a security business. She was a jewel thief and an expert safe cracker, and she was hoping people would employ her to find weaknesses in their security systems. Nate, her soon-to-be-husband and an ex-detective, was going to join her in the business, and they’d offer PI services as well. Darcy had offered Regan the office space above the gym, free of charge, while they were still in prison. Regan had taken her up on the offer but insisted on paying rent.

She pushed open the door and found Regan sitting on the sofa in the reception area, typing on a laptop. She glanced up as Darcy walked in then plunked down on the sofa beside her.

“What’s up?” Regan asked, putting the laptop on the table in front of her and turning to face Darcy.

“I just nearly made a total, complete ass of myself.”

Regan shrugged. “Well, you can’t be perfect all the time.”