Page 20 of Decidedly Off Limits

“Do you think if I’d been sexy, things would’ve been different?” This wasn’t the first time I’d felt that way. If I had worn sexy underwear and been sexually confident, would he have spent more time with me than at the office?

“Owen is a self-absorbed ass. So no, sexy clothing wouldn’t have made a difference to him. He only cares about his career.”

So all I needed was to find a guy who was neither a self-absorbed ass, nor a workaholic.

“Well, since the perfect candidate for the position hasn’t applied yet,” I reminded her. “I think we can agree that my dating life is non-existent…and that won’t improve anytime soon.”

We entered the restaurant. Several people were waiting just inside the door to be seated.

“At least you’ve got Darren,” I said to Erin, then looked at Holly. “And aren’t you dating Trent? You guys don’t know how lucky you both are.”

Holly opened her mouth to speak at the same time the hostess asked how many people were in our party.

“Three,” I replied. She checked her seating chart, grabbed three menus, and told us to follow her.

It wasn’t until we were seated at the table by the window and the hostess had left that Holly said, “I’m not dating Trent.”

“You’re not?” I said, slightly stunned. After Friday night, I’d been certain there was maybe something going on between them…and they hadn’t been at the restaurant to discuss work after all. That Trent had changed his mind about not dating her. No one dressed like Holly had been that night just to hang out with their co-worker.

She shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong. I would love to be his girlfriend. But so far he sees me as nothing more than his friend and colleague.” She perused the menu. “That doesn’t mean I’ve given up on him, though. I just need to be patient and hopefully he’ll eventually see me as something more.”

I wasn’t sure which was worse: Holly being his girlfriend or hoping to be his girlfriend. At least if she was already dating him, that meant he was taken and I had no chance with him—not that I had a chance with him either way. Now that it looked like she could become Erin’s and my friend, it meant we were supposed to help her land the guy of her dreams. Wasn’t that what friends did? Wasn’t that why Erin was so determined to help me find Mr. Right?

Swallowing back my feelings for Trent, I smiled at Holly. “I’m sure he eventually will.” Each word felt like barbed wire clawing its way up my throat.

But why wouldn’t he eventually come to his senses—or at least open his eyes to the possibility of him and Holly becoming romantically involved? They both worked in the same office and were both workaholics. The only reason Holly had been at the mall was because she needed to buy a birthday present for her mom. Otherwise she would’ve been at work with Trent. And while his workaholic status would’ve been an issue if he and I were involved, it wouldn’t be for them. At least whenever they needed a quick breather, they could have hot office sex long after their colleagues had gone home for the day.

My heart pinched painfully at the picture I painted in my head of their hot office sex. You know the kind, where the man shoves everything off the desk and takes the woman right there.

The kind of sex every woman fantasizes about…even if she refuses to admit it to herself.

“Can I get you ladies a drink?” a sinfully deep male voice asked, thankfully breaking into my I-freaking-need-to-have-sex-soon thoughts.

Too bad the sinfully deep voice didn’t help my dilemma.

I looked up from my menu. “I’ll have a strawberry margarita.” I needed something to numb the image of Holly and Trent now taking residence in my head. And of course, Holly’s new thongs played a starring role.

Erin and Holly ordered the same—Erin’s being a virgin. We also ordered our food, not that I cared about food at this point. I just needed the drink. And if I hadn’t driven to the mall and I didn’t have to work tomorrow, I would’ve skipped the food and just ordered drinks.

The waiter left to fetch our margaritas.

“He’s hot,” Erin said, nodding over my shoulder. I turned to see if she was talking about the waiter or if she had seen someone else.

Yep, it was still the waiter.

“Hey, the last I heard, you’re married,” I said, dryly.

“One, I’m married not dead. Two, I’m a hormonal mess and incredibly horny all the time. So even though I won’t act on it, I will notice hot guys. And three, I was thinking about him for you.”

She winked—and I knew right then I was in trouble.

Again.

9

Trent

Well-known fact#1: men hate admitting to themselves when they’re wrong. Just ask any female. We would rather have our eyeballs gouged from our head and fed to a great white shark than admit the truth to ourselves.