Page 9 of Decidedly Off Limits

“He’s not sexually harassing you, is he?” I asked Holly.

She shook her head. “No, he’s just being a jerk. He’s pissed that Ted Callahan is impressed with my work and hasn’t given him the time of day.”

“He should be impressed.”

“Ted mentioned that he had recommended my name for Richard’s job, but that’s just between you and me, okay? I know there’ll be a lot of other qualified candidates, but it’s nice to be recognized.” She smiled at me, but not with the typical I’m-proud-of-what-I’ve-accomplished-so-far smile that I would’ve expected from her. This one was shy, not at all what I would’ve anticipated from someone so smart and market savvy.

“Either way, congratulations!” I said. “We should go out and celebrate.”

“I haven’t got the job yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. The fact that Ted is recommending you for the position is reason enough to celebrate. He’s not easy to impress, not like that.” I thought for a moment about Kelsey’s social calendar for the next few days, which Liam had told me about when he reminded me of the promise I’d made him about his sister’s dating life. “What are you doing Friday night?”

“Nothing.” Holly picked up the file she had just put down.

“Good. I’ll pick you up at six thirty.”

Holly grinned, her teeth white and perfect. Unlike Kelsey. Kelsey had a slight gap between her two front teeth, which looked damn sexy and adorable on her. Not all girls could pull it off, but she did.

“Okay,” Holly said. “You’ve got yourself a date.”

“Sounds good.” I returned to my office and called Antonio’s—Kelsey’s favorite restaurant.

5

Kelsey

Studyingmy reflection in the bathroom mirror, I let out a long breath. Mr. Kitty Whiskers jumped on the counter and meowed at me.

“What do you think?” I asked him.

He meowed again. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. The shell-pink cotton fabric of my favorite sundress skimmed my body and made my legs look longer than normal. The downside was that it didn’t exactly scream, “Hey, I want to get laid tonight.”

I brushed my hair. The light blond hinted at my Scandinavian roots, as did my light-blue eyes. Didn’t guys think Scandinavian women were hot? Although that might’ve had more to do with their accents than their hair and eye color.

“Does this say that I want to get lucky tonight?” I asked Mr. Kitty Whiskers in my best fake Swedish accent.

My phone pinged from my clutch bag and I checked to see who had texted me.

Hey, Sis, how’s it going?

Relief rushed through me, like it always did whenever Liam contacted me while he was away on a mission.Great. Have a date soon. How about you?

You’re still going out on that blind date?

Yes.I figured if it sucked, then Erin would think twice before setting me up again.

What do you know about him? Maybe you should cancel. He could be a serial killer.

Right. Because Erin knows so many serial killers.

There’s always a first for everything…

I rolled my eyes.I’ll be fine.

Couldn’t you make it a double date? Maybe go out with Erin and Darren.

Well, considering my date is due here any moment, I’m going to say that’s a no.:)