Page 61 of The Best of Friends

Gigi shrugged. “Maybe with an emerald.”

“I want diamonds,” Charlotte said. “In any form. If you have some loose ones you can’t get rid of, I’ll take them.”

An hour later, they’d gone through the rest of the jewelry. Jayne’s friends left.

“I amsocalling you tomorrow,” Katie whispered on her way out.

“I already knew that,” Jayne told her and shut the door.

She turned back to face David, who stood by the table, still making notes.

“A lot of information,” he said when he’d finished. “Good stuff.”

“I’m glad it helped.”

“It did.” He put down his notepad and grabbed his glass of wine. “They were fun.”

“They thought you were nice.”

He grimaced. “Thanks.”

She held in a smile. “You don’t want them thinking that?”

“No guy appreciates that title. It’s usually followed by ‘Let’s just be friends.’”

She laughed. “Sure. Because that happens to youallthe time. Poor David. Too rich and handsome to get the girl.”

As soon as the words were out, she knew she’d made a hideous mistake.

He put down the wine and walked toward her. His eyes had a dark gleam, and his expression was satisfied. “Handsome, huh?”

She took a step back. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“Not really.”

“You come from a great gene pool.” She took another step back.

He moved forward.

“It’s all a matter of luck,” she said, aware she should just shut up or at least change the subject. “And appearance is subjective. Culturally, what we find attractive here in this country is very different from what—”

He pulled her against him and kissed her. She melted into his embrace because it was better than babbling and because she wanted to. Kissing David was always the best part of her day.

But there was something different this time, she thought as he quickly deepened the kiss, stroking with his tongue. An insistence. A need. He moved his hands up and down her back, then slipped them to her hips. She found herself hanging on, as her legs began to tremble.

If she didn’t know any better, she would swear he had no plans to stop with just a kiss.

As if reading her mind, he straightened and looked into her eyes.

“I want to stay.”

Four little words that meant nothing apart but could be the whole world when strung together.

She had a moment of indecision. Even as various parts of her body sent up a cheer, her brain pointed out this could be a really bad idea. One that would leave her desperately in love with a man who was just passing time. It was a recipe for disaster.

Unless she was careful and kept her heart out of the process. Could she? Did she dare allow David into her bed? Or was the real question, Would she ever forgive herself for passing up an incredible opportunity?

She stared into his blue eyes and knew she had to find out the truth. Was David Worden as good as he looked?