OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE (22 page)

They paid their cover charge and made their way into the semi-darkened room.  Lights like those outside
vined their way across the ceiling and down the far wall where the bar was.  To the left of the bar was a large dance floor that was flooded with colorful, rotating spotlights.

“Check this place out,” Nanci said in awe. 

Kelsie looked around.  “I am.  I wish we had a place like this in Worthington.”

“Come on,”
her friend said, grabbing her by the arm.  “Let’s go get a drink.”

They made their way through the crowd to the bar where Nanci ordered their drinks. 
She turned, handing Kelsie her glass.  “Here’s your Diet Coke.”  

“Thanks.
  Guess we should try and find a table.”  Try was the operative word.  The place was packed.

They weaved in and out of people, drinks in hand.  After about five minutes of searching,
they located a table not too far from the dance floor.

“Perfect,” Nanci exclaimed happily.  “We can watch the dance floor from here when we’re not out there dancing ourselves.”

She
nodded in agreement.  “And we’re close to the bathrooms.  Another plus.”  She settled into her chair and sipped at her drink as she looked around, taking everything in.

She noted
that Nanci, who would normally be eyeing up every hot man to walk through the front door, was simply tapping her painted nails to the music on the tabletop and watching everyone dance.

She
reached across the table, giving her friend’s arm a nudge.  “What’s up with you tonight?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been here for nearly twenty minutes and you haven’t once mentioned wanting to grab some guy’s ass.”

Nanci
’s posture went instantly rigid, her mouth drawing into a tight scowl as she stared past her.  “You’re not going to have to wait any longer, but grabbing isn’t what I intend to do with this guy’s ass.”

Kelsie
looked at her questioningly and then followed her narrowed gaze to the dance floor.  “Oh, shit.”  What were the odds?

Out on the dance floor, her ex was busily
grinding away against the notorious office cleaning bimbo.  Not a pretty sight.

“Honestly, Kels, I don’t know what you ever saw in that guy.”

“You used to like him.”

“Yeah, well he had all of us fooled.”  She took a swig of her beer.  “Fool me once...”

Watching Kyle out on the dance floor was like watching the freak show at the circus.  He’d never been a good dancer.  He only thought he was.  Still thought so from the look of things. 

He
looked different than he had when they’d gone to court to finalize their divorce, but the cleaning slut had changed her appearance in a much bigger way.  At least up front where her miniscule tank top dipped down to display a new pair of surgically enhanced breasts.

“Wonder
what those cost him,” she muttered, suddenly self-conscious about her lesser endowments.  Maybe her mother was right about the breast thing.  Then again, Cole had appreciated her body.  Very much so.

“I’ll go ask him,” Nanci
said, pushing her drink away.  When she started out of her chair, Kelsie reached out to stop her.

“Don’t
.”

“Why not?”

“He’s not worth wasting our energy on.”

“Can I at least go ask him if he’s misplaced his dick in
his cleaning woman’s mouth lately?”

Despite the uncomfortableness of the situation, Kelsie
snorted with laughter.  “Oh my God, no.  Don’t you dare!”  Nanci was like the cat that wanted to play with the mouse.  Only in Kyle’s case he was a rat.

“
Maybe you’re right.  Let’s get out of here before you have to deal with him.”

“Too late
,” she replied with a frown.

Nanci turned to see Kyle heading their
direction.  “Shit.”

He strode up to their table as if he was God’s gift to women. 
Something he wasn’t.  “Well, well, if it isn’t my ex.  You remember Allison, don’t you?”

As if she could forget the woman who
’d ruined her anniversary and wrecked her marriage all in one night.  She refused to give him the benefit of a response.

His gaze shifted to Nanci.  “And if it isn’t
her ever faithful friend,” he said in a loud, drunken slur.

“
Who would have thought you even knew what the word faithful meant?” Nanci replied with a sneer.

Kyle didn’t have a comeback for that one.

Her gaze moved over her ex in a scrutinizing manner. He wasn’t the man she remembered.  His hair was shaggy and in desperate need of a cut, unlike Cole’s.  His eyes were bloodshot, either from too much alcohol, or too many late nights with Allison.  And it looked as though he had a kid’s swim ring inflated beneath his shirt at the waistband of his pants.

“Show her your r
ock, Allie.” 

She held up her hand
with a smile, displaying a large diamond solitaire engagement ring.  “Kyle and I are getting married next month in the Virgin Islands,” she said as if she’d won herself a great prize.

No prize there.

Nanci snorted.  “Maybe you should try the Not-So-Virgin Islands for your wedding instead.”

“Your island of choice, no doubt,” Kyle re
torted with a scowl.

“
Any island you’re not on would be my island of choice,” she shot back.

“I have to agree with Nanci on that one,” Kelsie said with a nod, wishing
he would leave and take his slutty fiancée with him.

“Don’t be a hater,” Allison
cooed, fluttering her fingers so her diamond reflected in the light.

“
I’m definitely hating,” Nanci said with a laugh.  “I’ve always wanted a cubic zirconia engagement ring and a pair of fake boobs to go along with it.”

“The ring’s not fake,” Allison argued, looking to
Kyle for back up.

Guilt was written all over his face. 

“Kyle!” his fiancé gasped.

“The boobs
weren’t cheap.  I had to cut cost somewhere.”

“You gave me a fake engagement ring?  How could you?” she demanded. 
She stormed away, carefully avoiding Nanci as she moved past.

He turned to Nanci.  “Bitch.”

“I try my best,” she said with a smug smile. 

Kelsie
couldn’t keep the grin from her face.  For so long after her divorce, any mention of her ex and what he’d done to her would bring her to tears.  She’d dreaded the possibility of ever crossing paths with him again, unsure of how she’d react.  Now here they were, together in the same room.  And, much to her relief, she felt nothing.  No hurt.  No longing for what they might have had if Kyle hadn’t of been such an ass.  She was void of any emotion at all where he was concerned. 

“I’m
finally over you,” she said in surprise.

Both Kyle and Nanci
stopped the name slinging and looked her way.  “What?” they replied in unison.

She looked up at her ex.  “You know,
I’ve wondered at times how I would feel if we ever ran into each other again.  Now I know.  We were really never meant to be, you and me.  I don’t love you.  In fact, I realize now that what I felt for you when we were together was more youthful infatuation than real love.”  Cole had shown her the difference.

That last thought took her by surprise.  H
ow had that happened?  Feeling the way she did about Cole presented her with a whole new set of problems, but it had also helped free her of her past.

Kyle chuckled
drunkenly.  “Yeah right.”  Then he leaned across the table to hover just inches from her face.  “You and I both know if I wanted you back in my bed I could have you there with a snap of my fingers.”

A second later he was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball and moaning.
 

“Snap that,” Nanci hissed.  Grabbing for her purse, she looked to Kelsie. 
“Time to go.”

“What did you do
to him?” she asked as they weaved their way out of the club.

“Who me?”
her friend asked with feigned innocence.

“The ass was lying in the fetal position when we left him and you were smiling.”

“Okay, so my foot slipped off the top rung of the chair.”

“Slipped?”

Nanci nodded.  “Into his crotch.”

She
glanced down at the pointy toed heels Nanci had worn that night with a wince.  “Bet that hurt like hell.”

“You can count on it,” she said with a mischievous grin
as they hurried across the lamp lit parking lot. “That’ll teach him to invade your personal space and be a dickhead at the same time.”

“Thanks.”

“My pleasure.”

She turned to Nanci as they slid into her car.  “For the record, I would never ever go back to Kyle.  Not even if he was the last man on earth and someone slipped me
an entire bottle of female Viagra.”

Nanci burst into laughter. 
“That’s my girl.”

She
glanced back toward the night club.  She had faced the demon from her past and had come out of it mentally intact.  Kyle was an ass and always would be.  Allison could have him.

“You okay?”
her friend asked as they pulled out onto the street.

“I’m great.
”

“So much for finding a new place to hang out.”

“Yeah, I could do without having to see Kyle and Allison ever again.”

“Hey, maybe we’ll get lucky and a shark will eat them on their honeymoon.”

Kelsie burst into laughter.  “You are so bad.”

“I try my best.  What do you say we go back to my place and watch a chick flick?”

“Sounds like a plan.”  She laid her head back against the seat.  This had actually turned out to be one of the best nights of her life.  And seeing Kyle taken down by Nanci was definitely the icing on the cake.

Kelsie pulled up to the address her mother had given her.  The place where she was to meet her very last blind date.  That alone had her smiling.

She
lowered her window halfway down, looking around.  Judging by the number of vehicles parked outside, it had to be the right place.  Though there were a few cars in the mix, most of the vehicles that filled the driveway and the road in front of the house were big, shiny trucks. 

The house where the company picnic was being held was a newer split-level home with a privacy fence separating the backyard from the road in front.  Woods provided the backdrop for
what looked to be a partially fenced in backyard. 

She
sat in her car, listening to the radio.  A glance at her watch had her frowning.  Had her mother gotten the time she was supposed to meet her date at the picnic mixed up?  Or had he already arrived and decided to skip taking her in with him?  Not that it would break her heart or anything.  But then she’d still owe her mother one more blind date.  She’d just as soon get it over with.

Her ‘date’
, the one and only Max, was supposed to meet her at her car at one o’clock so they could make their entrance into his company picnic together.  It was now a few minutes after one with no date in sight.

Ten minutes later she was still waiting for her mother’s ‘Mr. Perfect’ to arrive.  Kelsie glanced at
the clock on the dash again with an irritated frown. She didn’t have all day to sit there and wait for her date to arrive. 

Her
pale pink nails tapped the steering wheel impatiently.  He had to show up.  Otherwise, her mother’s promise never to fix her up again would be null and void.

Reaching for her purse, she dug
inside for her cell phone.  She would call her mother and double-check the meeting time.  She pulled up her contact list and had just started to scroll down for her mother’s number when it occurred to her she’d be better off not calling.  All she had to do was keep quiet about the date not happening and she was home free.  Her mother would never know.

The idea as fleeting.  Past experience told her that her mother would
be hunting her down in the morning to see how the date had gone.  There was no way she’d be able to lie to her. 

“
So now what?” she muttered in irritation.  Here she was doing the guy a favor and he doesn’t even have the decency to−    

A tap on the partially open driver’s side window
startled her from her thoughts.  Her head whipped around, a startled gasp leaving her lips.  The open phone slipped from her hand, clattering onto the passenger side floor. 

“Cole?”

He smiled at her through the partially open window.  “Hey, doll.”

Heart racing she reached out with trembling fingers to lower her window the rest of the way down.

“W...what are you doing here?”

Had he followed her there?
  The possibility that he had both angered and excited her.

He leaned into the
open window, flashing that sexy, lone dimpled grin she’d been trying so hard to get out of her thoughts.  “I would’ve been here sooner, but I ran into road construction.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.  Why are you here?”

“As luck would have it, I’m your date.”

It took a moment, but when his words finally hit her
– like a ton of bricks.  “You what?”

He
motioned toward the house.  “I’m taking you to my company picnic.”

“Your
company picnic?”

He nodded, grin still intact.

What was going on here?

“
I’m not sure what you’re up to, but I’m supposed to be meeting a man named...”  Her words trailed off as the realization of what her mother had done hit her.  Cole Maxwell.  Max. 

Shit.

“You’re Max?”

“To some of my friends,”
he replied with a calmness she certainly didn’t feel at that moment.  In her case, every single sensitive part of her body was going haywire.  All she could think about was what it had been like to be made love to by this man.  A man she’d done everything in her power to force from her thoughts.  And now here he was in her life again.

She
forced herself to focus on the present and the situation she’d suddenly found herself in.  “My mother was a part of this?”  It was more a statement of fact at this point than a question.

He nodded. 
“I’ll admit she might have helped me out a little, but it was my idea.”

“My mother did more than help a little. 
She lied to me.”

“There wasn’t any lying,” he argued with a smile.

“I...you...”  She gave a frustrated groan.  “How could she have done this to me?  Her own flesh and blood!”

“I think your mother felt guilty about the wedding cake thing
, so she agreed to help me out.”

“The wedding cake thing?”

“Yeah.”  He chuckled.  “After your mother found out we had gone out, she brought a tray of wedding cake samples in to the station for me to taste.  Apparently one date to her meant you and I were engaged or soon would be.”

“
Oh my God,” she gasped.  “I can’t believe she would do something like that.”

“Trust me, she did.
  My entire crew witnessed it.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. 
“This is unreal.”

“If I remember correctly, yo
ur mother is rather fond of the cappuccino truffle torte.  But you, on the other hand, are more the French vanilla with cream cheese icing kind of girl.”

She
groaned and dropped her head back against the headrest, covering her face with her hands.  “I can’t believe she did that.”

His
husky chuckle echoed in the car.  “Her grandmother clock is ticking, you know.”

She lifted her head to look at
him.  “She actually said that?”

He nodded with a grin.

“I am so sorry.  I told Nanci something like this would happen if my mother found out I liked you.”

“So you do like me.” 

How had that slipped out?  Luckily, she hadn’t blurted out her need to feel his lips on hers again, to have him make love to her the way only Cole could. 

“I can’t do this,”
she said, reaching out to turn the keys in the ignition.  “I have to go.” 

His
hand covered hers, stopping her.  “Don’t leave.”  It wasn’t an order.  It was more of a determined plea.

She was angry with both her mother and Cole for deceiving her the way the two of them had.  But she was even angrier with herself for wanting him the way she did.

“Why shouldn’t I?” she asked, her narrowed gaze pinning his down. 

“Because you and I need to talk.”

“Yeah, well we could have done that over the phone,” she replied and then cringed.  Why did she have to go and bring up the phone?

The widening of
his grin told her she had indeed prompted thoughts of their last phone conversation.  Thankfully for her, he made no mention of it.  In fact, he said nothing at all for several long moments, just stood there grinning. 

“
This isn’t going to work,” she said halfheartedly.

He broke eye contact just long enough to glance over his shoulder toward the house where the picnic was in full swing
and then back to her, the expression in his dark eyes tender.  “It can work.  And for the record, you’re wrong about me.”

“How so?”

“I’m not perfect, Kelsie.  Not by a long shot.  All I ask is that you give me the chance to prove it to you.”  He hesitated, his smile widening.  “You know, I have to say I never thought I’d find myself trying to convince a woman how ‘not perfect’ I am.”                           

“
Look, Cole, I’m sure you’re going to make some other woman very happy─”

“I don’t want some other woman,”
he said, effectively cutting her off.  “I want you.”

“
What about the other woman?”

“What other woman?”

“The one Joe said you had moved on to.”

“There
is no one else.  Hasn’t been since I met you.”

“But I thought...”

“Why would I want any other woman in my life?” he said no longer teasing.  “Hell, Kelsie, you make life so much more exciting when I’m with you.  Always throwing me a curveball when I’m expecting a fastball straight down the center.  I want that.  I want you.”

Her heart was in her throat.  That was the most romantic thing a guy had ever said to her.  And at the same time the most frightening. 

“Damn you, Cole Maxwell.  Saying things to me like that is an unfair tactic.”

“Is it working?” he asked, his expression almost boyishly hopeful.

“Yes,” she said with a sigh.  “It is.”

He straightened and opened the door, reaching for her hand.  “Good.  Because I wouldn’t have been the only one who would have been disappointed if you had decided not to stick around for the picnic.”

She let him pull her out of the car, meeting his gaze as he slid his arms around her waist.  “If you’re referring to my mother, it wouldn’t matter because I’m not sure I’m ever going to speak to her again anyway.”

He
chuckled.  “Your mother doesn’t seem like the type who can be avoided for very long.  But I wasn’t referring to her.  I was referring to Nanci.”

“Nanci?”

“Yeah.  She’s out back with Joe.”

She put up her hand.  “Hold up.  Are we talking Nanci, as in my best friend Nanci with an ‘i’ instead of a ‘y’?”

He nodded.

She
stiffened.  Was everyone she knew in on this blind date set up?  “Are you telling me my best friend knew you were who I was going to be meeting here today?”

“Yes and no.”

“Which is it, Cole?  Yes or no?”

“Both actually.”

“Do you mind telling me how that’s possible?” she asked, her irritation growing.

“Joe decided not to tell Nanci you were coming until they arrived at the picnic.” 
He pointed to the driveway.  “That’s his silver Explorer parked next to the mailbox, so I’m assuming she knows now.  Joe was afraid she might let it slip if he told her any sooner.”

At least her friend hadn’t turned traitor on her like her mother had.  “I don’t like being lied to.”

“No one lied.”

She shot him an accusing glance. 

“Well, not really.  I am your blind date.  I’m taking you to my crew’s annual picnic, and one of my nicknames is Max.  So you see, doll, no lies.”

As much as she wanted to let him have it for pulling this crazy stunt, she couldn’t.  Cole had gone to all this trouble just to see her again.  And she had to admit it was the perfect plan to get her to go out with him again.  He knew she wouldn’t have accepted if she’d have known it was him she was meeting that afternoon.  And
, despite all her protests, it felt good to be in his arms again.

She
sighed in surrender and relaxed in his arms.  “You are crazier than my mother.”

“Thanks.  I’ll consider that a compliment.”

“Cole...”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you call me that?”

“What?”

“Doll.”

He kissed the top of her head.  “Because that’s what you remind me of with those big beautiful green eyes.  Those incredible lips.”  He bent to brush his lips lightly over hers.  “And this perfectly petite body.”  His hands glided up the sides of her shirt to graze the swells beneath it. 

She shuddered.  He made her feel so unbelievably sexy.  She whispered his name, pressing into his touch.

He responded by threading his fingers through her hair and lowering his mouth to hers once more, this time deepening the kiss.

She clung to him, her body aching for more.  But the flow of laughter drifting out over the privacy fence pulled her back into reality.

She
pushed away, trying to catch her breath, trying to think about anything but sex with Cole.  “Something smells good.”

“You mean besides you?” he teased then bent to nibble playfully at the nape of her neck.

She shuddered as the heat of his mouth eased along her flesh.  “I was referring to whatever’s cooking on the grill.”  The words came out in a half-whisper as she tried not to recall how that same mouth felt moving over other parts of her body.   

Thankfully,
he ended the sweet torture.  “Come on, let’s go see if it tastes as good as it smells.  Or, then again, if you’d rather we could always go back to your place and have emotionless sex.”

More heat moved up her already sensitive neck to settle in her cheeks.  Kelsie lowered her gaze to the cotton tee stretched across his muscular chest, determined to avoid that sexy grin and the desire
he had once again stirred in her.