An Indecent Proposition (38 page)

And today’s event was going to be sheer torture.

The bride-to-be was a woman Jules had gone to school with. She’d belonged to the popular girls’ clique that had included that bitch, Allison Terre. Alli was sure to be at the party.

And if word had gotten around that Jules was seeing Keegan and Erik… Well, Jules could only hope to stay in the kitchen and prep trays.

By midmorning, she’d determined luck had deserted her completely.

One of the other waitresses had a cold, so she had to stay in the kitchen with Carol wearing a mask. Sure, it sucked to wear the mask but Jules wished she had one right about now.

Because no sooner had she started to make the rounds with a tray than Alli had walked into the room.

She hadn’t noticed Jules at first. She’d been too busy giving hugs and air kisses to the rest of the guests, all dressed with the express purpose of outdoing one another.

Your inner bitch is showing, Jules. Tone it down.

With a deep breath, she tried but knew it was going to be a losing battle.

Luckily there were more than enough guests for her to avoid Alli, the bride, and their friends.

The older women at the shower didn’t bother to look beyond the tray, as they talked about their latest trip to Europe or their Hawaiian cruise with those gorgeous and oh-so-helpful stewards whom they tipped so well for their service.

Eww.
Jules had to work hard to erase those images from her head. Most of these women looked like they’d had a few too many trips to the Botox bar and the plastic surgeon. And then to think about them seducing younger men…

Just eww.

But she figured it was better than listening to the women her own age talking about their careers and the men they were dating and how huge the bride’s solitaire was.

A little better anyway.

But of course her luck had to run out sometime.

Alli caught her just as she was about to escape back to the kitchen with her partially empty tray.

“Hello, Julianne. We’ve been seeing each other a lot more lately than I think we did in high school.”

Alli laughed as if she found that hilarious but Jules knew it was a dig.

Jules just nodded and smiled and tried to keep walking, but Alli put her hand on her arm. Jules didn’t feel threatened. Alli wasn’t digging her fingers into her skin but the command was there all the same.

Jules stopped and forced a pleasant smile. “How are you, Alli?”

“Oh, I’m just fine.” The other woman’s icy blue eyes flashed up and down Jules for a second. “I understand you’ve got a new man in your life.” She paused. “Or is it two?”

Jules bit her tongue to stop her immediate urge to tell the woman to take a flying leap into a volcano.

Instead, she smiled. “Would you like a cucumber sandwich? I’m about to take the tray back to the kitchen for more.”

Still holding her gaze, Alli smiled, her expression turning downright mean, and Jules knew the other woman was about to go in for the kill.

“Riley and Malone are big fish for such a small…pond. I’d love to hear all about how you met them. Rumor has it there’s an interesting story there.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jules saw two of Alli’s friends approaching. Shit. She was about to be surrounded. Like sharks, they must smell blood in the water.

“Sorry, Alli, there’s really nothing to tell. And I am working today, so—”

“So is it true, Julianne?” asked Ginger Macintyre, another former classmate of Jules and Alli’s. “Are you dating Erik Riley?”

“I’d just like to know how you can stand looking at Erik’s face all night and not want to run,” the third woman chimed in.

Jules felt every muscle in her body tense and her eyes narrowed down to slits.

Deep breath. No punching the guests. Even if they deserve it.

Jules didn’t know the woman but if she hung around with Alli and Ginger, she probably didn’t want to.

“I mean, it’s such a shame,” the bitch continued. “That accident was so totally tragic, I understand why he’s not been able to find a woman who’ll put up with that.”

“At least, not one he hasn’t paid for.”

Alli threw that zinger in and, while the other women smirked at each other, Alli kept her eyes on Jules.

A flush burned Jules’s cheeks as Alli’s smile turned hard. But Alli couldn’t possibly know that flush was all about anger and not embarrassment.

Jules wanted to pop the bitch in her smug little smile.

And then she wanted to tell Alli and her friends all about the hot, steamy, sweaty sex she had with both men. How they treated her like someone special and not like a toy they’d bought.

“You know, I dated Erik right after he and Keegan moved here,” Ginger said. “And I’m not so sure there’s not something going on between them. If you know what I mean.”

Ginger lifted her eyebrows at Jules, as if they were sharing secrets.

Jules wondered how high the bail would be if she took her serving tray and bashed the women’s heads with it.

While Ginger and the other woman started to giggle like teenagers, Alli kept her unnerving gaze on Jules.

“Or maybe their tastes are a little more…unconventional.”

Even though Jules had braced herself for someone finding out about her relationship with Erik and Keegan, she hadn’t actually thought about what would happen if anyone openly confronted her about it.

Silence seemed the best course of action, but Jules had never been one to back away from a fight. Or know when to hold her tongue, apparently.

Letting her own mouth curve in a knowing smile, Jules leaned closer to Alli, like she was going to share a secret.

Alli’s gaze narrowed but the other women moved in with mocking smiles.

“Would you like to hear about how wonderful they are in bed? Because I could go on for hours. And so can they, actually. Or do you want to know about how they wiped out the mountain of debt my mother and I were drowning under because of her breast cancer?”

Ginger’s mouth dropped open with each word Jules said. Her friend’s eyes were so wide, Jules swore it had to hurt. But Alli… Alli was putting two and two together and coming up with…well, probably the right answer.

“I guess the rumor mill got it right this time.” Alli practically spit the words through clenched teeth. “Good for you, Julianne.”

“Yes, they
are
good for me, Alli. They’re both very, very good.”

Without another word, she spun on her heel and headed back to the kitchen.

That bitch. That miserable fucking bitch.

She wanted to go back out there and light into Alli again. Wanted to rip her hair out and have a straight-up cat fight.

But as mad as she was at Alli for putting her in that position, she was just as pissed off at herself for opening her mouth and stooping to Alli’s level.

By the time she’d set her tray on the counter where they’d placed the appetizer warming pans, Jules swore she had smoke coming out of her ears.

Jesus, how stupid could she be? The party had barely started. Jules would have to face those women for the next three hours. And knowing Alli, she’d probably told more people and they would tell their friends until everyone out there knew Jules had slept with two men who had then cleared her debt.

She’d thought life had gotten bad when she’d had an affair with a married man. That the nasty glances and the whispering she’d endured at the functions she’d worked were bad.

Add having an affair with two men and taking money from them…

Good thing you’re planning to leave, isn’t it?

Shit. She should’ve kept her mouth shut.

“Julianne, what’s wrong?”

Carol stepped up beside her, wiping her hands on a towel, her expression full of concern.

Because she didn’t want to worry Carol, and because she’d made this mess herself, she shook her head and forced a smile.

“Nothing. Sorry, just a little headache.”

More like a migraine beginning to hammer at her skull.

Carol didn’t look convinced. “Do you need to sit down for a little? I can—”

“No. Really. I’ll be fine.”

Carol frowned but sighed. “Okay, but if you need to sit, just let me know.”

What she needed was a do-over of the last ten minutes.

What you really need is to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.

And with the two men she wasn’t sure she could give up.

* * *

Keegan stared at the name on his phone screen, finger poised over the big red no button.

Why the fuck is she calling me?

He should let it go to voice mail. He really had no idea why Allison Terre wanted to talk to him.

Whatever it is, it probably isn’t anything you want to get involved in.

He hit “No” and shoved the phone out of reach across his kitchen table.

Fingers drumming out a fast-paced rhythm on the table, he stared at the phone. He should work out, go for a run, anything to get rid of this nervous energy.

Would Erik pick up if he called?

God damn it. He wanted to talk to his best friend about his date with the woman who’d come to mean so much to him in so short a time. But how did he clear up a week’s worth of silence with a phone call?

He shouldn’t have let it go on this long because now he didn’t have a clue what to do.

His phone vibrated, annoying him once again. Allison had left him a message.

With a half-assed growl, he retrieved his phone and called up the message.

“Hello, Keegan. This is Allison Terre.” She gave a little laugh that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. “I hope you remember me, otherwise I’m going to be totally embarrassed. I called to see if you’d like to accompany me to the next chamber mixer. I know we talked at the last one, but you skipped out before we could have a decent conversation. I’d really love to spend some time getting to know you. If you’re not busy, of course. I realize a man in your position doesn’t have a lot of time. And I’m sure you don’t have a lot of time to meet women in your…circle. Anyway, I just thought I’d throw my idea out there and see if you’d like to go. Give me a call. See you soon.”

The message ended and he shook his head.

What the fuck?

Which was about all the time he wanted to give that particular phone call.

He dismissed it with a shake of his head, his brain already working through the problem with Erik. If he could just get his friend to see how self-destructive he was being. How not letting go of his rage against Eggert Labs was going to destroy what they’d built all these years.

But he never picked up the phone.