Love.com (17 page)

Shane returned appearing satisfied the restaurant wasn’t trying to poison him.
He sat back down, his phone a fixture in his hand once more. He smiled at her. “I think they’ll look a little more closely at their menu in the future.”

“You seem really health conscious,” Emily remarked with a catty smile. Getting him to talk about himself would kill more time and fill
in the gaps of her stony, detached silence. She was inwardly fuming. She stayed while her first instinct was to leave, wanting to punish herself more than him for discovering he wasn’t worth her time so quickly.

Shane didn’t miss a beat, launching into a twenty minute dissertation on the merits of avoiding gluten, MSG, and a whole barrage of other evils he dubbed the cause of most fatal diseases. He claimed to be a Vegan as he sliced up a portion of loaded potato skins onto his plate. Seeing the bacon
bits slathered there with butter, sour cream, and gooey cheddar cheese made Emily smile even wider. Shane was an idiot who thought all women were worse idiots, no doubt. Vegan! Yeah, right! Vegans didn’t eat bacon. She was sure they would shudder in horror to see the homemade chili sauce the potato boats floated in, the chunks of hamburger mocking his claim to be a vegetarian.

“You look really great,” Emily gushed with relish, watching him mowing on the potato skins like he hadn’t eaten in days. “You must work out all the time.”

“Yeah, I hit the gym pretty regular,”
Shane said with a pleased smile, preening under her compliment like the peacock he was. “I try to take care of myself.”

“It really shows,” Emily encouraged, her smile growing. “I wish I had your willpower
, Shane. I could never be a Vegan.”

“It’s all about how you perceive yourself, Emily,” he went on to say between bites, not noticing she wasn’t eating. “I’ve found that focusing on myself and dedicating my life to better
eating habits has improved my over-all well-being. It takes self-control, which most people don’t have.”

Emily listened to his
glowing self-analysis with only half an ear, already sure Shane was nothing more than a con artist who played women. She frowned, recalling his profile.

“I thought your profile was fascinating,”
Emily said as she shifted her comments to the lies he obviously told there too. “It’s so refreshing to know there are such selfless people in the world. How long have you worked for Borders without Boundaries?”

Shane looked confused, obviously forgetting he lauded himself a
s a worker for the agency that helped oppressed people leave their countries to find amnesty in the United States. It was comical to see him back pedal, trying to recall what he said about himself. He covered nicely, a faint smile curving his lips. “I don’t like to talk about my work. You can see the need for discretion?”

“Oh, but
I find it so thrilling to talk about it,” Emily argued with a hard gleam in her eye. “You must be in constant danger helping these people. Have you ever been shot at?”

Shane launched into the most far-fetched tale of rescuing a family from Iraq that she nearly laughed outright. He made himself into
a hero, complete with a high-speed chase with bullets flying, and ending with a mad dash for freedom at an air strip somewhere in the desert. He even recalled in glowing detail how the couple’s child kissed his hands on the flight to Egypt. She fought the urge to walk out then, but refrained, wanting to revel in the fact she knew the truth about him, even though he continued to lie.

“I have to get up early in the morning,” Emily said with heavy regret in her voice
finally. “You have to go take care of your mother. Give her my best.”

“Yeah, I have to go pick up her prescriptions when I leave here,” Shane lied without remorse, grinning in obvious anticipation. “She’s in a lot of pain. I shouldn’t have stayed out so long.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you,” Emily said as she picked up her purse. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Shane. I had a great time tonight.”

Shane was busy reading his latest text. He looked up and nodded. “I’ll call you, Emily. Maybe we can go out again when my mom is up and around?”

“Yeah, sure, call me. I feel so guilty thinking of her at home; flat on her back and in such pain waiting for you.”

This seemed to amuse Shane
to no end. He nearly burst out laughing. It was obvious Shane thought he fooled her into thinking he was a good guy. She also knew he wouldn’t call her. “I’ll make sure she’s comfortable. Thank you for meeting me.”

Emily left the
restaurant with head held high, not feeling the least bit badly for sticking Shane with the check. It was the least he could do for deceiving her. She was disgusted with men in general as she headed home.

Emily had three more dates left on her list, but it was only one she looked forward to. Seeing Ian the following evening made her breathless and giddy. She could hardly wait, bristling in anticipation. She told herself to calm down, but the image of Ian entertaining her made her cheeks grow warm.

Suddenly, she recalled the woman’s means of getting Shane’s attention during their date tonight. Her eyes widened with a sudden idea. She also had the luxury of knowing Ian didn’t have her new cell phone number. He didn’t know her phone got ruined when she fell into the harbor. It was a safe means to toy with him, without suffering the embarrassment of his knowing who she was.

Before she changed her mind, she went up to her room, pulling open her closet door. She smiled as she opened the lingerie dresser at the back. She took out a red and black silk bustier with its matching
garter belt and robe. Her hand trembled as she withdrew several other items.

Emily didn’t think about what she was doing. She changed into the lingerie, standing in the bathroom and eyeing herself critically. She had to admit, she looked good. A wicked gleam entered her eyes as she snatched up her cell phone and began to take shots of herself, careful to keep her face out of them. Once she had an assortment of
pictures saved to her gallery, she began to send them, hardly daring to breathe.

Who is this?
Ian texted her back immediately.

Who do you want me to be?
Emily answered and hit send.  

Do I know you?

Do you want to?
Emily giggled despite herself.

You look fantastic. Of course.

At that point, Emily felt encouraged to launch into a full pictorial of her collection of lingerie, reasoning someone might as well enjoy them. She was breathless and excited between changing into other outfits, encouraged by Ian’s glowing comments. He still demanded to know who she was. He wanted to see her face. She decided she couldn’t bring herself to come clean she was the one tormenting him.

After an hour and a half and countless photos depicting her as a shameless sex kitten, he announced he wanted
to see more than she was willing to show. She swallowed hard to see the text message he sent.

Take it all off

No, she couldn’t. She drew the line at sending nude photos. Still, she had his attention. She closed her eyes in growing alarm, unsure whether she could do it. He texted her back within minutes.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep

Emily knew her limitations. It was one thing to show herself in scanty underwear, quite another to show her body. She put the phone down, her hand shaking.

Thanks for the show

Emily allowed her breathing to go back to normal, the lights no longer dancing before her eyes. She sat down on the commode, her head now between her knees. The panic attack came without warning. She should have known not to push herself to act so out of character. It obviously brought on the stress-induced episodes she was plagued with since Eddie died. She felt like a fool, even more a fraud than Shane.

Emily
was relieved Ian would never know it was her who entertained him tonight. She couldn’t believe she acted so bold. It worked for the woman at the other end of Shane’s phone tonight. Why not her?

Emily gathered up
the piles of lingerie littering her bedroom floor and put them away, still stunned by what she had done. She took a long, hot bath and bristled to know she found little satisfaction in the evening’s activities. The sense of loneliness prevailed; making her want something she had no right in wanting at all.

~
~ ~

Emily was checking her appearance in the hall mirror for the tenth time when the doorbell rang. She frowned, looking through the window to see Jay Wilson on her porch. He looked sober but his timing was once again awful. She had thirty minutes before she was to meet Ian. She didn’t want that cup of coffee right now. She groaned under her breath as she opened the door.

Jay smiled at her changed appearance. “Wow, you look great, Em. You going out?”

She felt encouraged by his lingering once-over
as he entered. “Just meeting a friend from work. What’s up?”

“I thought we might talk, Emily,” he began quietly, his expression tense. “Do you have a minute?”

“Not really,” she hedged and stalled. “What’s this all about, Jay? I’m not mad you couldn’t make Eddie’s funeral. Let it go.”

“That’s not what I wanted to talk about.” Jay stood indecisively in the foyer, looking uncomfortable as she shut the door. “I pick the worst times, don’t I?”

Emily silently agreed as she led him into the kitchen. She skipped coffee and opted for another glass of wine. Jay shook his head when she offered him a glass. “What is this about, Jay?”

“Did Eddie ever
let you in on any of his plans before he got sick, Em?”

There it was. Emily sipped her wine, avoiding his searching gaze. She decided playing stupid was the best course. “Plans? What plans were those? For the house, you mean? He mentioned redoing the kitchen, why?”

Jay looked uncomfortable, his face tense. “It isn’t that.”

Emily sipped her wine
as the silence between them stretched. “Then what plans are you talking about?”

“I…uh…I don’t guess it’s
important than,” he said and looked miserable.

Emily didn’t want to have this conversation before an evening with Ian. She shrugged and sipped her wine, determined to
not learn more about her husband’s extra-curricular activities. “Was there something you wanted to talk about, Jay? I really don’t want to revisit sad times tonight.”

“You got a date, Em?” Jay looked relieved to not to have to talk about whatever it was
that brought him over.

“Not really a date, more like a working dinner.”

Jay looked her over with amusement in his glance. “What kind of work do you do, Em? Dressed like that; I bet it’s a lot of fun.”

Emily smiled warmly, encouraged by the
compliment. “I’m in advertising. I’m meeting a client tonight to talk about an ad campaign over dinner. It’s just casual.”

Jay’s look said the meeting was far from casual, his smile growing
wider. “You look really hot, Em. I’m sorry, but I’m not used to seeing you so put together. I mean, don’t get me wrong, before Eddie got sick, you looked good, but now…wow.”

Emily was feeling sexier by the minute, knowing she did indeed look good, even if it was her neighbor who noticed. She needed all the help she could get
tonight. She was on her third glass of wine to work up her nerve to join Ian, her nerves a jumble. Jay’s reasons for coming over were forgotten. She didn’t want to ruin the evening by talking about Eddie, or his plans that had nothing to do with her. Thinking about that was a definite buzz kill. Jay surprised her by asking for a glass of wine. She poured and handed him the glass.

“I’m not going to ask if you’re meeting a guy. It’s kind of obvious.”

Emily smiled and shrugged. “He’s just a colleague. It’s work-related.”

“Work related in that outfit? Please,” Jay said and sipped his wine, chuckling. “You push those
ta-ta’s up any higher and you’ll get black eyes, Em. You don’t need to convince me. I’m a guy. You got the look.”

“What look?” Emily looked
panicked for a minute, wondering if she was a bit over-done. The push-up bra was a bit daring under the beaded cami blouse.

“That ‘have me
, I’m yours’ look.”

“That’s ridiculous! I’m not trying to say
that at all!”

“Oh yeah, definitely not,” Jay quipped in disbelief, rolling his eyes. “The jeans say it all
, Em. They scream ‘take me home and do me’.”

“Leave my jeans out of this!”

“Just sayin’, you definitely don’t look like you’re going to talk about work, Em. Unless you work in bed, that is.”

Emily didn’t bother to deny it. She looked like she was going to the bar
to get picked up, not to meet a coworker. She felt suddenly self-conscious. Should she change? Would Ian see her dressed so provocatively as an invitation? Damn Jay for pointing it out to her just minutes before she was to leave!

“What’s wrong with the way I look?” She was incensed to notice the time. She had to leave in ten minutes. No time to change.