Damn him. “No.” Char glared. “It’s not. Besides, Grandma said it was a good idea.”
“Famous last words.”Jake whistled. “Grandma’s also standing in the middle of the window display shouting into a shiny zebra phone as if the person on the other end is on Mars. Not sure I would use her as a solid excuse right now.”
Irritated, Char snapped. “Is there a reason you’re here? I mean other than because you got fired.”
His face paled.
Char grinned triumphantly.
“Vacation…” He coughed. “Actually, I got a text from Travis saying he needed me to pick up a few things for him and get fitted for a tux. So, yes. I’m doing my best man duty.”
“Best man?” Char repeated. Dread made itself permanently comfortable in the pit of her stomach.
“I can tell you’re excited by your perky attitude. Oh wait. Maybe it’s just because you aren’t wearing a bra. My mistake.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Thank you.” He smirked.
Crap, Char wasn’t sure if she should cover her chest or just give him a view of her goodies, flaunting to him once and for all that he’d had her but wouldn’t ever have her again.
His hazel eyes darkened. “If it’s any consolation—I like the dress.”
Char swallowed slowly as he took a cautious step toward her. Why did he have to be so beautiful? His golden brown hair had that glistening wave to it that normal people only saw on glossy magazine covers. His smile was deadly, and right now his eyes, those piercing eyes, were locked on hers.
She licked her lips as he took another step.
The room was suddenly too small, too hot, too everything. He held out his hand to help her off the platform.
She really shouldn’t have taken it. Because the minute her skin came into contact with his—she remembered. The scorching night she’d shared with him had been anything but forgettable. The way his lips felt would be permanently etched in her memory, never to be exorcised.
“Jake!” Grandma peered around the mannequin and yelled. “Help her out of that dress! We have a wedding emergency! Hurry!”
“Right.” Jake released Char’s hand and shook his head as he took a step away. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve helped you out of your clothes, huh, Char?”
And special moment gone.
Ignoring the burning sensation on her face, Char walked into the dressing room and pulled the curtain.
“Don’t you need help?” came Jake’s voice.
“I think I know how to undress myself, Jake.”
“Yes.” His warm chuckle made Char want to smack him. Shivering, she reached for the zipper. “But when I do it, it’s unforgettable. That’s all I’m saying.”
Fine. She’d had enough. Refusing to let him think she was afraid of him touching her, she took his challenge. With a huff Char pulled open the curtain. “Prove it.”
His eyes widened and then a wicked smile curved his lips. “My pleasure.”
The way the man said “pleasure” did really unfortunate things to Char’s body, things that made her re-think her rash decision.
“Where’s the zipper?”
“Aww… can’t find it? That happen to you often, Jake? Can’t find the zipper, where does my equipment go…”
“Oh that, I never have problems with. You should know.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits as she watched him close the curtain and then do a turning motion with his finger.
She turned around and faced the mirror. Jake placed his hands on her shoulders then ran them down both of her arms. She would not shiver, she would not react!
He placed his hands on her hips, then unzipped the dress. Slowly he ran his hands back up the sides of her body, all the way until he hit just below her br**sts. Her breath hitched as he winked at her in the mirror, bypassing her br**sts and finding the fastener behind her neck.
Char chewed on her lower lip as she watched him delicately undo the fastener and then held the dress to her body so it wouldn’t fall.
“You have beautiful hair.” He ran a few pieces through his fingers and sighed, locking eyes with her in the mirror.
He wasn’t smiling. Was he seriously paying her a compliment? To her face? Or her reflection?
“I, uhh—”
“It’s just a compliment, Char. Not a proposal.”
She blushed profusely. “Thank you.”
The way he looked at her made her feel naked. And now she remembered why things had gone haywire in the first place. She never knew which Jake she was talking to. The one who had been her friend when she was little, or the millionaire playboy who had no soul.
Char doubted he even knew which one he was. She just needed to make sure she remembered, lest she end up with a broken heart again.
“Everyone decent?” Grandma called from the other side of the curtain.
Jake stepped back and winked. “Unfortunately.”
Char felt her face heat.
“Damn,” Grandma called. “You’ve lost your touch, son.”
“Don’t I know it.” He licked his lips and nodded one last time at Char before stepping on the other side of the curtain.
What the heck just happened?
It took Char a good five minutes to get her jeans on. Her stupid hands were shaking so much she couldn’t pull up the zipper. And that was why men like Jake shouldn’t be free of their cages. It was dangerous, oh so dangerous.