disappointed.” Gwen sat down on the toilet lid and began to pull on the hose.
“Why didn’t you go with Jim Proctor? He’s a nice enough guy.”
“Engaged. Two weeks ago. Kindergarten teacher.”
“Oh.” Hooking a towel at her breasts, Laura stepped out. “Better to go alone than with Greg the Operator.”
“Cocktails and dinner at Dr. and Mrs. Pritchet’s. Mrs. Pritchet frowns on extra women at her table.” Gwen stood, swore. “Damn it, these bag on me.”
“I told you they would.”
“Found a pair.” Julia came in waving a package of hose like a flag. “These are why my drawer wouldn’t close all the way. They were stuck behind it.”
“Thank God.” Gwen grabbed them and sat again to make the exchange.
“You’re all dressed up,” Laura commented, noting Julia’s long velvet gown of deep green.
“Country-club deal. Peter.”
“Ah, old reliable.” Laura walked out into the bedroom to contemplate her own closet.
“Peter’s all right, just a little too earnest.” Julia wandered out, watched Laura debate between red silk or blue wool. “Now you seem to have the hot date of the evening.”
“We’re just going to hear some music.”
“Dancing. Third date in two weeks.” Julia wiggled her brows. “The red, definitely.”
“It’s a little …”
“It’s a lot,” Julia corrected. “A lot everything. His eyes’ll pop out of his head and plop on his shoes.”
Feeling stubborn, Laura pulled out the blue. “We’re not really dating. We’re just seeing each other.”
Gwen stepped out. “Well, when you’re tired of seeing him, can I have him?”
“Ha, ha.”
“It is the third date,” Julia pointed out. “First date is the test. Second is a review. But the third, well, that’s the big one. That’s when you move from dating to relationship.”
“We don’t have a relationship. I don’t want a relationship.”
“Can I have him?” Gwen asked again, then bubbled with laughter at Laura’s seething look. “Come on, Laurie, what’s wrong with being interested in a gorgeous, available, intriguing man? Count your blessings.” Then she rolled her eyes as the buzzer sounded. “That’s Greg. Jules, go entertain him for a minute, will you?”
“If he comes on to me again, I’m going to knock his caps loose.”
“Five minutes,” Gwen promised, rushing out. “Just hold him off for five minutes.”
“I don’t know why she doesn’t knock his caps loose,” Julia muttered, then, taking a deep breath, fixed a bright smile on her face and turned to Laura. “How’s this?”
“Try to make it look less like a grimace.”
“Can’t. Wear the red,” she ordered, then headed down to do her duty.
* * *
She wore the red. Laura told herself the outfit was simply more suited to an evening at a club. She hadn’t worn it because it was sexy, or because the blend of Lycra turned the silk into a curve-clinging statement of female confidence. And she only wore the high, thin heels because the dress demanded them.
This third-date business was nonsense, she told herself as she hooked on thick gold hoops. Who was counting, after all? They were just seeing each other because they enjoyed each other’s company, because they found a lot to talk about and they made each other laugh.
And when he kissed her, her brain exploded.
She pressed a hand to her jittery stomach. Okay, she admitted, yes, there was a strong physical attraction. But he hadn’t pressured her to take it any further than those brain-draining kisses.
Why the hell wasn’t he pressuring her? It was driving her crazy the way he left her shuddering, all but gulping for air, and never attempted to lure her into bed. Not since that first time.
She was crazy, Laura admitted. Hadn’t she told him she needed to get to know him? Wasn’t he giving her the time and space to do just that? And she was sulking because he wasn’t grabbing her by the hair and dragging her off to his cave.
Pitiful.
When the buzzer