Jo Leigh - One-Click Buy - September Harlequin Blaze

“Wanna know how to keep her interested?”

“No.” Yes, yes!

“I’ll tell you because I know you’re only saying no to save face.”

“I am not,” he lied.

“You keep her guessing.”

“Guessing?”

“I know it’s hard for you to wrap your one-track mind around this concept, but to keep a fun-loving woman like Katie entertained, you’ve got to be unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable?”

“You know, do something impromptu, unexpected. Send her a gift no one else would ever send her. Something that would have special meaning for her. Take her someplace you would normally never go, like to a monster-truck rally.”

“A monster-truck rally?” Liam snorted. “That’s the best you have to offer?”

“Okay, that was a stab in the dark, but use your imagination. Take her salsa dancing. Or kayaking. Or ice skating. Have fun.”

“Fun?”

“You know, the thing you haven’t done since you were a kid.” Tony eyed him as they jogged side by side. “But this isn’t the kind of woman who’s going to be impressed by fancy French restaurants or long-stemmed red roses and boxes of chocolates.”

“Too predictable?”

“By far. Convincing her you’re good for anything more than a hot time between the sheets is going to take some thought and effort on your part.”

Liam blew out his breath. “You make it sound like I don’t stand a chance.”

“She’s going to be a challenge for you, but come on. When have you ever shied away from a challenge? Just put the same effort into pursuing Katie that you’ve always put into buying and selling property then you’ll be A-OK. Throw the woman a curve ball or two.”

Easy enough for him to say, Tony knew how to chill out and have a good time. Liam was fighting against thirty-one years of hard work and determination to get ahead at all costs.

Think, think. What can you do to delight Katie? What will keep her guessing?

Just as they finished the last leg of their run, inspiration hit. Liam knew exactly what he was going to send that would both intrigue and surprise her.

M AKE LOVE in a forbidden place.

Katie read the Martini dare she’d tucked into the corner of her dresser mirror as she sat at her vanity wrapping her hair around a curling iron.

She’d been anxious all afternoon getting ready for this business dinner with Liam. She’d gone to the mall, bought a new dress and new pair of shoes. She’d had a manicure and a facial. She skipped both breakfast and lunch because she was too nervous to eat. She was acting as if it were a date.

It is a date.

No, it was a business meeting.

So then how come no one else on the creative team was invited?

Yeah, why was that?

He wants you, you want him, go for it.

“But I’m turning over a new leaf. Giving up casual sex, going cold turkey,” Katie said aloud to her reflection.

And then her gaze strayed to the parchment again. Make love in a forbidden place.

Why did it have to be cold turkey? Why couldn’t she sort of taper off? Plenty of people used the patch to wean themselves off smoking. Couldn’t the three Martini dares serve as Katie’s swan song for casual sex?

Liam was the perfect person to perform her dares with, she convinced herself. They were attracted to each other. He was temporary, only in her life for as long as it took to oversee the graphic designs for his campaign. Plus, they’d already made love, so by continuing their affair she was actually taking it out of the realm of one-night stands.

She loosened her grip on the curling iron and the warm curl escaped to fall gently across her cheek. She picked up a second strand of hair and twisted it around the heated rod.

The memory of what had happened in his apartment the afternoon before popped into her head. She remembered the feel of his lips, the pleasure of his tongue.

And then she thought of the way he’d looked at her. No, not at her…into her, as if he could see straight to her soul. Past the wild-child image she projected. Past the carefree persona she’d perfected. Past the clothes and the parties and jokes to the wounded woman who’d lost both her parents before she was twenty-five. To the girl who’d always felt as if she had to show others a good time in order to be loved and appreciated.

Katie shivered and pushed that disturbing thought away. She didn’t want to examine it too closely. She had other things on her mind.

Make love in a forbidden place.

“I’ll do it,” she whispered to her reflection in the mirror. “I’m going to use Liam to complete my Martini dares.”

Just saying the words made her feel empowered. Yes. This was good. This was exactly what she was looking for.

But is it fair to use Liam for your own personal empowerment?

The doorbell rang, interrupting her internal seesaw. She turned off the curling iron, got up and padded to the door. She peered through the peephole and spied a bike messenger standing on her front step. She put the chain on and opened the door a crack.

“Special delivery,” he called. “You gotta sign for it.”

What was this? Katie was a city girl who knew how to take care of herself. “Who’s it from?”

“Mr. Liam James.”

Magic words.

Katie signed for the package, then almost ripped it out of the delivery guy’s hands. Her curiosity was piqued. What had Liam sent her?

She tore off the brown paper to reveal a rectangular white box with the name of a famous jewelry store embossed in red letters on the lid. Her heart thumped.

Jewelry? The gift was presumptuous. Jewelry implied strings were attached to their relationship and she certainly wasn’t interested in getting tied to anything. She suddenly felt claustrophobic, as if the walls of her condo were closing in.

Maybe she should reconsider her decision to use Liam as the means to complete her Martini dares.

Tentatively, she slid the lid off the box and peered inside to find…

A dog collar?

The dude had sent her a dog collar.

Albeit a very handsome dog collar. Made of black leather and studded with blue onyx and faux diamond rhinestones. When she lifted it out of the box, the stones glistened in the light.

At the bottom of the box lay a small card. She plucked it out and read the message that had been printed in strong, masculine block script.

Dear Katie,

For when you’re ready to claim Duke as your own. Looking forward to seeing you tonight.

Liam

P.S. You’d make a terrific dog owner.

A dog collar for a puppy she didn’t even own? It was a strange gift, but she found the gesture incredibly touching because Liam had paid attention. And he’d understood both her desire to own a dog and her anxiety over such a commitment.

A wistful feeling swept over her-part longing, and part…hope.

The fact that Liam had gone to all the trouble to pick out this dog collar and have it couriered over stirred something deep. He could have sent generic flowers or candy or nothing at all. But instead, he’d sent the one thing that said I believe in you.

She was moved.

The gift spoke volumes. Clearly, tonight was not just a business meeting.

Katie had a date with Boston’s most eligible bachelor.

“THANK YOU for the dog collar,” Katie told Liam when he came to pick her up. “It was very thoughtful.”

“I wanted to encourage you to get that puppy, if that’s what you really want.”

“I don’t know that I want a dog that badly, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Don’t want it? Or too afraid to want it?” Liam challenged.

Damn, being with this guy wasn’t easy. He didn’t let her slide on anything. She darted a quick glance at him. He was standing in her foyer, gorgeous as all get-out.