Kristin Gabriel - Operation Babe-Magnet

“That’s right,” Amy replied, studying the clothes on the rack.

He tried to imagine giving up his dream of owning the Kane Corporation. “Sounds like she’s throwing away a great career opportunity for a hopeless cause.”

“Yeah, you tell her that,” Amy said with a laugh. “Tell her not to breathe, too, while you’re at it.”

He shrugged, then removed the plastic drape. “I just believe a person should have a good career strategy. Otherwise you end up drifting though life without any purpose.” Like his parents.

Amy squealed. “I found it!” She pulled an outfit off the rack. “Put it on.”

He stood up, frowning at the clothes she’d selected. “That’s not really me.”

“It will be.” She snatched his glasses off his face, then pushed him toward the bathroom. “Change in there, then come out and show us the new Dexter Kane.”

“Harry Hanover,” he reminded her.

“Whatever.”

Ten minutes later, Dexter stepped out of the bathroom, then walked down the hallway to the living room.

Amy and Kylie sat chatting on the sofa. They both looked up at the same time.

“Oh, boy,” Amy breathed.

Kylie just stared up at him with her mouth open.

Dexter shifted self-consciously on his feet. No doubt he looked ridiculous in this outfit. He’d tried to tell Kylie this makeover wouldn’t work.

“Don’t move,” Amy said, jumping off the sofa and running toward her bedroom.

He looked at Kylie, his heart pounding in his chest. “Well?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know what to say.”

Her brown eyes looked large and luminous as she stared up at him. He wondered if she ever resented the fact that she’d put her life and career on hold.

Amy ran back into the living room, camera in hand. “Okay, I’ve got to have a shot of this for my portfolio.”

The camera flashed, making Dexter blink. “You mean you like this look?”

“Don’t you?” Kylie and Amy said in unison.

He shrugged. “The bathroom mirror was too small for me to get a good luck. Besides, you’ve got my glasses, remember? Everything is a little blurry.”

Amy picked up Dexter’s glasses off the coffee table and handed them to him. He put them on, then Kylie steered him toward the long wall mirror in the dining room.

“Say hello to the new, improved you,” Amy said.

Dexter stared in the mirror. His hair looked completely different. Slightly windblown and carefree, as if he’d just hopped off a motorcycle. The black muscle shirt Amy had picked out was just a tad too small, accentuating the broad build of his shoulders. The snug black denim jeans hung low on his narrow waist and hugged his hips, leaving very little to the imagination.

“It’s amazing,” Kylie breathed, staring at Dexter in the mirror.

Amy clapped her hands together. “I knew there was an Adonis underneath all that tweed. Congratulations, girl.” She turned to high-five Kylie. “Your Harry Hanover is a hunk!”

Kylie took a deep breath. “Are you sure this is the look we want? He seems so…different.”

“Exactly,” Amy exclaimed. “He’s perfect.”

Dexter didn’t say anything, because he completely agreed. The man in the mirror was perfect.

He was also the spitting image of his brother, Sam.

THE NEXT DAY, DEXTER walked into Riley’s Bar and Grill, a popular restaurant located in downtown Pittsburgh. He saw Kylie waving at him from a corner booth. As he walked toward her, he noticed several women turning to look at him. It had been like that ever since Amy had worked her magic.

He still wasn’t sure if he liked it.

“Where are your glasses?” Kylie asked, as he slid into the booth across from her.

“I stopped by a one-hour optical store at the mall and picked up some contact lenses.” He blinked twice. “They take a little getting used to, but at least I can see. What do you think?”

“They’re fine, I guess.” She opened up her menu as the waitress approached their table. “But I liked your glasses better.”

“I’ll have the quarter-pound burger with all the extras,” he ordered, “and a side of fries.” He handed the waitress his menu. She gave him a smile and a saucy wink before turning to Kylie.

Dexter looked down at the green Formica table-top, unaccustomed to such blatant flirting. He could feel a blush burning in his cheeks. It was amazing to him that a simple change of hairstyle and wardrobe could completely alter the way women reacted to him. Especially since he was the same man on the inside that he’d always been.

For the first time he wondered if Kylie was attracted to the new Dexter Kane. She certainly hadn’t treated him any differently since his transformation. If anything, she was more businesslike than before.

“I’ve written up an itinerary,” she announced after the waitress walked off with their order. Opening her brown suede briefcase, she pulled out an array of multicolored file folders. “The tour officially starts tomorrow, but I’ve got a book signing scheduled for this afternoon as a trial run. Hopefully we can work out any kinks before we embark on the real thing.”

“This afternoon?” His stomach flip-flopped. “Where?”

“In New Castle. The manager is expecting us at three o’clock, so we should have plenty of time to get there. I’ll drive.”

Dexter wondered if there was enough time for her to find a new Harry Hanover. He reached up to loosen his tie, then remembered that he wasn’t wearing one. So why did he feel like he was choking?

“Then tomorrow we go on the road” she continued, sliding a yellow file folder across the table. “We’ve got book signings scheduled in Ohio, including the cities of Columbus, Cleveland and Youngstown. Plus a couple of radio and newspaper interviews. Then we’ll circle back into Pennsylvania and hit Altoona, Harrisburg, Allentown and Philadelphia. And I’ll be setting up more appearances during the tour. I’m hoping you’ll be in high demand.”

He opened the folder and looked down at the itinerary. “Looks like we’ll keep busy for the next few weeks.”

“Definitely.” She bent over her briefcase, sorting through more files.

Dexter looked at her, admiring the way her curly brown hair was tamed into a loose French braid, with silky tendrils spilling over her cheeks and forehead. The style accentuated the alluring curve of her neck.

She snapped her briefcase shut, then looked up at him. “I’ve already made reservations at hotels along the route. They’re nothing fancy, but a couple do have pools if you want to pack some swimming trunks.”

He nodded, turning his attention to the detailed schedule in front of him. Kylie was definitely thorough. It looked as if she’d accounted for every possible contingency. The businessman in him was impressed.

The other part of him was impressed by the clingy, hot-pink sweater she was wearing. It had a scooped neckline that drew his gaze to her generous breasts.

“Dexter?”

He blinked and looked up. “What?”

“Do you have any questions about the book tour or the itinerary?”

He sat up and cleared his throat, focusing his attention back where it belonged. “Just one. Who’s paying for all of this?”

Her gaze dropped to her briefcase. “Handy Press is sponsoring the tour.”

“Amy told me that they were pretty strapped financially.” He fluttered the schedule in the air. “An excursion like this can’t come cheap.”

“I’m covering the costs initially,” she explained, stirring her soda with a straw. “Then Handy Press will reimburse me when the profits on How To Jump-Start Your Love Life start rolling in.”

He stared at her. “You’re not serious?”