The Perfect Score. Julie Kenner

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СКАЧАТЬ it wasn’t irritation.

      No, this was anticipation. Because if he had my glass, I’d have to see him again. And that, I thought, wasn’t a bad thing at all.

      He might not be chivalrous, but he was nice. And another friend in the building never hurt.

      3

      AS SOON AS MIKE opened his door, Stephanie greeted him with a wolf whistle. “Cute girl,” she said.

      “Not your type,” Mike said with a grin. “She’s a fan of the Y chromosome.”

      “Damn. Foiled again.”

      He laughed, shaking his head as he slid into one of the kitchen chairs. He and Stephanie had been best friends since elementary school. They’d gone steady for about a week in eighth grade, which had ruined their friendship until the second semester of their sophomore year. That was when Steph had come to him in tears, desperate to talk about the crush she had on the new girl in school. Mike had listened, dried her tears, and their friendship had continued on, stronger than ever. With the added bonus that they could now discuss their relative girlfriends.

      “So is she a new special friend?” Steph asked, lacing her voice with a tease as she tried to uncork a bottle of wine.

      “Friend, yes. Special, definitely. Special friend…” He trailed off with a shrug, then took the bottle and the corkscrew from her, handily freeing the cork. “I’m working on that one.”

      Steph’s eyebrows rose infinitesimally. “Oh, really? Tell me all about it or I withhold the wine.”

      “I’ve been drinking margaritas,” he said, holding up his now-empty glass. “I’m passing on the wine anyway.”

      She squinted at the glass, the blown Mexican kind with a bluish tint and a dark blue rim. “One of hers?”

      “Yup,” he said, mildly proud of himself for walking off with it.

      From Steph’s grin, he knew she understood. “Cinderella’s slipper.”

      “Exactly. I keep the glass, I have a reason to go back and see her.”

      Actually, he already had a reason. She’d been hinting hard enough about the furniture assembly. He could have easily stood up, held out his hand, and said, “Come on. Let’s go take care of that.”

      The trouble with that option, though, was that while it would certainly impress her, it wouldn’t impress her in a way that fit in his overall plan of attack. Go when she asks, and he’s simply some male sap doing her bidding. But go in an hour or so—when she’s buried in hardware and frustrated—and suddenly he’s the hero. And all the more sexy for it.

      “So tell me about her,” Steph said, coming to the table with a glass of wine for her and a Coke for him. Mike glanced at the clock, evaluated how much time he had before Mattie hit maximum frustration, and nodded.

      “I met her the day I moved in,” he said, starting at the beginning. He told Steph the rest of it, too. All of it. From the heat of desire he felt when he looked at Mattie to the secret plan he’d overheard in the laundry room.

      Steph took it all in without saying a word. He knew she understood the depth of his emotion. Mike wasn’t the type to fall hard and fast, but he was the kind to believe in love at first sight. His parents had seen each other from across a lecture hall as freshmen in college, and had been gloriously in love ever since. His family was close-knit, and unlike so many families these days, “family” included all the various extensions, including especially his grandparents.

      Grandma Jo and Grandpa Fred had moved in across the street when Mike was eight. He’d grown up in the thrall of family, and he knew that he was stronger for it. More, because his grandparents’ relationship was just as strong as his parents’—and had happened just as quickly—Mike had always craved a deep love and a long-term relationship. Silly, perhaps, to base personal dreams on the love life of his family members, but Mike saw how happy his parents and grandparents were.

      He’d explained all that to Steph years ago. And she knew better than anyone that Mike had yet to find his perfect woman. So for him to be so frazzled so quickly…well, that was saying a lot.

      He described Mattie and her plan, and when he was finished, Steph leaned back in the chair, nodded slowly, and simply said, “Interesting.”

      “That’s it? I tell you that the first woman who’s really sparked my interest in the last year is looking to ratchet up her sex life, and all you can say is interesting? How about ‘Wow, what an opportunity you’ve stumbled across?’ Or ‘Gee, what lucky star were you born under?’”

      “Or maybe ‘Boy, have you got your work cut out for you,’” she said, looking at him gravely.

      “You’re kidding, right?” he said, wondering what had possessed her to be so negative.

      She rolled her eyes. “Mike, you used to be a lot less naive. Or am I wrong about your intentions here?”

      “My intentions,” he said, feeling utterly old-fashioned, “are completely honorable.”

      “Well, that’s the rub, isn’t it? She’s looking for a wild fling. A bit of experience between the sheets. She said her ex was a dud, right? That means she’s looking for a good time. And she’s not looking for commitment.”

      He frowned; she had a point.

      “And did she come on to you at the pool?” Steph pressed. Mike had to admit that she hadn’t. “Well, there you go.”

      He held out his hands, hoping he demonstrated just how much he didn’t understand what she was talking about.

      Steph sighed and rolled her eyes. “Straight guys are just plain dumb,” she said. “Obviously, she already has someone in mind to play stud.”

      “Or she’s just not attracted to me.”

      Steph shook her head. “No way,” she said, loyally. “You’re irresistible.” She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head. “No, the only reason our little friend wasn’t playing Flirt Girl with you is that she’s saving up for someone else. So your job, my friend, is to convince her she’s got her eye on the wrong guy.”

      “Uh-huh,” he said, beginning to wonder if he wouldn’t have been better off keeping his mouth shut. “And exactly how am I supposed to do that? Chocolate? Roses? Get her drunk and screw her brains out?”

      “Not a bad plan,” Steph said, without skipping a beat. “But I think your best approach is to just ease your way into her life. Find out who she’s going after. And then make sure you’re in position to fill in the gaps if her plan stumbles.”

      “And why would it stumble?” he asked.

      “Who knows why these things go awry? But if she’s already in the mind frame of seduction. And if you’re already in her life. Well, then, wouldn’t her natural reaction be to turn to you?”

      “You’re devious. You know that, right?”

      “Oh yeah,” she said. “I know. The question is, am I right?”

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