Under Her Skin. Susan Mallery

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      Skye squeezed her hand. “We need to celebrate. I want to throw you a big engagement party.”

      Lexi pulled free. “Wait a minute. We don’t need a party. At least not right away. Let me get used to the idea of being engaged.”

      “Don’t be silly. I’ll do all the work. After all, that’s what I do, right? Throw parties. Throw parties and raise my daughter. It’s not like I have a real job.”

      Lexi frowned. “What’s wrong? Why are you saying it like that.”

      Skye grabbed her purse. “I’m not. Sorry. But this is good. All good. Congratulations. I can’t wait to meet him again and tell him he’d better plan to make you very happy. You deserve that, Lexi.”

      The sincerity in her sister’s words made her feel crappy. “Skye—”

      Her sister started for the door. “I need to get home before Erin gets off the bus. This is wonderful. I’m genuinely happy for you, Lexi. We’ll talk soon.”

      And then Skye was gone.

      Dana stretched her arms along the back of the sofa. “The weird thing is, she means it. She is happy for you. If not for the crap your dad’s putting all of you through, it would be great. Too bad everything you said is a lie.”

      Lexi sank back on the couch and closed her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

      “Sure you do. Come on. Skye’s a dreamer. She’s sweet and giving and would almost never believe anything bad about you. I’m a whole lot more cynical and I’ve known you since we were both ten years old. You waited for a guy? All this time? I don’t think so. It’s not in your nature to pine. You go out and get what you want.”

      This was the second assessment of her character in less than ten minutes and she was equally surprised by what Dana thought. Lexi tried to be strong and in control but always felt she fell way short.

      “I believe you did sleep with him,” Dana continued. “And that you’re engaged, but the rest of it? No way.”

      Lexi opened her eyes and looked at her friend. “You don’t want to know.”

      “Is it illegal?”

      “Not that I’m aware of.”

      “A simple no would have been too difficult?” Dana grumbled.

      Lexi smiled. “It’s not illegal.”

      “Then what?”

      “Then I’m not going to tell you. You’re my friend and I love you, but no. Not this time. Cruz and I are engaged. That’s enough.”

      “It’s not even close to enough.” Dana leaned toward her. “Are you in trouble? Any kind of trouble?”

      Lexi appreciated the support. “No. Not even a little.” Thanks to Cruz. “Danger maybe, but not trouble.”

      Dana’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

      “Have you ever seen Cruz Rodriguez?”

      “No.”

      “He’s the walking, breathing definition of temptation.”

      “Which shouldn’t be a problem if you’re engaged.”

      Good point. “Let’s just say I don’t want him to know that he has that much control. Can I borrow your truck? I’ll need it to move my stuff into Cruz’s place.”

      “You’re going to be living with him?”

      Lexi believed the exact words had been something like, “In my house and in my bed.” Which made her want to fan herself. “Uh-huh,” she said.

      “That doesn’t sound like you. Besides, won’t your shiny new fiancé be helping?”

      She had no idea. “He’s, uh, going to be out of town. I want to surprise him.”

      “You’re not a good liar. What will you be moving?”

      “Just clothes and personal stuff.”

      “No furniture?”

      “Not right away.” Actually she had no idea what to take, but clothes seemed like a good place to start. “He can help with any big pieces I decide to keep,” she said, knowing it wasn’t an issue. She would hold on to her condo so she would have a place to go when the six months were over.

      Dana looked as if she wanted to argue but instead she said, “I’ll help you move and I’ll be the one driving my truck.”

      “Because you don’t trust me with your baby?”

      “Damned straight.”

      “But it’s just a truck.”

      Dana winced. “That’s why you can use it but you can’t borrow it.”

      WHEN DANA LEFT, Lexi hurried to her purse, where she dug out Cruz’s business card. He’d scrawled his cell number on the back. She punched it in and waited impatiently until he answered.

      “Rodriguez.”

      “What were you thinking? That’s some stunt you pulled. It’s bad enough that you did it, but you didn’t even warn me. I hadn’t told my sisters yet. You hurt Skye. I can forgive a lot of things, but not that.” Izzy wouldn’t care one way or the other, but Skye was sensitive.

      “What if I hadn’t told my father?” she continued, her voice rising slightly. “Trust me, you don’t want to deal with Jed Titan when he’s at the business end of a gun.”

      “You about finished?” Cruz asked.

      “I’m just getting started.”

      “Good. I’ll be there in ten minutes. You can yell at me in person.”

      He disconnected the call before she could tell him that didn’t work for her.

      She slammed down the phone, then marched to her private bathroom where she ran cold water on her wrists and double-checked her makeup. She hated that she cared about how she looked to him and called herself names as she put on more lip gloss.

      Why her? Why had he picked her? She didn’t have Skye’s gorgeous curves and feminine features or Izzy’s zest for life and adventure. She was a classic, cool blond. Or as Andrew had so eloquently put it, an ice queen. Cruz was all fire and passion. So why her?

      Did it matter? She’d gotten what she’d wanted—a bail-out. She still had a shot at winning Titan World and her father’s affections. In six months, she would be free of Cruz. Until then, she would endure. She was good at that.

      Her assistant buzzed that he’d arrived. Lexi ignored the sudden clenching of her stomach, the weakness that invaded her knees, and made her way to the front of her spa.

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