Page 59 of About Last Night

"Yeah, she's a sweetheart. My parents love her."

But not Steve, she realized, shaken that she hadn't noticed sooner how ill-matched they were, how they never really laughed together, shared the intimate details of their everyday life or planned for the future.

"In fact, Janine is the first woman I ever brought home that my mother considered good enough to wear my grandmother's ring."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"An heirloom, eh?" Derek asked. "You probably arranged for her to wear a fake until you're actually married?"

Janine brightened considerably at the possibility.

"Oh, no," Steve said with nonchalance. "Mom insisted she wear the real thing. Pure platinum and flawless diamonds, about sixty thousand dollars' worth."

She felt faint.

Derek made a choking sound. "Wow, you must really love this woman."

"She's terrific," he responded, and Janine wondered if Derek realized how evasive his friend was being. "It's funny, though," Steve continued, his voice tinged with regret. "She's never really turned me on physically."

Mortification flowered in her chest. It was just as she'd feared. And in front of Derek, no less.

"Steve," Derek began, his voice echoing her embarrassment, but Steve seemed to be in a talkative mood.

"Oh, she's cute and all, and I have to admit, I'm looking forward to the wedding night."

"That's... great," Derek replied. "Hey, why don't we grab some breakfast?" He walked to the canvas tennis shoes she'd worn last night for her moonlight treasure hunt and bent to pick up one. Janine grimaced. She'd left them tied so tight, the material was puckered around the eyelets. Even so, she'd still been able to walk right out of them.

The mattress moved again. Steve sat on the edge of the bed for a few seconds, then pushed himself to his feet. "I didn't tell you she's a virgin, did I?"

Janine gasped, and the shoe Derek had picked up fell back to the floor, bouncing once.

"No," Derek said in a brittle tone. "You didn't mention that little tidbit."

"Can you believe it? In this day and age... She's the perfect wife for a politician's family. No skeletons, no baggage."

"Politician, meaning your father, or politician, meaning you?" Derek sounded hoarse.

"Dad for now, although I don't rule it out for myself sometime in the future."

Another surprise, Janine noted wryly.

"How can you be sure she's a virgin?" Derek asked.

Janine gasped again, then tamped down her anger. After all, she'd acted like a loose goose—her mother's words—around Derek.

"I mean," Derek added with a nervous little laugh, "nothing against Janine, but how's a man really to know?"

"She told me," Steve said simply.

Well, at least he'd believed her.

"And I asked her OB/GYN."

Her body clenched in fury. Howdarehe? Instinctively, she raised her head, which met solidly with a rather inflexible piece of wood. Pain exploded in her crown, and she bit back a string of curses.

"What was that?" Steve asked.

Holding her breath, Janine could feel his eyes boring through the mattress.

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