Page 40 of Heart of Stone

I considered the little skirt that I was planning to wear.

I would have to shave if I am going to wear that.

With that rationale in mind, I began to work a foamy lather over my legs. But as I ran the razor over my knee, Alexander’s words played over and over again in my head.

Preferably naked.

I felt a little twist in my gut. He definitely wanted me – it was no longer just something that my imagination had drummed up. I wasn’t just shaving because I was going to wear a skirt. My legs were fine for appearance purposes, but they certainly weren’t baby smooth.

Who am I kidding? I’m shaving just in case.

My heart skipped a beat as trepidation enveloped me. If confronted with sex, I wasn’t sure if I could physically go through with it. Knowing full well that the decision to have sex was ultimately up to me, I stopped mid-shave and tried not to worry about what was to come.

I’m putting the cart before the horse. I need to just relax.

I quickly finished in the shower and got dressed. Then I began the laboring process of taming my hair. I thought about just throwing it up in a clip, but then I remembered Alexander saying that my hair was too restricted on the day of my interview. Little alarm bells went off, heightening my already skittish nerves.

Trevor told me how to wear my hair.

“Stop it, Cole!” I exclaimed out loud to my reflection in the mirror. Comparing the two men would get me nowhere, and I fought to shake off my unease.

Alexander didn’t tell me how to style my hair. He only expressed his preference.

I left my hair down and ignored the badgering warnings that were running rampant through my mind.

As I was applying the finishing touches to my makeup, I heard a commotion in the kitchen. Tossing my lipstick in my purse, I went out to see what it was. I walked into the kitchen and saw grocery bags piled high on the island. Allyson was pulling a bunch of pots and pans from the cabinet. She had a guy with her, too. They were laughing over something and Allyson lightly swatted her guest on the shoulder.

Perfect – she’ll be too distracted to ask me a lot of questions.

“Hey, you!” she said when she saw me. “I hope you’re hungry. Jeremy is making Chinese.”

This must be Allyson’s infamous photographer…

I gave him a quick once over. He appeared to be just shy of six feet and had an athletic build. His copper hair was streaked from the sun and his face was tan. He looked like he spent a lot of time outdoors.

“I don’t want to intrude on the two of you, but thanks anyways. Besides, I already have dinner plans for tonight. So you’re Jeremy,” I greeted in a rush, and reached across the island to shake his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Kyrs.”

“Hi, Krys. I’ve heard –,” Jeremy started.

“You have dinner plans?” Allyson questioned in surprise, interrupting our introductions.

Damn!

Nothing slid by her.

“Yeah. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course it’s okay, but who are you going out with?” she pressed suspiciously, eying up my attire for the first time.

Pushy, pushy.

“I ran into Alexander Stone this afternoon at Café La Biga. He asked me to join him for dinner tonight. It’s no big deal, really. We are just going to discuss the job thing again.”

I deliberately left out the part about hisotherproposition.

“You’re joking, right?” Her face creased into a frown. “I thought you said that Stone was an asshole.”

“He is, but I’m not doing myself any good by staying angry. I need a job so I’m willing to hear him out,” I replied awkwardly. I tried to act like the dinner was no big deal, but I was failing miserably. I could feel the heat creeping into my cheeks. There was no fooling Allyson.

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