Page 51 of Heating Up (Nugget)
“Perhaps. But you’re providing quite a distraction for him from what I saw at the barbecue yesterday. He watched you constantly, followed you around like a puppy dog, and smiled at everything you said.”
Dana didn’t want to be a distraction to a man who was just longing for someone else. She’d been that enough times to know it ended up with her feeling used and broken.
“Everyone says you’re just sharing the house together, but I left the party wondering.” Harlee winged up her brows in question.
“We’re just roommates, that’s all.”
Sometimes Dana suspected Aidan showered her with attention because he felt sorry for her. She got the distinct impression that the man was a caretaker—probably the reason he became a firefighter—and worried that Dana lacked a social life. That was why he dragged her into his.
“You never know,” Harlee said. “That could change.”
Doubtful, Dana thought, but if she could keep her heart out of it she wouldn’t mind having a brief affair with him. It wasn’t every day that a single woman in the middle of nowhere had access to a single man like Aidan McBride. Just the thought of being with him gave her shivers. Her times with Griffin had been nice, but Aidan struck her as the kind of man who knew his way around a woman’s body. Dana’s problem was she’d never been able to separate her heart from sex.
“The dress is perfect.” Harlee made Dana turn around so she could view it from the back. “Add it to the pile.”
“You don’t think it’s too tight?”
“Are you crazy? I think it fits you like a glove. It’ll go from day to night with a little suit jacket and then some chunky jewelry for painting the town.”
As if Dana ever painted the town. But she did adore the dress and could wear Spanx to keep her stomach from pooching out too much, she thought as she examined herself in the full-length mirror.
“You sure you want to give this up? It’s a really great dress.”
“I have one in blue that I like better. Plus, for working at theTribthe dress is too much. I don’t have clients like you do. Around here, I can get away with wearing jeans and boots for most of my interviews.” Harlee grabbed a jumper and a couple of maxi dresses off the rack. “Here, try these on.”
Dana went back inside the bathroom. “I don’t know about this.” The jumper was snug, too short, and cut her torso in an unflattering way.
“Let me see.” Harlee let herself inside the bathroom. “No good. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought that. Maybe it would look cute on Lina. She’s tiny enough to pull it—” Harlee stopped talking, and an uneasy silence ensued. Dana didn’t know why, but she started laughing.
“Sorry,” Harlee said and chewed on her bottom lip. “Was that insensitive of me? I never knew whether Lina was the reason you and Griff stopped seeing each other.”
“It’s all right. I’m happy for Griffin and Lina.” Not exactly the truth, but Dana was getting there.
“Try on the dresses.” Harlee sat on the toilet with the cover down.
Dana, who’d originally felt self-conscious about changing in front of her, slipped off the romper and put on the yellow maxi.
“I’m not loving the color on you. Try the green one,” Harlee said, and Dana switched dresses. “Now, that one is adorable. Definitely a keeper.”
Dana stood on her tiptoes and backed up so she could see herself in the bathroom mirror. “I can’t believe you’re giving me all these beautiful outfits.”
She loved everything and, even more, loved having someone to tell her what looked good and what didn’t. Ordinarily, most of these clothes would’ve been too daring for her. But Harlee, whose taste Dana trusted, gave her courage to experiment with a new wardrobe.
“Yoo-hoo, anyone home?”
“We’re in here,” Harlee called.
Darla entered the bathroom, holding a couple of Bun Boy bags and shaking them in the air. “Lunch.” She turned her attention to Dana. “Ooh, so cute.”
“Doesn’t that dress fit her perfectly?”
Darla put the bags down on the sink counter and started playing with Dana’s hair. “You have such a gorgeous neck. Wear your hair up when you wear the dress. Very sexy.”
“Should we continue the fashion show after lunch?” Harlee asked. “I’m starved.”
Dana changed into her jeans and T-shirt and the three of them ate in Harlee’s gourmet kitchen.
“This is a really beautiful house,” Dana said, glancing around at the custom cabinetry and stainless-steel appliances. She had clients who would kill for a home situated on a private mountainside like this. “Colin does amazing work.”
