Page 54 of Wingwoman
“Lovebug?” My dad said behind me.
Shit.I spoke too soon…
It just got worse.
Fifteen
HOPE
“Lovebug?”Josh repeated, his eyes lighting up.
I shot Josh a quick glare, then leaned in to give my dad a quick hug. “Hey, Dad.”
"Look at you!” Vivian exclaimed, grabbing my hands and giving my outfit a once over. “You look hot. Except…” She pounced on me like I was brisket at an all-you-can-eat buffet, tugging at my blazer and peeling it off my shoulders.
“There, that’s better,” she said, tossing my Brooks Brothers blazer aside like it was garbage.
She whistled as she looked me up and down. “Is that what you’ve been hiding beneath all those layers? You look like you’re going out to dinner at that fancy new French place, not grabbing some barbeque at Raul’s, then shoving dollar bills down some banana hammocks at Splash Zone Strip Club.”
Josh could barely contain his glee as he looked at me, eyes bright. “Splash Zone.Classy,” he whispered.
“I know,” Viv said, completely missing Josh’s sarcasm. “You get a free bottle of champagne if you buy a private booth. Not that we’regoingto do that, but Miss Classy here will make it look like we’re the high rollers!”
I looked down at my outfit. The sequin blouse. The short leather skirt. The high heels.
In New York, this would have been theperfectoutfit for a bachelorette party. But when I took in Vivian's outfit, I realized just how out of place I probably looked.
“Wow, Viv. You look…” I paused, clearing my throat and at a complete loss for words. “Wow.”
“Thank you!” She gave a cute little curtsey and giggled, snuggling into my dad who looked at her appreciatively.
My leather skirt was tame next to her skintight, ripped jeans that hugged her slim waist and a hot pink zebra tank top straining at the seams, no match for her impressive curves. The entire outfit was accessorized with white fringed boots, massive hoop earrings, a matching hot pink cowboy hat, and enough bangle bracelets going up her arm, that I worried she might not be able to bend her elbow.
“Raul’s, then Splash Zone, huh?” Josh’s deep and rumbly voice echoed behind me.
Oh no. I had specifically been evasive about where we were going.
I spun around, leveling him with a scowl. “What do you care? You’re completely booked tonight.”
Or at least he’d better be. I swear to God if he ditched that Cowgirl early tonight to chase after me, there would be hell to pay.
Pressing my lips into a firm line, I turned back to Vivian, trying my best to ignore Josh, even though I could feel the heat of him moving in at my back.
But when I turned to face my future stepmother, her mouth gaped open, gawking over my shoulder at Josh like she’d only just seen him despite the fact that he’d been sitting here the whole time. “Y-you’re… you’re Josh Gabriel.”
I threw another glare at Josh over my shoulder, but was merely met with a knowing gleam in his eyes as two divots appeared on either side of his mouth.
With a wink he answered, “Last I checked.”
“Who’s Josh Gabriel?” Dad asked, beautifully clueless as usual. But for the first time in probably my whole life, his inability to read the room had me smirking in triumph. I could have planted a kiss right on Dad’s forehead for that reaction.
But it didn’t seem to phase Josh at all. With a grin, he said, “Well, you sound just like Hope.”
“You… you twoknoweach other?” Somehow, impossibly, Viv’s eyes bulged even more.
“No,” I said at the same time Josh answered, “Yes.”
The awkward pause had Josh beaming even more as discomfort radiated up my body… and I was pretty sure it wasn’t the four-inch Givenchy heels I wore.
