Page 59 of Doc Showmance
On my way to the free-standing bar I got waylaid by two blonde ladies whom I think were the ones Ian specifically warned I stay clear of.
“You the one here with Ian, right?” one of the girls asked with a once-over of my dress and a smirk that was all about contempt.
“Pretty sure we came in on the same plane and arrived in the same car.”
“Maya is going to flip when she sees him here.” I couldn’t tell if this was the same blonde that spoke the first time since they looked identical, but it was the one in a green dress.
“Is he going to the Bay Area Benefit on Saturday?” the one in the black dress asked. As if an afterthought, she added, “With you?”
“I don’t think that’s on the agenda.”
“You could always recycle this dress for two events, I suppose, if he takes you. Maybe he didn’t think you’d be up to it. The silent auction at that event alone rivals any all year. Last year I won the Mediterranean five-day cruise by the slimmest bid, and at such a deal for one point two million.”
“But then it turned out to be a rip-off,” the other blonde chimed in. “You said the food was atrocious and the service was lax. They didn’t even make your bed until after lunch. That’s unacceptable.”
“It was worse than that. They refused to fold clothing and didn’t replace our towels until I complained that first evening.” The girl shrugged. “Does Ian know Maya is here?”
“I didn’t know Maya would be here,” I hedged, with no clue on the identity of the woman.
“The two of them… Let’s just say she had his balls in a twist for a while. I never thought they’d break it off when they finally got together last spring, but I heard they weren’t together a few months ago.”
I was supposed to be Ian’s new girlfriend. I’d better act offended or do some sort of turf protection, right? If Ian wanted to go back with Maya that was his business, but he couldn’t right now. “I really couldn’t give two shits about what Maya wants. Obviously, she wasn’t enough for him.”
The girl in green snickered. “Yeah, I heard he’s a beast in the bedroom. Wasn’t that right, sis?”
The cheeks of the girl with the black dress flamed. “It’s been a while, but he knows what he’s doing.”
I found Ian across the room. Something odd settled in my stomach. Something that made me want Ian to see me for me. To like me for not being this Maya woman. Bet Maya couldn’t do life-saving surgery. Bet she couldn’t even do a nail trim.
A tall, wispy woman in a white dress laughed next to Ian. She kept touching him like he was flypaper that caught her hand in its sticky trap. Yet, the touch came off in a familiar way that suggested that had to be Maya. I dragged my eyes away from him and tried to ignore what a glamorous couple they made. My hands balled into fists until my fingernails dug into my palms.
I needed a drink.
I eyed the bar across the room, but noticed the tall man in cowboy boots and a hat near it. I knew that hat. “Excuse me, ladies. I see someone I know who I need to speak with.”
I dodged people on my trek to the bar and requested a white wine. Once acquired, I sipped as I shimmied up to the cowboy hat. “Seth Briscoe. Didn’t fancy seeing the sheriff so far out of his territory.”
Seth smiled to reveal white teeth beneath his dark hair salted with a few streaks of gray. Talk about a seriously hot silver fox. Not that I was into that. Joley could keep him. “Amber, how are… What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same of you. I’m here with Ian Todd. But it’s like being on a date with one of the princes of the castle. He’s working the crowd whereas I’m simply the arm candy left to fend for herself while he does the important schmoozing.” I meant it to be sarcastic, but it kind of fell flat.
“Me too.” He nodded his head toward a brunette several yards away chatting with a few people.
“At least you might get laid at the end of it,” I muttered.
“You don’t think Ian will put out tonight? With you in that dress, he’d be an idiot if he didn’t at least try to get you out of it.” He leaned back to look at the other side of my dress and whistled low. “I didn’t know you had ink like that. You’re all kinds of surprises.”
“Ian’s hands down the hottest man in a tux here.” I glanced over to Ian, appreciating his firm shoulders filling out the suit and the way his hair curled at his neck. “He’d be on board to get laid. Problem is he’s going to be too drunk by hour two to make things happen. You wouldn’t believe how much he didn’t want to be here.” I waved his way where he held a half-finished glass of wine in his left hand.
Seth snorted out a laugh. “Damn, you’re hilarious even as a straight shooter. I forgot that about you. How’s…” He swallowed hard as emotion skittered through his gaze. “How’s Joley doing?”
“She misses you.” I cocked my head. “Not kidding. You two had your sort-of dating thing for a while. It was the longest she’d been involved with anyone in…well, longer than anyone else I remember. Just the other day she got kind of misty when she mentioned you, but don’t you dare tell her I said that. She’d murder me.”
Seth got a faraway look. The man might be sheriff of San Diego County, but he’d moved from Texas, which was where he got his Southern accent. People apparently elected and kept re-electing his scratchy voice and swagger that suggested he’d buy you a drink before he plugged you with a bullet. “She’s one of a kind.”
“Guarantee she probably rocks the bedroom a hell of a lot more than that brunette stiff you came with.”
A laugh joined in with Seth’s.
