Page 11 of Just What She Needed

Rhett prayed she didn't look as loony as she felt as she smiled back. "I'm sure we'll run into each other."

Rhys reached forward and flicked a strand of her hair off her shoulder. "Oh, you can count on it."

Before she had time to react, he got out of the car, shut the door and sauntered into the building.

Damn, but he had a nice ass.

6

You gotta wear the right trousers if you're gonna be a rock star.—Chris Martin

When Rhett was fifteen she let Elaine talk her into entering the Miss Claiborne pageant. Though she knew she didn't have a snowball's chance of even placing, much less winning the thing, she'd gone along with it because her best friend had been so excited. But as she stood bathed in the heat of spotlights on the stage at the Community Center with the other contestants, all Rhett felt was ridiculous. There she stood encrusted with makeup and hairspray and wearing a dress she didn't own, waiting for some strangers to pass judgment on the way she looked. And now, twenty-seven years later, she felt the exact same way. She paid for a blow-out at the salon, and endured a make-over session at Sephora conducted by girls younger than her own daughter, and for what? So some guy she didn't know or care about might think she looked acceptable?

It was her own fault for mentioning to Mel that she thought she might like to start dating again. Ignoring the words "thought" and "might," Mel unearthed what she deemed a suitable candidate in less than a day, and before Rhett could process what was happening, a blind date was arranged.

Rhett crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her reflection. Maybe if she showed up at the restaurant wearing that expression then this dreaded evening would come to a satisfying and quick end. She turned off the car and grabbed the dry-cleaner bag containing a dress she didn't own from the back seat and exited her car with the enthusiasm of a teenage boy about to give an oral book report on Twilight.

"If it isn't the lovely Rhett, rescuer of rock stars in distress."

Startled, Rhett looked up from her keys and met the dark blue eyes of Rhys James. "Oh, hey, Rhys. What's up?" A little thrill zapped through her at the sight of him. What was God thinking when he created something that beautiful? A legion of female angels must have been called in to give suggestions, because only a divine host could have come up with a face that was so breath-takingly stunning, but at the same time so definitely male that it made all other men look like trolls. And that body? Such pure perfection could only be angel-made. A man who looked like that had every right to be an arrogant, cocky ass, but from what Rhett had witnessed so far, Rhys wasn't like that at all. Other-worldly gorgeous and nice? Rhys definitely won the creation lottery.

She pressed a button on her keyless entry fob to lock the doors of her car just as Rhys did the same to the device in his own hand. The double beep from her car mixed with the chirp from his X5 parked three spaces down.

"Hey," she said. "Your car's not doing its irritated dragon impression anymore."

"Nice change, isn't it?" He smiled and pushed his hair back with one hand. "They replaced the water pump, and there's been no more smoke rolling out of the front end."

Rhett fell into step beside him. "Never a good thing to see, especially in Texas."

"No kidding. I'm lucky you came by to save me from heat stroke or something."

"Anytime." She glanced at him with a shy smile. "Just yell whenever you need me."

"I'll definitely remember that." Something in his voice sent an excited thrill racing down her back, one she tried to ignore. This was Rhys James, after all, and he probably tossed out flirty comments like that to every woman he met. It didn't mean he meant it the way she hoped he did.

As they walked toward the elevator, Rhys peered at the bag she carried. "Nice dress, that," he observed. "Big evening planned?"

Reminded of her impending date, Rhett made a face. "It's my sister's. She set me up on a stupid blind date tonight, so I guess the least she could do is let me borrow a nice dress."

A grin lit his face at her morose tone. "I get the impression you aren't too chuffed about going out."

Rhett sent him a sideways look. "What was your first clue?"

He snickered under his breath. "Well, for starters, you look about as cheerful as someone who's going in for a root canal without anesthesia."

"Oh, believe me, I'd much rather have the root canal." She pressed the button on the keypad next to the elevator doors. "Wanna go in my place? I'll even let you borrow the dress."

"No, thank you." Rhys shuddered. "Blind dates are the worst. But you do have a rescue call arranged, right?"

"A what?" She frowned at the unfamiliar term.

"Someone to ring you ten or fifteen minutes into the date. It gives you a tactful way to get the hell out of Dodge if the date isn't going well."

Rhett's frown turned to a look of enlightenment. "I don't have one of those. I need one of those."

"Have your sister ring you, then."

"Right," Rhett muttered with an exasperated sigh. "She's the one who set this date up, remember? She wouldn't let me out of it if I was on fire. She's certainly not going to give me any easy ways to bail."