A Sure Thing?

'Well, Matt is not the right guy.'

'You know what I think your problem is?' Kate asked in a serious voice.

'I'm almost afraid to ask.'

'You should be, because I don't think you're going to like the answer. Shall I continue anyway?'

'Might as well,' Jilly groused. 'What else are best friends for but to make you feel miserable?'

'I think that you're confused and out of sorts because you really like his man and you didn't expect to. You suspect you could easily more than like him, and that scares you-for all the reasons caring for someone scares anybody, but also because a relationship with Matt could negatively impact your career. And you, more than anyone I know, define yourself by your career.'

'Okay, what are you-psychic?'

'No. I'm in love. I know the signs.'

Panic fluttered in Jilly's stomach. 'Good grief, don't even whisper the 'L' word. That would be a complete disaster.'

'Listen, that's what I thought about Ben. And when I realized I was falling in love with him, I was scared to death. But I took a chance, put my heart on the line, and look how great things turned out.'

'I am not falling in love with Matt.'

'If you say so.'

'I say so. I'm just annoyed at myself for liking him.' Liking him waaaaay too much. 'And annoyed at him for being so… likable. Damn it, I don't want to like him. I want to forget him.'

'Well, the only way to forget about a man is to find another man.'

'Excellent. I'm making that job one as soon as I get home. You'll help me, right?'

'Of course. Maybe you should even look around at the resort. Might be someone right under your nose.'

'Maybe I will.'

'I do have to warn you, Jilly-there's one hitch to the plan of forgetting a man by finding another man.'

'What's that?'

'It only works if you aren't in love with the guy you're trying to forget.'

'Then we shouldn't have any problem, because I am so not in love with Matt.'

'Good.'

'Fine.'

'So are you going to sleep with him tonight?'

'Of course. I'm not in love with him, but I'm seriously in lust with him. In fact, I'd better go. I'm expecting him soon.'

'All right. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and call me when you get home tomorrow. We'll plan to hit a few clubs after work on Tuesday so the forgetting can officially begin.'

'Sounds terrific. Bye.' Jilly disconnected and slipped her phone into her purse.

Sounds terrific? She blew out a long sigh. If only. Unfortunately, going clubbing to forget about Matt sounded the exact opposite of terrific.

* * *

Matt walked toward the bar feeling like a new man.

Yup, an hour-long massage had worked out all his kinks and tensions and put everything back into perspective. All he'd needed was an hour to himself, away from that distracting woman, to get his head back on straight.

The remainder of the weekend was clearly mapped out in his mind. Meet Jilly, have drink, go back to room, enjoy a quickie, get dressed, have dinner with Jack where he'd make subtle inroads in his quest to win the ARC account, go back to the room with Jilly, enjoy another bout-or two, possibly three-of sex, sleep, have one more possible bout of morning sex, pack and get out of Dodge. Then business as usual. Perfect. His plan was like a well- oiled machine.

Unfortunately his well-oiled machine suffered a cog in its wheel as he rounded the corner and the bar came into view. His gaze instantly zeroed in on Jilly. Jilly, dressed in a pale blue turtleneck and loose-fitting, casual athletic pants, sitting alone at small, round table. Jilly, with her dark, shiny hair curling around her shoulders. Jilly, smiling and laughing-with the guy sitting alone at the table next to hers. A guy who, Matt noted grimly, was looking at Jilly as if she were an ice-cream cone from which he wanted to take a big, long lick.

There was no mistaking the unpleasant sensation that hit him like a punch in the heart. Jealousy, pure and simple. And not simply because the guy was showing interest in Jilly-while Matt didn't like it, he couldn't blame him. No, it was more the fact that Jilly was smiling and laughing with the jerk instead of using one of her black belt moves to toss him onto his flirtatious ass.

She's not yours, man, his inner voice chimed in.

Like hell. Maybe she wasn't his for the long run, but she was his for the remainder of this weekend. And he wasn't about to share her with that damn Brad Pitt look-alike.

Drawing a deep, calming breath, he walked toward the bar. As he neared their tables, the Pitt look-alike rose and passed her a business card. 'I'd love to stay and talk, but I'm meeting an associate at a restaurant in town,' Matt overheard him say with regret in his voice. 'My office is just a few blocks from yours. Call me if you'd like to get together.'

Pitt-boy moved off. Bludgeoning back his jealousy, Matt unclenched his jaw and walked the last few feet to the table, then sat down across from Jilly.

She greeted him with a smile. 'Hi.'

'Hi.' He jerked his head toward the retreating man. 'Who's that?' Damn it, he hadn't meant to ask the second he sat down. But at least he'd managed to keep his voice casual.

She gave a nonchalant shrug and, much to his annoyance, slipped the guy's business card into her purse. 'Just a guy who was sitting at the next table. His name is Brad and he's a dentist. His office is close to Maxximum's.'

Matt resisted the urge to look heavenward. Figures the guy's name really was Brad. Or maybe he'd changed his name, from something really nerdy to Brad to match his looks.

'A dentist, huh? Well, that explains it.'

'Explains what?'

'Why he eyeballed you like he wanted to clean your teeth-with his tongue.'

She blinked in obvious surprise, then raised her eyebrows. 'Did it ever occur to you that if he looked at me that way it might be because he found me attractive-not because he was a dentist?'

Damn it, he felt like an ass. A disgruntled ass. A jealous, disgruntled ass. He should have kept his mouth shut. 'I didn't mean to imply otherwise. It was very obvious that he found you attractive.' Giving himself a severe mental shake, he forced a smile. 'Can't fault the guy on his taste.'

'Thank you.' For several seconds her gaze searched his. 'For a minute there you sounded like a jealous lover.'

It was impossible to tell from her tone if that idea annoyed or pleased her. Opting for the unvarnished truth, he said, 'I am a jealous lover-right now. Starting Tuesday, I won't be, but for the short remainder of this three-day weekend, you're mine.' He shot her a questioning look. 'Unless you've had a change of heart?'

'No,' she said quickly.

A breath he hadn't even realized he held eased from him, and he refused to examine the depth of his relief.

'So, how was your massage?' she asked.

I need another one, thanks to Brad the dentist. 'It was great. How about the facial?'

She closed her eyes and gave an exaggerated shiver. 'Incredible. I feel like a new woman.'

'Yeah? Hard to believe you could feel any better than you already did.' Reaching out, he grasped her hand, and brought it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her palm, liking the way her eyes darkened at the gesture. 'I vote we skip the drinks and go upstairs so you can show me all that gorgeous, pampered skin.'