Her Sexiest Mistake

But man, oh man, the incredulous look on his face when she said she'd faked them, as if the thought was so beyond comprehension…

She laughed, even as she had to admit, with his skills in bed, it probably was beyond his comprehension.

Damn it.

She glanced at herself in the mirror over her dresser. Unlike her mother and Sugar, she was not blonde and luscious but brunette and average: average height, average weight, average shape, average coloring-and she'd always told herself she had no problem with that at all. When she got a new account at work or went out with a man, she knew it was because of her brains and wit, not her looks.

Still, she did have a nice rosy glow to her skin this morning. People underestimated how good sex was for their bodies. She also had stubble burn on a breast, a hip, an inner thigh… Warrior wounds, she thought and smiled in spite of herself.

Yeah, for last night at least, Kevin McKnight had found her beautiful. There was no doubt of that.

The knowledge was better than a spa day. She showered and then dressed to kill in a Michael Kors silk camisole, jacket, and peasant skirt. It was her own personal armor, a way to put a barrier between herself and any more altercations that might come her way that day, and when she'd slipped into her strappy Choo's wedge sandals, she looked cool and efficient. Untouchable.

You were touched plenty last night. And this morning.

That nearly put the first chink in the armor, but she successfully shoved it back. Her new neighbor, his sexy body, and his ability to fling words as fast and effectively as she could weren't worth another thought.

She left the house and got into the Audi she'd bought herself on her last birthday, the big three-oh. She was a tough cookie but not quite tough enough to avoid taking a peek down the street, where just two days ago she'd caught her first glimpse of the most incredibly sexy motorcycle she'd ever seen.

Not to mention the man straddling it. Yeah, he'd lifted off his helmet and laid his eyes right on hers, eyes that held trouble and a spark of ready mischief, and when he'd gotten off the bike and stood to his full height, Mia had thought yum: tall, dark, and full of attitude-just how she liked 'em.

With all sorts of wicked thoughts swimming in his gaze, he'd smiled, and she'd involuntarily put a hand v her heart as her pulse leapt.

In turn, his smile had widened and she'd melted an the spot. Clearly, he was a bit of a rebel, a bad boy, which meant he was a man after her own heart, and therein lay the problem.

She didn't like a man after her heart. She didn't like anyone to get that close, to get beneath her carefully polished facade. But truth be told, if anyone could have, it would have been one sexy, sharp, smart-mouthed Kevin McKnight.

Oh, she knew his name. First and last. And if she was being honest, she'd never forgotten it.

But this morning, only an hour after she'd left his bed, his bike was gone.

Just as well. After the things she'd said to him, he wouldn't be smiling at her again, wicked or otherwise. Stinky feet. Snoring.

God.

She'd been really frazzled to lose it so completely if that was the best she could come up with. She really wished he'd just kicked her out at two in the morning when he'd finished with her. And anyway, why hadn't he been happy she wanted to get away? Weren't men supposed to like that sort of woman, one who didn't cling and carry on about relationships?

What was wrong with him?

With a sigh, she drove the freeway with the precision of an air force bomber pilot. The skill was required in LA, especially at nine in the morning in rush-hour traffic. She thought about work and crossed her fingers for the day ahead, as she'd been working her ass off to get the new Anderson account, a hot new national beverage corporation, and she wanted it so bad she could taste it. She'd designed the campaign from start to finish, with the help of a great creative team, of course, and could already see the media and public scooping up everything she dished out.

As the air was already getting warm, she turned on the AC. She listened to traffic and news as she transitioned to the 5 south, and when she got downtown she pulled onto Sixth and into her building's parking structure.

By the time she entered the thirty-five-story glass-and-steel building that housed the advertising firm where she worked, she was ready. And when she stepped out onto the top floor, she smiled.

Oh, yeah, she had it all: a fabulous career, an office overlooking all of downtown, a beautiful house in the hills- absolutely everything she'd ever dreamed of as 'Apple,' sitting in a single-wide and looking out at the neighbors fighting on their porch while her mother and Sugar made plans to devour some man or another.

No one in her life from that time would recognize the woman she'd so carefully become. Sophisticated, elegant. Cool, calm ice.

Just as she'd always wanted.

Gen, the receptionist, waved at her. All around, the office buzzed. Phones rang; people moved, talked, wheeled, and dealed. Mia knew there'd been rumors of layoffs, that the powers-that-be wanted to downsize, but she loved the place this big and crazy and hoped it stayed that way. She strode toward her department. Assistant Tess Reis sat at her cubicle in front of the three offices of ad executives she worked for, her fingers pounding her keyboard, either for the slimeball Ted or the more even-keeled but insanely competitive Margot-Mia's equals.

Unlike Mia, Tess wasn't average height. Tess wasn't average anything. She was a tall, willowy, creamy-skinned twenty-seven-year-old who resembled one hell of an expensive collectable porcelain doll. She could have been a model, should have been model, except for one thing.

She didn't like to be the center of attention.

What she did like was organization, a fact that Mia was thankful for every single day of her life since Tess had come into it.

At every turn Tess mothered, bossed, and stuck her nose where it didn't belong. 'Listen,' she said before Mia could even open her mouth. 'It's a good news, bad news sort of day.'

As they were good friends as well as coworkers, Mia trusted Tess as much as she trusted anyone. 'Good first.'

At that moment Margot walked up to the desk, «eek and professional in her smart black Chanel suit and blond chignon. Never one to pull punches, she eyeballed Mia while handing Tess a stack of files.

Mia lifted a brow.

“Bee-yotch,' Margot said.

Adrenaline suddenly pumped through Mia. 'I got the Anderson account?'

“I'm assuming so, by the huge delivery that came for you this morning.' Margot shook her head. “Damn it. I'll congratulate you when I can say it without spitting.'

She was so excited she couldn't hear. 'Delivery?'

'A big-ass plant, which I'm sure you'll kill pronto like all the others.' Turning on her heels, she walked away.

Huh. The world kept spinning on its axis. Behind them a trio of assistants, all twenty-something and young and silly, were tittering over a computer screen. Fifties jazz came out of the sound system, fitting right in with the art deco theme of the office. The office had the scent of hip success and coffee, Mia's favorite combination.

She felt like yelling Woo hoo! but that seemed rather high school, so she settled for a shit-eating grin instead.