Harmony had placed her at a table with Trey and Jake. Her heart quivered. The two men she had fantasized about for years were finally available. They liked women, and they weren’t attached.
She actually had a chance with them. But she had only this one night.
Should she take advantage of it?
Harmony’s words echoed through her brain.
Don’t let this opportunity slip away. Everyone should grab their dream when they have the chance. No matter how wild or crazy.
She glanced down at her aqua dress and shook her head. An image of the spectacular, and quite sexy, black gown she’d admired in the little shop window this morning sprang into mind.
Maybe she’d make a little stop on the way back to her room.
Three
Danielle stepped toward the reception hall feeling a little conspicuous. This was not the sort of dress she usually wore. She stopped in front of a mirror in the hallway just outside the atrium and checked the neckline. The black dress hugged her breasts, accentuating the way her new bra pressed them up and forward. The bodice was a halter style, revealing a lot of cleavage. Cleavage she didn’t normally have without the help of the black lace underwired push-up bra she’d bought along with the dress . . . and the black lace garter belt with little red satin bows . . . and black stockings. And a matching thong. She never wore a thong.
She also wore long black gloves, which made her feel ultra sexy. And shoes with heels so high she suspected that if she fell, she’d probably break her neck. But they made her legs look long and sexy. Not that anyone would see that with the long skirt, but if she was successful tonight . . .
So maybe the shoes did pinch, and the bra squeezed a mite too much . . . not to mention the way the thong pulled into her butt. But it would all be worth it . . . if her fantasy came true.
She pushed back her shoulders and took a step forward, concentrating on remaining tall and steady on these stiltlike shoes. It was time to pursue a dream.
“Wow.”
Trey glanced in the direction of Jake’s stare.
“Wow is right. Isn’t that Danielle Rayne?” Trey said.
“That’s right.” Cole also watched the tall, incredibly built woman with the flowing auburn curls approach their table. “But I sat with her at the wedding, and that’s not what she was wearing then.”
“Looks like we’re in luck.” Jake glanced at the empty chair beside Trey. “I think she’s our missing guest.”
Salad had already been served and they had thought the eighth guest at the table had been a no-show.
As Danielle approached the table, Cole stood up. “Danielle. I thought you’d gotten lost,” he said as he pulled the chair out for her.
“I . . . had a few things I had to do. I didn’t mean to be so late.”
He smiled. “Well, you were certainly worth the wait.”
Her cheeks flushed as she sat down.
“Danielle, you remember Trey and Jake?”
Danielle’s gaze fell on Jake, then shifted to Trey. “Of course.”
Trey smiled. He remembered Danielle well. She’d been very quiet and withdrawn when she’d first arrived at Carleton Falls. Not at all like the woman sitting beside him now. But Harmony had drawn her out. The two women had befriended Trey and Jake and they’d formed a close friendship which had, unfortunately, lasted only a year. That’s when Danielle had transferred to school in Boston, where she went into a co-op program. She had no family—at least none who acknowledged her—so the extra money had been a godsend for her.
Trey had always liked Danielle . . . a lot.
He’d often wondered what it would be like to make love to Danielle. She’d always had a sultry, subtle sensuality about her. In that dress, which he could tell by the way she periodically tugged at the neckline was not her usual style, she oozed raw sexual intensity. She’d worn that dress for a reason tonight. The question was, what reason?
She’d sat with Cole at the wedding. Had she decided to pursue him?
She took a bite of her salad, and then her tongue glided over her glossy red lips in a delicate caress. His groin tightened. Man, he couldn’t help wishing it was him she wanted.
Trey took a sip of wine as the waiter placed a plate of prime rib in front of him.
“So, Trey, what did you wind up majoring in?” Danielle picked up her knife and fork and speared a glazed carrot from her plate.
“Computers.”
She took a bite of the carrot, and he couldn’t help watching her delicious-looking glossy lips as she chewed.
Jake grabbed a roll from the basket in front of him. “He loves gadgets. You should see his place. High-tech devices galore.”
Trey dipped a chunk of his succulent beef in the small bowl of au jus on his plate, then took a bite.
She leaned her chin on her hand and smiled at Trey. “Like what?”
Trey shrugged. Women didn’t care about stuff like that.
“He has one of those robot vacuums,” Jake said.
“Oh, that’s right.” Cole chuckled. “He has a great video of his cat riding around on it.”
“Your cat rides the vacuum?” She stared at him in wide-eyed fascination. “I thought cats hated vacuums.”
“Not mine. Hickory thinks it’s his own personal toy.”
“You’ll have to show me the video sometime.” She smiled, then glanced down shyly when his gaze met hers. When she glanced up again, he almost expected her to flutter her eyelashes.
He grinned. Well, damn, the woman was flirting with him.
As dinner progressed, Trey found himself becoming confused. Although Danielle seemed to be paying him a lot of attention, she paid an equal amount of attention to Jake. Maybe he had misread the situation and she just wanted to catch up with old friends. She’d never been really comfortable interacting with the opposite sex. Back in the old days, he and Jake
