then why is he still single?”
Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Neither should you. You’re not looking to marry the guy, remember? You’re just looking to have a good time with him.”
“I don’t know, Rachel…” Kate began.
“Honey, believe me, if I wasn’t already so in love with Bob, I’d be all over Dawson and his six-pack abs,” Rachel told her.
“God, yes,” Melanie agreed.
“Same here,” Briana said.
“I’d do him,” Heather chimed in.
“Me, too,” Kristen added, then sighed. “But since we’re all married, or about to be, we’ll just have to live vicariously through you.”
Kate narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “So, by doing the best man, I’d be doing all of you a huge favor, is that what you’re saying?”
Kristen grinned. “Exactly. As a matter of fact, I think it might be one of your duties as maid of honor.”
“Uh-huh.” Kate sighed. “Look, I know you all mean well, but I’m just not the kind of girl who has a weekend fling with a guy.”
“Even if he is as ridiculously hot as Dawson McKenna?” Kristen asked.
“Even then,” Kate insisted.
Beside her, Rachel exchanged looks with the other girls, then nodded. “Okay, okay, we won’t push you. But you might want to change your mind after you meet Dawson.”
Kate didn’t think so and would have told her friend as much, but Bob and the rest of the men were already on their way over to the table, which effectively put an end to the girl talk. Curious to get a glimpse of this hunk her friends thought was so droolworthy, she was casually trying to get a look at him when she recognized the gorgeous guy from the ferry in their midst. He had exchanged the jeans and T-shirt for a pair of khaki pants and a button-up shirt, but there was there was no mistaking those ruggedly handsome features. She blinked in surprise. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Perfect was the best man?
She glanced at Rachel curiously, hoping her friend would give her a conspiratorial wink to let her know if he was the best man or not, but the other girl was smiling up at her fiance. “We were beginning to think we’d have to send out a search party.”
Bob chuckled as he handed her a glass of white wine. “We were watching the game. We figured you’d be so busy talking that you wouldn’t notice we were missing.”
Rachel gave Kate and the other girls a knowing look. “What did I tell you? Good thing the Mariners aren’t playing this weekend or we’d be getting married in front of a big-screen TV.”
Although Kate laughed along with everyone else, she couldn’t keep her gaze from going back to Dawson McKenna. He was even more gorgeous up close. On the ferry, she hadn’t been able to tell what color his eyes were, but now she saw they were the most intriguing shade of golden brown and fringed with dark, sooty lashes. This guy was so good-looking, it should be illegal.
Beside Kate, Rachel glanced her way. “Kate, this is Dawson McKenna, the best man. I think I might have mentioned him to you. Dawson, my maid of honor, Kate Gentry.”
He flashed her a smile. “The maid of honor. Then this must be for you.” He held out a glass of wine. “Bob mentioned you’d come outside while we were at the bar, so we figured we should get you something, too. Hope white wine is okay?”
Though Kate was vaguely aware of the glass in Dawson ’s hand, she was so mesmerized by his voice, she couldn’t seem to make herself reach out to take it. When Rachel and the other girls were going on about how hot the best man was, they forgot to mention his voice was as sexy as the rest of him. She couldn’t remember ever feeling heat pool between her thighs at the sound of a man’s voice. Damn, with a voice as deep and velvety as his, Dawson could probably read to her from the dictionary and her pussy would be purring like she was a cat in heat.
Kate absently wondered if the only reason she was so hot and bothered by this guy was because her friends had gone on and on about how beddable he was. Had they planted a subliminal suggestion?
She didn’t realize how long she’d been sitting there gazing up at Dawson until Rachel nudged her foot underneath the table. Abruptly aware of the amusement on the other girls’ faces, Kate blushed. Well, what did they expect? They were the ones who made a big thing about what a hunk Dawson was in the first place. It wasn’t her fault they’d been right.
Ignoring them, Kate returned Dawson ’s smile and reached out to take the glass. “White wine is perfect. Thank you.”
Rachel said, “I was just reminding the girls we’re playing croquet tomorrow. We’re going to be in teams of two, so I thought maybe you and Kate could pair up, Dawson. Is that okay with you?”
Kate stifled a groan. So much for Rachel not pushing Dawson on her. She couldn’t be angry with her friend, though. Like Kristen said, Dawson was ridiculously hot. Maybe having a fling with him wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Good heavens, how could she even be thinking of doing that? Weekend flings were not her style.
“Fine by me.” He lifted a brow. “Kate?”
For some reason, her name sounded provocative on his tongue, and between her thighs, her pussy quivered. She barely managed to resist sliding her hand between her legs to touch herself as she gave him a nod. “Sounds good.” She looked up at him from beneath lowered lashes. “Though I do have to warn you, I’ve never played croquet before.”
He gave her a sexy smile. “I have. I can show you a few things, if you want.”
Kate’s pulse quickened at the suggestive words. While she kept trying to convince herself she didn’t do casual sex, her mind was telling her something completely different. Right now, she was imagining all the wicked things she wanted Dawson to show her and none of them had anything to do with croquet.
Underneath the table, Rachel nudged her foot again. Kate pretended not to notice as she sipped her wine.
As if apparently satisfied with her efforts to get Operation Get-Kate-Laid in motion, Rachel changed the subject, talking about the rest of the events she had planned for the weekend. Though Kate joined in the conversation, her gaze kept straying to Dawson. Every time it did, she caught him looking her way and their eyes would inevitably meet, sending little shivers of sexual excitement through her body. She didn’t know why Dawson was having such an effect on her. It wasn’t like she’d never been around a good-looking guy before. She just usually didn’t spend the time mentally undressing them and fantasizing about all the ways she’d like to have sex with them, like she was doing now. Again, it must be all that talk with her girlfriends about having a weekend fling. It was making her think all kind of lusty thoughts.
As she took another sip of wine, Kate studied Dawson from underneath her lashes, letting her gaze wander over his wide shoulders and broad chest. Regardless of her earlier protests, the thought of having a fling with him was definitely tempting. But could she really let herself go enough to have a fun-filled weekend of meaningless sex if a long-term relationship wasn’t even on the table? She wasn’t sure.
Kate felt her resolve slip a little more when Dawson ’s leg brushed hers as he sat down next to her at the table in the hotel restaurant a little while later. Just feeling the heat of his body that close to her was enough to make her knees weak. She could only imagine what it would be like for their naked bodies to be intertwined.
Maybe her girlfriends had the right approach after all. Maybe she did need to stop looking for Mr. Right and have fun with Mr. Right-Now. At least for this weekend. Trouble was, she didn’t know how to go about it. How did one proposition a guy for a weekend of meaningless sex anyway? She was better at twenty questions and checklists than come-on lines and sexual innuendos.
Figuring she should at least say something to him so he wouldn’t think she was a wallflower, Kate glanced at Dawson as she placed her napkin on her lap. “So, how do you and Bob know each other?”
Not exactly a sexy come-on line, but it was the best she could do at the moment.
Dawson took the menu the waitress handed him before answering. “We went to college together.”
“Oh. Are you an architect too, then?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m a civil engineer for the city of Seattle.”
She nodded. “Which means you build roads and bridges and things, right?”
The corner of his mouth edged up. “I don’t actually build them, I just design them. I leave the hard work to someone else.”
