He kept wanting to touch her. On the way down to the taxi he’d put his hand on the small of her back. She’d reacted with a little twitch, which was interesting, but her blush was more telling.

There was definitely something between them, the attraction wasn’t one-sided. He saw a lot of the signs, the fidgeting with the hair, the sideways glances, those telltale blushes. Tonight, if they finished the shoot at a reasonable hour, they would have the evening free. He was going to take her to dinner, and he felt certain that he could steer the conversation into one of two directions. He could keep it intellectual, or he could just as easily swing it to the hot and heavy. Given free rein with the questions made either option viable. Of course, what he should do is stick to the plan. But the plan hadn’t taken into account how much he wanted her.

“Do you mind?”

He looked up at the voice, startled. Standing close to his left was Sheree herself. She was dressed in a large, white, man’s shirt with bicycle shorts peeking from the bottom. Her shoes were slip-ons, the better to change into whatever wardrobe they had planned for her.

Her hair was up in very large curlers, which didn’t distract in the least from her astonishing good looks. Naturally, her makeup was heavy, but still, he could see the perfection of her face, the pure symmetry that was so prized. Her smile, however, suggested that her want of a seat wasn’t just about available chairs. There was an invitation there, or at the very least a question.

He stood and held the back of the second director’s chair. “Please, sit.”

She did, and her smile broadened. “I’m Sheree.”

“Dan Crawford.”

“I saw you last night,” she said. “But I didn’t have a minute to come over and introduce myself.”

“I’m sorry for that, but pleased you have some time today.”

“God, I’ll have gobs of time. I have four changes, and no one can decide where to start. It’s always like this. They should just shut up and let the chick call the shots.”

“You mean Jessica?”

“Yeah. At least she’s got a plan. But everyone wants to be the boss.”

“I suppose so.”

“What’s your role in all this?”

He nodded at Jessica, who had turned to watch him and his new friend. “I’m with the chick.”

“Oh.” Sheree studied Jessica for a long moment. “You two serious?”

“Yeah, pretty serious.”

She turned back to him. “You fool around?”

He laughed. “Thank you, but no. I don’t.”

She shook her head, then lifted her hand to examine her nails. “Bummer.”

He laughed again, but his attention was on Jessica. She wasn’t looking happy. Just then, Owen came up behind her, and even from Dan’s seat he could see the hand inching around her waist.

Jessica stepped back as Dan rose. He headed straight for the pair, making sure his smile wasn’t forced. All he had to do was mark his territory, get Owen to back off. He was a little surprised at how his animosity toward this prick had grown. He didn’t want him touching Jessica.

“Morning, Owen.”

Owen’s expression said it all. He wasn’t pleased to see Dan. Not even amused. “Yeah. Morning.”

Dan walked straight up to Jessica and said, “Honey, you’ve got a little something right on the corner of your mouth.” Then he touched her there, rubbing nothing, but making sure Owen got the point.

He seemed to. The hand that had been on Jessica’s waist was now at his side. His unsubtle scowl reminded Dan of a kid that lived in his building. Spoiled rotten, and not afraid to show it.

Dan leaned forward and gave Jessica a little kiss. Icing on the cake. This was supposed to be all for show, but the moment his lips touched hers, he forgot about Owen and everything else. It didn’t last long, but the kiss had repercussions. His whole body reacted, came to attention. Not just the lower half, either. It was like touching a live wire.

Well, that answered his question about how to approach tonight. He was going to bring out the heavy artillery, the more intimate, the better.

Sex wouldn’t ruin the project. It would just change it. He could deal with that.

QUOTES FROM WOMEN

You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.

-Erica Jong

I’m not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb…and I also know that I’m not blond.

-Dolly Parton

I’ve been on so many blind dates, I should get a free dog.

-Wendy Liebman

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a woman.

-Margaret Thatcher

I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career.

-Gloria Steinem

ONCE THEY WERE FINISHED with the shoot, Jessica let out a deep breath, and all her tension and stress with it. No work lay ahead of her until tomorrow afternoon, when she’d have to go to the Rainbow Room and make sure the party coordinator was moving apace. There would be a dessert-and-jazz evening starting at nine, with the guests being more of the celebrities, models and media. She stood under an archway just outside the terminal as Dan hailed a cab. As soon as one pulled up, he opened the door for her and she made her way through the ever-present crowd to climb in.

Once Dan was settled in next to her, he asked, “To the hotel first, or dinner?”

She hadn’t thought much about eating, but now that he mentioned it, she found herself ravenous. “I’d like to change, get freshened up.” She looked at her watch, and it was just past six. “Maybe we could find something at seven?”

“Sure thing.” He told the driver where to take them, then he pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. It was a while until he spoke. “Andy? It’s Dan Crawford. Can you find a table for me and a friend at seven?” Nothing for a minute, then he smiled. “Great, see you then.” He hung up, his grin looking mighty self-satisfied.

“Where?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

“You’re not going to make me dress up, are you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Okay, then.” She settled back for the ride home, twice as long with the heavy traffic.

Soon the sounds outside the cab window ran together and faded as her tiredness took over. She barely stirred as Dan closed the gap between them and snaked his arm around her shoulder. It seemed the most natural thing in the world to rest her head on his shoulder, to feel the warmth of his breath on her temple, the gentle brush of his fingers against her arm.

He’d been the perfect escort, everything she could have wanted for the job. Owen had been kept at something of a distance, although every chance he got, he cornered her and grilled her about her relationship with Dan. It had been almost too easy to answer his questions, and by the end of the day she figured she’d made significant headway. The only thing that had bothered her, aside from the attitude of the photographer, had been her reaction to the models. Not when they’d been working, but when they’d hovered around Dan. All of the women had, at one time or another, sat with him, talked with him, laughed at his jokes. It looked as if Dan had been enjoying himself immensely, which shouldn’t have mattered a whit. But it did. She had found herself more than once walking over to him, touching him the way he touched her when Owen was near.

Dan was a free agent, and after this campaign was over she had nothing on him. He could date whomever he wished, and my God, those women were about as stunning as women get. Who could blame him for snapping up the bait. Each one seemed more eager than the last.

Finally, she’d asked Marla to go sit with him, even though the request was selfish, as Marla was all twittery about Shawn. He seemed like a good guy, and from what Jessica had heard of their conversations, he’d been really sweet when it came to Marla.