Free Just Her Type by Reon Laudat Page A

because he believed it sounded more “urbane than the garden
variety–pun intended–vegetarian.”
    Kendra ate the rest of her bacon with gusto and
complimented Piper on the floral broach pinning her conference ID badge to her
dress.   After clearing her plate,
she ordered more apple banana. She blocked out the chatter surrounding her to
consider that thing between her and
Dominic.
      Now
that Kendra had potential big business with Brody Goodwin, it was probably best
to utilize a three-pronged strategy to make sure she didn’t succumb to that thing , which would only complicate
matters:   1)   Be friendly, but keep contact with
Dominic to a minimum. 2) Talk up Zoe. 3) If he insisted on pursuing Kendra,
she’d use the fake it-until-you-make-it approach with smiles and chitchat, and
then quickly execute her escape.
    “Hello, everyone!” Dominic boomed with a big smile
when he appeared at their table.
    Piper offered a tepid greeting.
    Sheila, who’d joined Piper in the verbal flaying
of Dominic, gathered her things and skulked away, vacating the chair to
Kendra’s immediate right.
    Kendra offered Dominic a cheery greeting. Zoe did
the same, but with a flirty toss of her hair and straighter posture that hitched
her bosom for closer inspection.
    Like Zoe, Kendra was also struck by Dominic’s
sheer awesomeness.   Chili red chinos
(that matched her streak and the bloom in her hair) and a tapered grape shirt
flattered his sleekly muscular frame. The Maui sun had already deepened his
natural bronzed skin, which highlighted those amazing eyes of his. He wore
chunky man sandals ugly enough to look très hip. And he scored bonus points for some fine-looking toes. No creepy toes as
long as fingers. Tingers .
    Dominic claimed Sheila’s seat as the other people
at the table went silent.   “You
don’t mind if I join you?” He took in the guilty, slack-jawed faces.
      Kendra
noted his endearing habit of needlessly adjusting the bridge of his glasses
when he sat.
    Piper’s sour expression revealed what her chapped
lips did not.
    “Your ears must’ve been burning, Dominic,” said
Zoe, twinkling at him.
    “Oh?” Dominic’s turned to Kendra.
    “Don’t look at me. I wasn’t talking about you,” Kendra fibbed.
    “Piper here brought up that Publishing Grapevine article and the Internet rumor about
Penelope’s reported multi-million dollar advance for her second book,” said
Zoe.
    Piper’s narrow face flushed, but the scowl
remained.
    Uh-oh .
Kendra braced for the inevitable clash. Was Zoe stirring up trouble for the table’s
entertainment or trying to curry favor with Dominic by exposing Piper? Maybe it
was a bit of both.
    “Care to confirm that figure they printed,
Dominic?” Piper flashed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
    “I will neither confirm nor deny,” Dominic said as
he gestured at a female server carrying a coffee pot. He gifted the pretty
brunette with warm thanks and his trademark smile as she filled a cup for him.
She flashed a look that promised a slip of paper with her seven digits would
soon follow.
      “I
don’t know why that Publishing Grapevine reporter even bothered to attribute the amount to an ‘unnamed source,’” Piper
said. “We all know who that unnamed
source is.”
    “You think I leaked that info?” asked Dominic, who couldn’t have sounded more insincere.
“Now why on earth would I do such a thing when it would only evoke resentment?”
He dumped too much cream in his coffee cup, and then stirred, creating light
mocha swirls.
    “I can think of a few reasons,” Piper said, “with ginormous ego topping the list. Don’t pretend you don’t just love lording
such things over people.”
    “Jealous much, Piper?” Zoe asked with a tsk-tsk.
    Piper’s nostrils flared as she opened her mouth to
round on Zoe.
    “Has everybody tasted the delicious strawberry
papaya?” Kendra intervened. She signaled a male server, requested more, and
rhapsodized about the quality of