Free Unlucky in Love ( Lucky #1) by Jill Sanders Page B

slowly.
    He was really looking forward to the weekend so he could spend some time with her. He planned on having her over to his place again, which was totally out of the ordinary for him.
    Actually, thinking about it, she was the first woman he’d had over to his place. The first one to actually sleep in his bed, for that matter. He laughed at the irony of it, since he hadn’t even been lying next to her at the time.
    When Friday finally came, the day seemed to slow to a stop as he waited for five o’clock to roll around, anticipating the upcoming evening. He noticed that everyone worked harder and faster as they tried to make the day go by quickly. Even he tried to keep himself occupied.
    Finally, it was just a few minutes until he could clock out and join the rest of the crew at the popular bar down the street. As he was shutting down the workstation, he wondered how he could get Kristen alone for the rest of the evening.
    “Are you going with us to Reds?” Carla walked into his office.
    He glanced up at the blonde woman and his chin almost dropped when he noticed her outfit. Normally, she wore business-casual attire, but today her skirt was tighter and her shirt dipped dangerously low, showing off a very impressive chest.
    He nodded in answer and then quickly turned back to his computer.
    “Good.” He heard her voice getting closer and tried not to think of how ironic it was that Carla was more his type than Kristen. But he’d never felt the pull toward her like he felt for Kristen. “It just wouldn’t be the same if everyone weren’t going,” she said in a low voice. “Besides, I was looking forward to getting to know you better.” She leaned on his desk right beside him. Her short skirt hiked up, and he tried to avoid glancing downward.
    “I promised Kristen I’d go.” He watched Carla pout.
    Then she ran her well-manicured fingernail up his arm. “It’s such a shame that she’ll probably be stuck working late.” She tensed.
    “Late?” He leaned away, putting a little space between them.
    “Oh yeah. The site on Market Street ran into some issues with the inspector. She’s having to put in a bunch of hours this weekend to get everything ready for Monday.”
    He sighed. “I’d better go see if she needs any help.” He started to get up but stopped when he noticed Carla hadn’t moved aside. He’d have to climb over the top of her just to stand up.
    “You’re still going to Reds, aren’t you?” He watched her bottom lip push out. She must have put on fresh lip gloss to make her lips shine so much.
    “Not if there’s work that needs to be done.” He stood, pushing his chair all the way back to make enough room in the closed-in space.
    “Oh well.” She blinked a few times and he could tell she was desperately trying to think of another way to convince him to go.
    Had he really been dating this kind of woman for the last few years? Why? He felt that his eyes were open for the first time, and there was no way he’d ever fall for tricks like the ones Carla was pulling. Maybe he’d just allowed himself to be played? Or maybe he’d just played along to get what he’d wanted?
    “I’d better go.” He nodded toward her legs, which were blocking his path.
    Her smile grew as she stood up and ran a finger over his chin. “I’ll save you a spot at the bar.” She practically purred it.
    When he finally made it out of his office, he took a deep breath of fresh air. Not only had the woman been taking his space, but she’d filled his whole office with the scent of her overbearing perfume.
    When he walked into Kristen’s cubicle, he could see she was deep into making changes. She didn’t even know he was there, and he watched her work for a few moments. He glanced over her shoulder, and when he sat on the edge of her desk, she didn’t even budge.
    Finally, a few minutes later, she saved the design and leaned back. Her arms went over her head as she stretched her neck one way, then the other.