Free Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) by Samatha Harris Page A

that’s what he wants?” I asked.
    They looked at each other and smiled.
    “He’s male and under thirty. He will be fine with this arrangement, trust me,” Jeremy said.
    “But what if we have nothing in common?”
    “Even better,” Jeremy said around a forkful of salad.
    I shook my head. “How is that better?”
    He shrugged. “Less complicated.”
    “That makes no sense.”
    Margot laughed. “It doesn’t have to. What time is he picking you up?”
    “Seven.”
    “Okay, I’ll come by our place tonight and help you get ready. Just try to relax until then. The last thing you want are worry lines,” she said, sitting back in her chair.
    I took a deep breath. I could do this. Be honest. Don’t over think it. No relationship, just sex. Who was I kidding? I was going to make a complete fool of myself tonight.
     
    ***
     
    True to her word, Margot showed up at my apartment. She handed me a bottle of wine and headed straight for my closet. I headed to the kitchen to open the bottle, grabbed two glasses, headed back to my room, and took a swig straight from the bottle on the way. I welcomed the warming sensation that worked its way through my body as I headed down the hall.
    My bed was littered with potential outfits. I cringed at the thought of the mess I would have to deal with later.
    “Where’s he taking you?” she asked, her voice coming from inside the closet. A blouse came flying out the door, and I managed to catch it just before it could hit the floor.
    “I don’t know. He said something about dinner, but I didn’t get any specifics,” I said.
    “Hmm.” She tapped a finger on her chin while contemplating the options. “Well, we’ll just have to go with something sexy, but not trying too hard. Casual but not jeans.” She picked up a green low cut blouse and admired it before ultimately shaking her head and discarding it on the bed with the rest of my clothes. Then she headed back into my closet for more options.
    I sat down on the bed amongst the discarded contents of my closet and sipped on my wine. I had no idea how I was going to make it through this night.
    After a few minutes, she squealed. The high pitched sound made me jump and spill wine all over my yoga pants. Margot rushed out of the closet with a black halter jumpsuit I’d bought on a whim. It still had the tags on it, because I didn’t have the nerve to wear it.
    “Here,” she said, thrusting the silky black jumpsuit at me. “Put this on.”
    “Margot, I…”
    “Don’t argue. Put it on,” she said, giving me her best don’t-mess-with-me look as she pointed me toward the bathroom.
    I rolled my eyes and headed to change. When I got the thing on, I went back to the bedroom for inspection without even glancing in the mirror. I knew if I did I would chicken out and end up going on this date in a sensible pants suit, or maybe just not going all together. Blind faith in Margot’s styling skills was the only way I could make it through this.
    A devious smile spread wide across her face when she saw me. “Perfect,” she said as her eyes raked over me from head to toe.
    “Really? It’s not too much?” I asked, smoothing down the front of my outfit.
    “Are you kidding? You look great. You just need…” She trailed off and headed back into my closet. She came back with a thin, gold belt and a pair of black platform stilettos with gold trim around the bottom. She wrapped the belt around my waist and handed me the shoes. Then she helped me into a slim cut blazer and took a step back so I could see the final look in the mirror.
    My eyes went wide, and I turned to the side, admiring her choice. Not bad. In fact, it was pretty good.
    “Like I said, perfect,” Margot said, coming up behind me and meeting my eyes in the mirror. I couldn’t help but smile back at her, suddenly feeling better about the night ahead of me. Well, at least the what-do-I-wear part.
    A few minutes before seven, the front door buzzed. I leaned on the button