Free Raspberry Crush by Jill Winters Page B

was really hitting the sauce. "Hey, Billy!" she said loudly, slurring her words more than before. "Who was that fine piece of ass you were talking to in the bakery yesterday?"
    At first Billy's defenses went on alert. She hadn't gotten a chance to tell Mark about running into Seth, and she didn't want him to be jealous or concerned. But then she relaxed, because Mark still wasn't paying any attention—lucky her.
    "So who was he?" Georgette pressed. "I only caught a quick glance, but what an ass\"
    Smiling feebly, Billy said, "Yeah, that was my... It was Seth Lannigan. He's... you know, with the Churchill people."
    Letting out a loud wolf whistle, Georgette slapped her hand on the table. "Boy, I wouldn't mind gettin' a piece of that !" Billy's weak smile froze in place as she tried not to picture that. "I mean it," Georgette went on drunkenly. "That is exactly what I'm lookin' for—a young stud who will make me forget everything except gettin' laid!"
    Billy cringed. God, this was getting embarrassing! Did Georgette have to make her aching horniness a matter of public record? Hell, Billy was horny too, but usually she just sulked about it, sucked it up, suffered in silence... basically, she handled it with dignity.
    "Just a young buck to ride me till tomorrow and back!" she continued at top volume. "I mean a real young stallion with a real big—"
    "Georgette!" Billy whispered sharply, holding her hands up. "I get it; I understand." Oblivious, Georgette slumped against the booth and drank more tequila.
    While Mark turned to chat with strangers at a nearby table, Billy looked around restlessly. Suddenly she spotted a couple over by the bar: a short brunette woman and a tall blond man who somehow reminded Billy of herself and Seth, back when they were a couple.
    God, she had to get a grip! Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Why couldn't she just put him completely out of her mind?
    The blond guy leaned down to kiss the brunette gently on her lips, and absently Billy sighed and ran her fingertips over her mouth, remembering Seth's soft but possessive kisses. Gentle with a sense of restrained hunger—that was Seth.
    Okay, if she didn't stop fixating on him, soon she'd be reliving the day they'd met....
    It had been a rainy Tuesday afternoon; she remembered the silvery wetness streaked across the windows at the Prudential food court. She often took her lunch breaks there, and on that particular day Seth had been in front of her in the line for Chinese. When he'd glimpsed her standing behind him, he'd turned and smiled.
    "After you," he'd said, which came as a shock, because whatever chivalry wasn't dead in this world was rarely reserved for her. Instantly she'd had a crush on him. And not because he was cute, or because of the sexy, rusty timbre of his voice. But because he'd given her his place in line. Once she was seated at a table, with an overflowing plate of orange chicken, he'd approached her. "Uh, I don't mean to bother you," he'd said, "but was it just me, or did we have some really good eye contact over by the egg rolls?" After that, lunches had turned into dinners, movies had turned into romance, and Billy had started to fall in love....
    Just then, Mark stood up. Yay, are we finally leaving? "Anyone want another drink while I'm up?" he asked.
    Billy slumped back down in her seat.
    Oh, well. There was no point in complaining (much). Meeting out had been her idea—her fault and nobody else's. She had just wanted to kill time after work, and she'd mistakenly thought that soon after Mark got to the bar, they would head back to her place.
    But she supposed there was plenty of time for that. What time does this place close, again? she wondered.
    Now, as she watched Mark approach the bar, Billy felt a twinge of jealousy. Girls were eyeing him left and right, and he was smiling like he was the most approachable guy in the world. But it was okay; Billy knew she was the one he wanted. At least at this point—while she