Free The Player's Club: Lincoln by Cathy Yardley Page B

seconds. Not her best work, but she’d improvised. With determination, she strode back out to the dining area, using her very best sex-on-stilettos strut. She walked up to Terrence just as she heard Heidi say, “You know, most guys just message me from Facebook. How stalker do you have to be, to find me when I’m having an early dinner by myself because my fiancé has an absolutely huge case and couldn’t make it. And then to tell me that you’re still…”
    “Hey, sexy,” Juliana said, kissing Terrence’s cheek. “Miss me?”
    Terrence blinked. He probably could not have been more shocked if he’d been shot. Heidi stopped mid-catty-expression, her eyes popping wide.
    “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Juliana continued, shooting her best oops-naughty-me expression at Heidi. “He said he saw someone he knew. Are you a friend?”
    Heidi nodded dumbly.
    “So’m I,” Juliana said, with a wink.
    “Aren’t you…are you Juliana Mayfield?” Heidi asked, dumbfounded. “From the supermarket tabloids? The one who dated all those guys…that football player…Gerard Butler?”
    Okay, I wish that rumor were true! But Juliana just smiled. “I wouldn’t have thought anybody who knows Terrence would read that crap,” she said, then repeated the playful naughty look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…am I interrupting, really?”
    Terrence had bounced back, and stood up beside Juliana, putting an arm around her waist. She snuggled in, trailing her fingertips down his Jedi T-shirt. “You’re not interrupting,” he said, his voice deeper, more confident. His smile was actually a bit sexy, and Heidi seemed to notice. “I just hadn’t seen Heidi in a while, and thought I’d say hi. Glad we could catch up.”
    “Well, come on, babe. We’ll be late.” She started to tug Terrence away. She thought they were clear when Heidi opened her mouth.
    “He was just telling me how much he was in love with me,” Heidi said, her voice frosted with amusement and spite.
    Juliana could feel Terrence’s wince, saw the look of pain cross his face. She stopped him, turning on her heel.
    Okay, Ms. Heidi. Apparently, you need some lessons in manners, and school’s in session. Juliana’s smile was feral.
    “Really,” Juliana drawled. “He said he was in love with you. As in now, the present.” Her voice was low, but she’d had training, and she made sure it carried. Even the waiters were frozen at their stations, and every set of eyes in the place was locked on the drama unfolding at the small, linen-covered table.
    Heidi puckered her mouth sourly, making her look years older. “He said he’d never forgotten me,” she hedged, looking at her manicure—avoiding Juliana’s gaze. “I guess I made an impression.”
    Juliana nuzzled Terrence’s jaw, and she felt him tense. “That is so adorable,” she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Every woman wants to hear she was wanted once. That’s so kind of you.”
    Terrence shrugged, but his back was straight and there was a wicked grin on his face. He looked at Heidi with an expression of smug pity, not an easy one to pull off.
    Atta boy, Terrence!
    “Well, he sounded pretty sincere when he said that driving me home was one of the highlights of his life,” Heidi shot back. Her voice was light, but she sounded as though she was trying for a shot—trying to show that Terrence was the pathetic one, not her.
    “Oh, I’m sure it was a highlight,” Juliana said, making sure that there was no doubt it was the past tense. “I get the feeling he’s got some new highlights lately.” She kissed his cheek and felt him tremble. She’d have to be careful with him—she was trying to help him out, not give him ideas—but this cow was asking for it. “Unless…what do you think, Terrence? Do I have competition here?”
    Terrence’s responding grin was like summer lightning, fast and bright. “Well, she was head cheerleader.”
    “Oh, my.” Juliana bit her lip.