bouncy, full of energy, yes. Never elegant. Making Charlie elegant would take a miracle.
Twenty minutes later, as Charlie sat across from Ashley at their favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, she was hoping her big sister would help her pull off that miracle.
“Here’s to a great first date with Mark O’Grady.” Ashley lifted her frosty glass and touched it to Charlie’s.
“Amen.” Charlie took a sip of her drink and set it on the square cocktail napkin. Then she looked over at her sister. “The thing is, when Mark suggested we write to each other for several weeks so we could really learn about each other before we met, I got this idea.”
Ashley put down her drink, too. “Which was?”
“I decided to change my image.”
She had Ashley’s total concentration now. “To what?” she asked carefully.
“Well, you know how most guys treat me like the girl next door. They see me as wholesome, low-maintenance, stuff like that.”
“Charlie, that’s because you are those things. They’re all pluses, in my book.”
“Whatever. The point is that in my whole life, I have never made a guy drool.”
“Oh.” Ashley gazed at her and the wheels were obviously going around. “So what kind of image does Mark have of you?”
“I didn’t lie or anything,” Charlie said quickly. “I mean, he knows I work for an outdoor adventure company, and he’s seen my picture so he knows what I look like. But I made him think that underneath that girl-next-door persona I’m also this…well, this really hot babe. I, um, wrote some pretty racy stuff, things I probably would never have the nerve to say in person.”
Ashley looked taken aback, but gradually her green eyes warmed. “Ah, I get it. You’re afraid that when you two meet, he’ll expect to jump into bed right away, and you’re not ready for that.”
“But I am ready for that.”
Ashley blinked. “You are? Oh, Charlie, I don’t think that’s a very good idea. You need to—”
“I need to experience unbridled passion for once in my life! With every other guy I’ve dated, there’s no mystery, no tension, no lust. But now I have that. We’ve had three months of postal foreplay. We are so loaded with tension. I just don’t want to mess up and diffuse it.”
Ashley stared at her. Then she took a quick drink of her margarita and cleared her throat. “Okay, let me get my bearings here. I can understand wanting to make a guy lust after you. But I can’t go along with the hopping-into-bed part. I realize you’ve exchanged a lot of letters with Mark, but that’s not the same as face-to-face contact. You need to give it more time before you get into a physical—”
Charlie let out a gusty sigh. “You sound so ‘older sister.’ Haven’t you ever gone to bed with a guy on the first date?”
Ashley blushed. “We’re not talking about me.”
“What? We should live by different rules?”
Her sister looked disconcerted. “Well, I—”
“Exactly. We shouldn’t. Now I’m not saying I will go to bed with him right away, but I might, if I don’t mess it up and come on like a camp counselor on the first date. I want you to help me look like a sex goddess.”
Ashley’s eyes widened. “If Mom and Dad could hear this conversation, they’d have a hissy-fit. I’m supposed to look out for you, not help you get into trouble.”
“Oh, so that’s it. Look, when I moved to Austin I was twenty-two. Maybe I needed some looking after. But hel-lo, I’m five years older now! I’m even older than you were when I got here. And, damn it, I want to feel sexy and glamorous for once in my life. Will you help me or not?”
Ashley studied her for a long moment. “I don’t know. This feels sort of weird. Do you have any idea where he’ll take you on this first date?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, once you know that, I’ll…I’ll at least help you find something great to wear.”
“Great as in nice, or great as in hot?”
“Oh, God.” Ashley looked at her and shook her head. “Unbridled lust? Are you sure that’s what you want?”
“Yep.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Mom and Dad would have a cow.”
“CHARLIE’S PERFECT. My dream girl. My soul mate. My happily-ever-after.” Mark brushed peanut shells from the table and wiped away a ring of moisture left by his empty beer bottle before laying a dog-eared picture on the table in front of Sam. “Look at that face and tell me she’s not perfect.”
“I’ve seen her face. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one who picked her out of the stack and told you she had promise.”
“And you were right!”
“It remains to be seen whether I was right,” Sam said. “All the information isn’t in yet.”
“Most of it. And her letters are so…friendly. I think she looks exactly the way her letters sound, don’t you?”
Sam picked up the picture and studied it. Then he handed it back to Mark. “Okay, so she’s a good prospect on paper, but with your record, I don’t think you should rush into—”
“Sam, I’m ready to meet her. I’m so ready to meet her.” He tucked Charlie’s picture in his shirt pocket, right next to his heart.
Sam gave him the evil eye. “You said that with a little too much relish, good buddy. Just exactly what do you mean by meet?”
Mark threw up both hands. “I mean just meet! Like drive to Austin for the weekend, and—”
“Slow down, lover-boy! Are we talking an overnight here?”
“Well, yeah. If I take her out for a nice dinner somewhere, with wine, and candlelight, and…and stuff, then I don’t want to drive all the way back to Houston that same night.”
Sam leaned forward. “Dinner’s fine, candlelight and wine is terrific. But it’s the and stuff part that’s got me worried. I’m coming with you.”
“No way! Nobody’s chaperoned my dates since I was fourteen, and I’m not about to reactivate the custom now.”
Sam gazed at him for a long time, as if he was turning something over in his mind. Finally he settled back against the worn cushion of the booth with a sigh. “I hate to do this, because you’re like a brother to me and I’ve tried to stick by you through everything, but here’s the way it has to be. If you mosey on up to Austin and everything goes the way it always does with you, and you come back engaged after one romp in the sack, you’ll have to find yourself another best man this time.”
A cold chill washed over Mark. He’d known Sam all his life, and when he set his jaw like that, he was deadly serious. Apparently he’d had enough. To be honest, Mark couldn’t blame him.
“I ran into Deborah at the grocery store last night,” Sam said casually. “You know, it’s a wonder she didn’t sue you for breach of promise.”
“You’re right. She had grounds.” He glanced nervously at Sam. “Is she still upset?” He was hoping that six months had soothed her feelings.
“I would say she’s still upset. She asked if you’d contracted any deadly diseases yet. I think she’s sticking pins in a voodoo doll or something.”
“So she’s not over it.”
“Doesn’t look like it.” Sam signaled to the waitress and glanced at Mark. “Want another beer?”
“I think I’m gonna need one