“You remembered! Of course, everybody remembers me. I seem to make an impression, for better or worse.” She gave Allison a once-over. “New…hair?”
“New everything.”
“You’re a friend of Jeff Hardison’s, right?” Sherry scanned the crowd, looking for her quarry.
Uh-oh. Allison was either going to have to lie, or mess up Jeff’s carefully planned strategy. “Yes, we came together.” There. That wasn’t a lie, but it implied something more personal than “just friends.”
“Well, wasn’t that nice of him to let you tag along,” Sherry said with an uncertain smile.
Allison silently critiqued Sherry’s caps. She couldn’t help it; professional hazard. Hers were good.
Sherry reapplied her coral lipstick. “Does he still have that Jaguar?”
“No, he has a Porsche.”
Sherry’s eyes sparkled. Ka-ching! “Well, where is he? I’m just dying to give him a big ol’ long-time-no-see kiss. He’s such a doll.”
Allison knew she had to say something. No self-respecting fiancée would allow this woman to kiss her future husband without protest.
“Um, maybe you better re-think your strategy,” Allison said. “Jeff is spoken for these days.”
Sherry looked horrified. “No, say it isn’t true. He’s not married, is he?” She said the word married as though it had four letters.
“Engaged,” Allison said.
Sherry relaxed. “Oh, is that all? Then he’s still a free man in my book.”
“Well, he’s not in mine,” Allison said sharply.
Sherry’s face fell. “You? He’s marrying you?”
“Incredible as it may seem.”
“Oh. Gosh, I’m just mortified. Talk about making a fool—Well. I see. I hope it…works out. You’re not one of those clinging vines who tries to keep her man from having female friends, I hope. Because Jeff and I have known each other for years.”
“I have no control over Jeff’s friends.” Unfortunately. Because if she did, she’d stuff Miss D Cups into a taxi and send her back to whatever slime pit she crawled out of.
The strength of Allison’s jealous reaction startled her. She’d always been a bit wistful over the Sherrys of the world, confident of their sexuality and bold. She’d never felt the green-eyed monster’s claws dig in like this before.
Sherry flashed another broad smile. “Good. Because it’s hard to keep a man if you put too many restrictions on him.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Allison barely restrained herself from kicking Sherry in her swaying butt as she walked away.
JEFF WAS LATE getting back to the hotel for registration. He’d run into an old friend in the lobby and lost track of the time. He looked around for Allison, but realized she must have come and gone already. She was planning to attend some seminars this afternoon, so she’d probably already gone to get a seat.
As he waited for the woman behind the registration desk to check him in, he heard a familiar laugh, and a cold chill washed over him. Sherry. He hadn’t wanted to run into her without Allison on his arm, ready to back up his engagement story.
The registration woman seemed to be moving in slow motion. Finally she handed him his badge and packet. He grabbed them and turned, intending to hightail it to the elevator. Instead he ran smack into Sherry.
“Jeffy! I knew you were lurking around here somewhere.” She grabbed on to him and put a lip lock on him that would have done a vacuum cleaner proud. He pushed her away so forcefully she almost fell off her spike heels.
“Sherry. It’s nice to see you, too, but there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Is it about your fiancée?”
That threw him. “You…know?”
“I ran into Allison a few minutes ago. She’s…sweet. But you could have knocked me over with a feather when she said you two were getting married. I always got the feeling you weren’t the marrying kind.”
“Well, people change.” Jeff wondered how much of Sherry’s orange lipstick was smeared all over his face.
“She just doesn’t seem your type,” Sherry persisted.
“Why is that?”
“Well, she’s so…sweet. I can’t picture her being able to handle a tiger like you.” Sherry made a noise, a sort of combination meow-purr.
“Believe me, I’m thoroughly tamed.”
“A tiger can never be tamed. You can put a collar on him and make him jump through hoops, but the minute the trainer drops her guard…” She swiped the air with her hand, her coral talons curling like claws.
Jeff had had just about enough of this conversation. Was the woman not able to take a hint? “Yes, well, interesting observation. I have to go. Allison’s waiting for me.” He made his escape, finally breathing a sigh of relief when he reached the safety of the elevator.
None of the afternoon workshops appealed to him. He went for a swim in the hotel’s Olympic-size pool, wishing he’d worked out with Allison instead. At least he’d have had someone to talk to, and he wouldn’t have that pastrami sandwich sitting in his stomach like a lump. He sat in the whirlpool for a while. The only other person there was a woman from Albuquerque, a bookkeeper for a medical clinic who was attending the conference to brush up on the latest insurance laws. Jeff steeled himself for a come-on, but then she started talking about her husband and daughter, and he realized she was just being friendly, not flirting.
Not all women threw themselves at him, as Allison believed. Hell, he’d been turned down by plenty of ’em. He could remember times he’d been ignored and overlooked by the opposite sex. She didn’t have a corner on that market.
Come to think of it, though, he couldn’t remember Allison ever dating anyone. Maybe he should set her up with a nice guy. He had a few single friends left.
That thought immediately made him uneasy. No, he wouldn’t meddle in Allison’s love life. That was a sure way to ruin a perfectly good friendship—introduce her to some guy who later dumps her, and then Jeff would take the blame.
When he glanced at the clock, he realized he ought to go to the suite and change for the reception. He hoped Allison was there, so they could go together. He didn’t want to face Sherry again without her.
ALLISON WAS READY a half-hour early. Her new hairdo and makeup routine took forever, so she’d left herself plenty of time. But it was only four-thirty, and the reception didn’t start till five.
And where was Jeff? That thought had scarcely formed before she heard him at the door. Oh, shoot, she didn’t want him to see her yet. He would know how eager she was, and besides, she wanted to make an entrance. She quickly retreated to her bedroom and closed the door.
“Allison? You here?”
“I’m getting dressed,” she called through the closed door. “Bathroom’s all yours.”
“Thanks. Oh, and thanks for running interference with Sherry. You did good.”
“No charge.” She hoped they could steer clear of Sherry from now on. Lying didn’t sit well with Allison.
With time to kill, she decided to polish her nails and tried not to think about the fact that Jeff was naked in the shower. Then she would get all hot and bothered, and her face would glow and her hair would go flat, and she would chew off her lipstick.
The water in the bathroom stopped, and she heard Jeff moving around