Nice & Naughty by Cat Johnson Page A

He’d really liked the kiss. He was learning a lot from her and Tessa seemed to like talking shop—or rather shopping. He might as well learn all he could, then maybe later they could go back to kissing.
    She nodded. “Okay, if you’re really serious about listening to me, we’ve got to discuss all those wedding dresses on the third floor…”
    Wedding dresses? He frowned. He glanced up and found saw her amused expression. “Why are you smiling at me?”
    Tessa shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
    “Tessa…”
    “All right. I’m just thinking how rare it is to find an attractive and straight man who likes clothes, listens to me when I talk and knows about wine. Not to mention you’re a really good kisser. Christmas came early this year.” She grinned.
    “Uh, thank you.” Now it was Jason’s turn to blush.  

Chapter Four
    “Mr. Bryant?”
    “Hmm?”
    “I asked you if we could go home now since it looks like we’re done.”
    Jason noticed the sun rising through the window in the department. He’d driven the crew straight through the night and into the next morning. “Of course. When are you scheduled in again, Jonathon?”
    Jonathon glanced at his watch. “In about two hours.”
    Jason groaned. “I’m sorry. I can’t even give you the day off. We’re already short handed.”
    Jonathon smiled. “It’s okay. If I can grab an hour nap, a shower and change my clothes, I’ll be as good as new. And just think of my next paycheck with all this overtime. I’ll be able to buy my girl something really nice for Hanukah.”
    Ahh, the exuberance of youth. Jason smiled. “Thanks, Jonathon. And tell the others thank you also. Now get out of here.”
    Jason glanced around the former bridal department. Gone were the miles of white silk, satin and tulle, banished to a corner on the bottom floor behind the baby section, a more logical place for it anyway. He had no doubt that brides would find the department when they needed it. In its place on the sunny third floor was every item he could find in store stock that said young, fabulous female. And so Bryant’s new department had been born, catering to women too sophisticated for the junior department but funkier than the misses department, just in time for the upcoming bachelor auction.
    He shook his head. He should have thought of the change himself. Retail was his life, it was in his blood, and it took Tessa to open his eyes to how blind he was for holding the bachelor auction in the bridal department. His only excuse was that the stage was already in place from a recent bridal show.
    His eyes had been opened to something else the night before too. He realized as much as he wanted Tessa—and did he want her, more than he could quantify—he couldn’t take their relationship to a physical level while he was still lying to her. He wasn’t sure who had been more surprised when he’d come to that realization, himself or Tessa as he’d left her standing by her car in the cold restaurant parking lot.
    Things might have been easier on both of them if they hadn’t been getting very well acquainted while pressed up against her car at the time. He’d known he couldn’t bring her home to have sex in his penthouse without blowing his cover. And he couldn’t follow her to her apartment because she would have seen what kind of car he drove. The depth of the deception had stopped him cold in his tracks.
    This was not going to be some one-night stand. He wanted a relationship with Tessa and starting it off with a lie was bad enough, but even worse would be sleeping with her before he confessed that lie.
    Tell the truth and possibly lose her, or continue to lie and never be able to have her, the choices were not at all appealing. The whole situation was laughable. He’d heard of men exaggerating about how much money they made, or lying to make their career sound better, but he was probably the only man in history who was pretending to be less successful to get a