Six Degrees of Desperation (Dirty Tricks) by Myla Jackson Page A

awaken to the real man,
making love to her body.
    Maybe next time. She grinned and squealed
into the pillow. Connor Mason had finally made love to her, and the
experience had been everything she'd hoped and dreamed of.
    As the rest of the night came back to her,
his final comment before she'd drifted off to sleep came back to
haunt her.
    I'm a one-woman kind of guy. I wanted to be
sure you were a one-man kind of girl.
    The beauty of the day faded into a pall of
guilt and worry.
    Charli had been dating Connor while seeing a
mystery cowboy after midnight. Granted, she'd never said she was
going to date Connor exclusively when it all started between the
two of them. And she still didn't know who her mystery cowboy was.
At this point, that fact barely mattered. She hadn't seen the
stranger in a week, nor did she care to. Connor was the man for
her. He was gentle, kind, a war hero, a sexy cowboy and now...she
knew without a shadow of a doubt, he was great in bed.
    What more could a woman ask for?
    Charli flopped back against her own pillow.
What would happen if he found out about the mystery cowboy? Should
she tell him and get it over with? Her chest squeezed at the
thought. What if he dumped her? What if he said he couldn't be with
a woman who kept things from him?
    Chewing on her lip, Charli weighed her
options and came up short. Her conscience wouldn't let her live a
lie. Not when she stood a chance at a real relationship with a
great guy. If they couldn't be honest with each other, where did
that leave them?
    She rolled over and hugged the pillow. Oh,
but he'd been so sweet, so kind, so... hunki-licious. How could she
live without him, now that she'd tasted what he had to offer?
Another groan and Charli sat up, pushing the pillow and sheets
aside.
    The only way to deal with an impossible
situation was to meet it head-on. But she could always face the
challenge looking her best. Tonight was the Cowboy Masquerade
Ball—a tradition at the Ugly Stick Saloon to sponsor a masquerade
ball for the locals and the rodeo cowboys, after the first day of
the rodeo events. Her boss, Audrey Andersen, always insisted her
girls dress in costumes, usually those of old-time dancehall
girls.
    A satisfied smile spread across Charli's
face. Good. She looked great in a corset bustier and the flouncy
skirts only showed off her legs. How could he possibly dump her
when she'd be displaying her best assets?
    She snatched her phone from the nightstand
and started to dial Audrey’s number for someone to talk to about
the night past and the night ahead. One glance at the clock on the
wall reminded her that Audrey slept in after working until the
small hours of the morning. But Charli had to talk to someone. She
hit the speed-dial button for her friend, Mona Daley, Temptation’s
most gifted beautician.
    “Shear Safari, this is Mona.”
    “Mona!” Charli exclaimed. “Please tell me
you can fit me in today.”
    “Charli?” Mona laughed. “Mrs. Smith just
cancelled; her slot is yours if you can make it here in ten
minutes. What’s up?”
    “I’ll tell you when I get there. Suffice it
to say, I need you…desperately.”
    “I’ll polish the shampoo bowl and warm the
curling irons. See ya in a few, sweetie.”
    Charli washed her face, brushed her teeth,
threw on jeans and a tank top and crammed a straw cowboy hat on her
head to hide her tousled hair. Just in case she ran into anyone
important on her way to the salon. As she backed out of her
driveway and shifted into drive, her body tingled all over at the
thought of running into Connor in Temptation. Not that she would.
He’d be working out at the O’Brien ranch today or helping out with
the rodeo. Still, the mere thought of seeing him again after the
night they’d shared had her hot and bothered by the time she
arrived on Main Street at the Shear Safari Hair Salon.
    She glanced in her rearview mirror, a
movement catching her attention. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a
black Stetson was