Smart Girls Think Twice by Cathie Linz Page A

Ellen’s bridesmaid?”
    “It would be an improvement on the Pepto bridesmaid’s dress,” Emma said with a grin.
    “You may be smart, but I like you anyway,” Lulu said.
    “I’m honored.”
    Now it was Lulu’s turn to grin. “You should be.”
    Emma returned to the lobby to find her sisters and mother talking about her. “Poor dear, she was so embarrassed she had to leave,” Maxie said. “You should be more considerate about your baby sister. You know what a sheltered life Emma leads in that little college of hers.”
    “It’s a college, not a nunnery,” Emma said.
    “Of course it’s not a nunnery,” Maxie said. “If it was, you’d be a nun like Cole’s aunt Sister Mary.”
    Emma gritted her teeth. It had been a long day. She had survived strangers calling her a spinster, her mother ranting about her looks, and a parade of nearly naked firemen. Well, that last bit had definitely been more enjoyable than the previous two.
    The muscle-bound bodies of the stripping firemen made her think about Jake again and his sexy lean build. She remembered the way he’d looked in that black T-shirt when she first walked into Nick’s Tavern. The sculpted muscles, the barbed-wire tattoo. He’d held her in those powerful arms when he’d kissed her on her fire escape and later on her futon. There was no escaping the memory of those moments.
    But Emma could escape her family, and she did so by slipping out the front door while they were distracted. Emma was still thinking about Jake as she walked to her apartment a block away.
    That’s why she didn’t see the runner barreling out from the narrow alley until he almost rammed into her.
    “Whoa.” Jake steadied her. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you.”
    Yeah, Emma knew how that went. People frequently didn’t see her. That had never bothered her before. It was starting to now.
    Also bothering her in an entirely different way was the warmth of his hands on her upper arms.
    The floral dress she’d worn to the bridal shower was sleeveless. She could feel each of his fingers on her skin.
    “Nice dress,” Jake noted, his eyes wandering over her with blatant appreciation.
    “Nice running shorts,” she replied, her eyes wandering over him with discreet appreciation.
    He was wearing more than the stripper firemen, but he affected her ten times as much. Not that he was wearing that much more. His chest was bare, glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. She watched one rivulet trail down from his collarbone all the way to his navel.
    He smiled in that slow sexy way that made her knees go weak. “I’m glad I ran into you. We still haven’t settled on when I should pick you up for your sister’s wedding. It’s next Saturday, right?”
    “Right. I just came from the bridal shower.”
    “And how did that go?”
    “I survived it.”
    He brushed his right thumb up and down her upper arm. “I’m glad to hear that.”
    She shivered.
    “Are you cold?” he asked, rubbing her arms.
    Considering the fact that it was in the mid eighties she could hardly say yes.
    “Is that better?”
    She licked her lips. Better would be him kissing her senseless and peeling her dress off.
    What was wrong with her? Why was she having these thoughts in the middle of town?
    With a man she’d only met a few days ago? Maybe she was having a meltdown. Maybe the stress of dealing with her sisters’ impending weddings and her mother’s constant nagging had finally fried her brain.
    Emma clenched her hands to prevent herself from reaching out to him.
    She looked over his shoulder to see her mom on the sidewalk in front of the Tivoli. Her mom flashing her the thumbs-up sign and motioning for Emma to get closer to Jake.
    She leapt away from him as if he’d caught fire.
    Her mom shook her head in vehement disapproval and made a shooing motion for Emma to return to her former position. Maxie then had the nerve to make a kissie face.
    “I’ve got to go,” Emma muttered, totally mortified by