Heather’s smile was small and tight. She’d obviously expected someone else to answer the door. Someone far more susceptible to red hair, a phony smile and equally phony tits.
“Hello, Lulu. I thought I’d come early in case Chaz needed any help.”
“I think we have everything under control.”
The redhead shoved a foil-wrapped, pie-shaped object into Lulu’s waiting hands. “Well, I’ll just cheer you two on then, shall I? But first I have to freshen up.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled, turning and heading for the kitchen. She didn’t wait to see if Heather followed or made herself at home, because, frankly, she didn’t want the proof that the other women had been here enough to know her way around.
The two women had met that day at the bar, when Chaz had first spotted Heather and made such a fool of himself trying to find out if she recognized him from a former meeting. Like from having given him a blowjob in an ATM vestibule.
The devious woman had played it smart. Being pursued by a gorgeous, successful, charming man, she hadn’t immediately denied being the Halloween witch he sought, nor had she confirmed it. She just acted mysterious and coy, and what American man didn’t go ape over those kinds of women? She’d played him better than Schaefer played his guitar, and Chaz was too fascinated to notice.
It had been all Lulu could do to not out her for a phony right then and there. Of course, the only way she could have done that would have been to out herself, as well. And that she was not ready to do.
“She brought pie,” Lulu said as she entered the kitchen, putting the dessert on the counter. Chaz didn’t even look up, busy trying to figure out how to cut into a big, softball-size vegetable. “You’d better be careful, you might lose a finger cutting into that Winnebago.”
“It’s a rutabaga. I can’t believe you don’t remember my mom making these every Christmas.”
“Guess I always snuck it onto Lawrence’s plate when nobody was looking.”
“Where is Heather?” he asked, still gazing only at the waxy vegetable and the big-ass knife in his hand. He didn’t sound terribly excited about the arrival, and didn’t dash off to kiss her passionately in welcome, which made Lulu feel a little better.
“Being nosy and checking the balance in your checkbook, I think.”
He lifted a brow at her tone.
“She’s in the bathroom,” she admitted. “Freshening up her face for you.”
“You don’t like her, huh?”
“I don’t know her enough to like her or dislike her.” Licking her lips and pretending to be entirely focused on a recipe for green bean casserole, which she could probably make blindfolded, she asked, “Do you like her?”
He thought about it, a confused expression on his face. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Sometimes I think I do. Other times I wonder what on earth it was about her that so fascinated me the night we met.”
Lulu’s teeth slammed together and she clenched them tightly. She had to pry her words out from between them with brute force. “So, you’d met her before that day we played kickball?”
You idiot, are you totally blind? How dare you think she’s me? There’s not one real, natural thing about her!
He lowered the big knife he’d been using, glanced toward the doorway, and lowered his voice to say, “I don’t know. I thought so, but I’m just not sure. She seems...different than the woman I met, the one I’ve been looking for. And she’s so mysterious about it, she won’t confirm or deny anything when I ask her about it.”
Lulu swallowed, hard. “This woman you met, the one you’re looking for? What was so special about her?”
Chaz shook his head slowly, visibly lost in thought. “I honestly don’t know that, either. I’m not even sure the damn night actually happened. Maybe I was so jet-lagged I crashed when I got home from my trip and dreamed up some elaborate fantasy.”
She gulped. She didn’t want him thinking Heather was the woman he’d been with...but was him convincing himself it hadn’t really happened any better?
Well, yeah, if she wanted to keep her secret, it probably was. But part of her wasn’t sure about that secret anymore. Okay, so they weren’t going to let anything happen between them...would it be the crime of the century if he found out she was the one he’d come so close to hooking up with that night? At least he’d know the truth and wouldn’t be driving himself crazy trying to imprint his memories of that night onto the face of someone who didn’t even have the guts to tell him he had the wrong girl.
“Well hey there, happy Thanksgiving!”
Heather walked into the kitchen. She’d taken off her jacket. She’d also obviously spent time in front of the bathroom mirror, fluffing up her windblown hair to make it look more artfully windblown. She’d smeared bright red lipstick across her lips, and pulled her sweater down to reveal more of the silicone.
Ignoring Lulu, she walked around to the other side of the kitchen island and lifted her face, pursing her lips for a kiss. Chaz, Lulu noted, hesitated, glancing in her direction before obliging his date. If she had to guess, she’d say he was a little uncomfortable.
Good. Because if he couldn’t tell that woman’s kiss from hers, he deserved what he got.
“I’m going to double-check the Ping-Pong table,” Lulu said, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. If she had to see Chaz kiss another woman, she might just be the one flinging the pie and green bean casserole.
“Isn’t there a lot to still do?” Heather asked, pretending she didn’t care that she hadn’t gotten her kiss.
But Lulu cared. Oh, hell, yes, she did. She hid her smile, though, not wanting Chaz to notice and interpret it. “Yes, quite a lot,” she said.
“If you want to play a game, Lulu, don’t worry about it. I’ll fill in here.”
Lulu smirked. “Uh, the Ping-Pong table is the only thing Chaz had that was big enough to seat everybody around. We’re eating on it down in the rec room.”
The woman’s eyes rounded and her smile faded a tiny bit. Perhaps she was picturing a fancy holiday meal from an internationally published journalist. But she wasn’t going to get it.
Frankly, Lulu loved the effort Chaz had gone to for them. Her heart had melted a little bit when she’d arrived and seen him putting a pristine white tablecloth over the huge table, setting it with new dishes he’d picked up just for today. He’d shoved a bunch of mismatched chairs, including outdoor ones, around the table, determined to make it a great holiday, not just for his friends, but also for his bratty little sister, spending her first holiday away from home.
How many guys would go to so much trouble? Not many, she knew. That was just one thing that made Chaz so special.
If Heather didn’t see and appreciate that, she didn’t deserve him. Hell, she didn’t deserve him period!
And somehow, no matter
