Right before she thought he was going to kiss her.
She’d been preparing for the feel of his lips on hers …
Instead she’d felt his lips against her ear, with one whispered word. Gotcha.
The last thing she’d seen was his very fine ass waltzing out of the bar door.
No, she most certainly did not have a thing for a player like Jake Malone.
“Okay, then,” Camille said cautiously. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that while this competition is meant to be all in good fun, losing would be—”
“We won’t lose,” Grace interrupted.
Relief flashed across Camille’s face. “So you have a plan?”
Grace stood, giving her boss a confident smile. “Of course I have a plan.”
Or at least she would.
Just as soon as she thought of one.
Chapter Seven
In the end, it was Emma who came up with the plan. A brilliant one.
Convincing Camille to go along with it had taken some work. And then of course, there’d been that necessary little chat with Stiletto’s legal department …
But all the extra effort and equipment would be worth it when Grace saw the look on Jake’s face.
Or even better, when Jake saw the expression on his own face.
“And you’re sure the restaurant understands we need to be seated in the same section, and that Emma will need to have a clear shot of our table?”
“For the hundredth time, yes,” Riley said, rummaging through the papers on the work table Grace had commandeered from the art department. “What the hell are all these diagrams?”
“Just making sure everything’s in order,” Grace said, protectively pulling the papers toward her.
“Just be glad I talked her out of a whistle,” Emma said from her perch at the head of the table. “She’s about half a power trip away from insisting we call her Coach.”
Okay, so maybe Grace had gone a tiny bit overboard with the plans. But this was the most complicated thing she’d ever done for a story. They were talking about videotaping a date, for God’s sake.
And then, of course, they’d had to buy the domain for a custom website, and figure out the polling situation …
But all of the logistics were finally in place. Except for the primary one.
“Have you called Jake yet?” Julie asked.
“Not yet,” Grace said, keeping her eyes on the paper. “I’ve been dodging his calls. Making him wait.”
“Making him wait? Or … avoiding him?” Emma asked.
That last one, Grace thought.
It was inevitable, of course. She’d have to see him again.
But she’d needed time to regroup.
Knowing how she’d been eating out of his hands in those last few minutes of the date still stung, even though she’d known it hadn’t been personal. Not to him.