Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76647 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Yes, I can. It’s kind of one of my specialties.” Carter winked at me, and I giggled.
“Uh-oh,” Tristan said, looking me over. “How much have you had to drink?”
“A glass and a half. Why?”
“Because you’re supposed to be offended by my colleague here when he’s like that, not laughing with him.”
“At him,” Drew corrected.
“No, it was with him,” I said. When the others looked skeptical, I shrugged. “He made me a good meal. And it was funny. What more can I say?”
“Clearly your pasta does make ladies melt,” Drew muttered.
“Told you,” Carter said smugly.
I couldn’t help grinning. We were all being silly, like we had been during the snowball fight, but the conversation was slightly more adult. Plus, we all looked way better. This was fun.
“So what’s next on our date-night agenda?”
Carter’s gaze fell on the pine-sprig centerpiece. “Judging by Tristan’s decorations, I’d say opening presents under the tree.”
Tristan elbowed Carter, and that got me giggling again.
“I guess, unfortunately, dishes come next,” Drew said. “But not for Carter, he cooked.”
“Date-night dishes don’t get done until the next morning,” Carter said, as if quoting local law.
“I like these rules,” I said.
“I’ve got more,” Carter began, but Tristan cut him off.
“No, you don’t.”
Drew was watching the two of them bicker with as much amusement as I was. “Shall we go into the other room?”
“The little one with the washer and dryer?” I asked, still laughing.
Drew shook his head. “What happened to the shy young woman who wouldn’t say more than two words in a row to us when she first arrived?”
“She gets to show her screenplay to a world-famous director,” I said immediately.
“Damn straight, she does.” Carter stood and offered me a hand. “Let’s go sit by the fire.”
I put my hand in his and he pulled me easily to my feet. With the high-heeled strappy sandals that went with the dress, I was taller than usual, but Carter still made me feel tiny. He put his arm around my waist, and we walked into the main room. I hesitated when he led me around to the sofa.
“What’s wrong?” His arched eyebrow was sexy as hell.
“If we sit there, we’re just going to light a fire and watch a movie, same as other nights.”
“There are other things people can do on a sofa,” Carter said in a soft and seductive voice, but Drew heard him anyway.
“She’s aware of that.”
My cheeks heated, but instead of retreating in embarrassment, I just smiled. “I just want tonight to be different.”
Tristan came up on my other side. “I think you mean special.”
“Exactly.”
“I wish it could be,” he murmured. “You look so damn incredible that you should be dancing in the arms of a prince at a ball.”
“Or on the arm of 007 at a casino in Monte Carlo,” Carter added.
“Yes, let’s do that,” I said excitedly.
Drew laughed. “We can’t even get to Denver, let alone Europe.”
“But we could pretend we’re in a glamorous casino. Has anyone got a deck of cards?” I insisted.
“There’s some on the bookcase back by the laundry room,” Tristan said. “But I thought you wanted this night to be special.”
“It will be. We’re all dressed up. We’re drinking wine. Sounds like a sophisticated way to spend the evening to me.”
“Not if we play strip poker,” Carter commented.
Tristan laughed. “Not what we were going for, but yeah, that would be pretty damn memorable.”
I nodded. “It would.”
Drew, who had gone to get the cards, came to a halt in front of me. “You’re not serious.”
“That it would be memorable? Seems like a fairly uncontroversial statement to me.”
“Don’t get too excited, son,” Carter told him. “She’s not saying she’ll do it, she’s just saying that it would be memorable if we did.”
“If you say so. So what’s the game then? Cribbage? Hearts? Go Fish?”
“Sounds like you’re looking for something less tame than that,” Carter said. I had to twist my head to look up at him because he was still quite close.
“If so, that’s the wine talking,” Drew insisted.
“She can speak for herself,” Carter said, and I smiled up at him.
Drew deserved a smile, too. He thought he was saving me from a decision fueled by wine, but he was wrong. It was a decision fueled by the fact that I’d spent years playing poker on various sets. There was a lot of downtime between shoots, and while I didn’t always get along with my costars, the crew was often made up of the nicest people you’d ever meet.
Plus, there was something else. My poker face was world-class, and bluffing was as easy as breathing for me.
“I tell you what. I’ll go find some more wine. While I’m gone, why don’t you all choose the game.” When I walked to the kitchen, I could feel three pairs of eyes watching me leave.
There was another bottle of wine on the counter, but I waited an extra minute or two before gathering up our glasses and heading back into the living room. The men had their heads together in a huddle, but they broke away when they spotted me.