Authors: Kate Perry

Project Date (13 page)

BOOK: Project Date

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Emails. He and his new girlfriend probably emailed at least some of their plans. It was the only way he ever communicated with me. His cell phone was purely for business. And his mother.

I shook my head. Reading other people’s emails wasn’t right. Not to mention that willfully trespassing into someone else’s server was a touch illegal.

Okay, can we say felony?

But I was only going to look at a couple of Barry’s emails. Not even look, just glance. I wasn’t going to tamper, and they wouldn’t be able to trace it back to me (I was that good). It wouldn’t do any harm.

“I shouldn’t do this,” I said finally.

And then I opened a terminal emulator and started the relatively simple process of hacking into the email server.

The security on his company’s mail server was a joke, and I got in way too easily. It almost negated my guilt, because if you’re going to make it that easy, you deserve to have your server messed with.

I made quick work of Barry’s recent emails, skimming through until I found one dated this morning.

Rubbing the tip of my nose, I quashed another wave of guilt and opened it.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hi honey!

I had a great time last night. Dinner was so great—I LOVE Hurley’s. Maybe next time we go I can ask the chef how to make that mousse thing with the cheese.

But do you know the best part about last night? When you kissed me goodnight at my door. It was
SOOO
romantic! I thought I was going to ooze out from my toes.

I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll miss you tonight! I’ll think about you every second we’re apart. Will you call me when you get home?

XOXOX
Cindy

Blech. Ooze out her toes? I was tempted to email her myself and recommend a doctor for that.

And she was delusional if she thought Barry was going to call her tonight. He was abysmal on the phone unless it had to do with work, and then he could be on it for hours. Maybe she’d get fed up with him and dump him.

“It’d make my life easier,” I murmured. One thing was certain: If he kissed her at the door, they weren’t having sex. Another plus. It meant a) they weren’t that close yet and b) Barry hadn’t had sex in weeks. That’d make him susceptible.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully as I opened his reply.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Hi back.

Sweet Blossom,

I’m glad you like Hurley’s so much. It’s my favorite restaurant. Would you like to have dinner at my place tomorrow night? I can get take-out from Hurley’s.

I can’t wait to kiss you again. And your toes. Did I mention how adorable they are? Like little candies. I could just eat them up.

I have meetings all day into the evening. Call you when I get home around ten-thirty tonight, Sweets.

Love,
Barry

Sweet Blossom?
He never called me any endearments. Pout. He obviously liked her a lot. He signed his email with “love.” I’d been lucky if he took the time to type his name. And the whole thing with the toes was just plain unsanitary.

But at least now I knew that they were having dinner at his place tomorrow. It was a start.

One question: What excuse did I use for going over to his house?

Chapter Twelve

Lessons Learned from MacGyver
#92
A party can be an invitation for someone to hack into your
computer.

I finally came up with the perfect reason to go to see Barry: I’d return something he left at my house. Guys always wanted their stuff back after a breakup, right?

Picking out what to wear on my mission to Barry’s proved to be a challenge. There was a balance I had to strike: sexy without being obvious, desirable without being blatant.

Hard, but certainly not impossible. I settled on a denim miniskirt and a lacy sleeveless top in leopard print (to remind Barry what an animal I was—or could be if he wanted to give it another try).

Rio called me as I finished dressing. “Go out with me tomorrow.”

The pit of my stomach shivered at his low command. I grinned even though I gave him trouble (I couldn’t help it—it’s in my nature). “You have nerve, ordering me instead of asking.”

“If I asked, you might say no.”

Oh, he was good. “But you didn’t say please.”

“Somehow I don’t think you care much about manners.”

I shrugged and went with a different argument. “Tomorrow’s Friday. What makes you think I’m free?”

“It’s not a matter of you being free. It’s a matter of how much you want to see me again.”

“You’re awfully cocky,” I said, grinning.

“You like cocky.”

There were a thousand nuances in his voice, and all of them were speaking directly to my womanly parts.

Then I winced, remembering I’d told Johnny to meet me and Daphne at Kells. Damn. “Actually, Rio, I’m supposed to meet up with a friend and my sister.”

“Oh.”

I must be perverse because his disappointment made me jubilant. “If you don’t mind, you could meet me there.”

Rio perked up right away. “You don’t mind? I’d hate to intrude.”

“You won’t be intruding. I’d love it if you came. I’d love to see you.”

Okay, truthfully, maybe a small part of me wanted him to come along because it gave me a date to boast to Barry about. But I
was
looking forward to seeing Rio. Actually, I was kind of surprised at how happy I felt that he was going to be there.

Only I didn’t have the right to feel that way. And, since I was going for this truth crap, there was also a layer of something that felt an awful lot like self-disgust.

But I shoved all of that aside. I had things to do. I told Rio the details of where and when, hung up, and went to find Daphne. “Daph!”

“Don’t call me that,” came from my office/her bedroom.

I pushed open the door, which was ajar, and leaned in the doorway. I tried not to notice the room itself; it still raised my blood pressure to see how she’d messed with my stuff. “Hey.”

She looked up from where she was propped on the bed reading. “What is it?”

I tried to see what she was reading, but she angled the book so I couldn’t see it. Probably some scientific text about the characteristics of the twenty-third chromosome, or something equally fascinating. My sister really knew how to cut loose and have fun. (Yes, that was sarcastic.)

I shook my head and got back to the reason why I was there. “Are you doing anything tomorrow night?” Ha! As if. But I thought I should be polite since I needed her to come along.

She stared at me with her cool gaze. “Why do you ask?”

I tried to look nonchalant. “I’m going out and I thought you might like to go.”

“You did.” It wasn’t a question as much as an incredulous statement.

“Well, sure. You wanted to go out and experience some nightlife, didn’t you?”

She eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Yes ...”

“I thought this would be a good opportunity.” I smiled winningly. Mental note: Check in front of mirror to make sure smile is actually winning and not sickly.

“Hmm.”

I tried to decipher what that “hmm” meant, but with Daphne, anything was possible. She didn’t exactly emote.

So I tried another tack. “I invited this guy I think you’ll like.”

“You did?” Her brow furrowed like I’d uttered the most profound riddle.

That hurt. I wasn’t
that
bad a sister. I hoped not, anyway. I pushed aside the pout that was coming on and concentrated on my goal. “Of course. I think you’ll like him. He’s successful, smart, and handsome.”

“All right.” She smiled. Her version of a smile, which was more of a bare tilt of her lips.

“Good.” Relieved, I turned to leave. “I’m going out now, but I’ll be back soon.”

“Lock the door on your way out.”

“Right.”

“I mean it. I know you’re leaving it unlocked to bother me.”

“I’m truly hurt you think that.” I waved over my shoulder. “Later!”

“Mena, I mean it.”

“I know.” That’s why I left it unlocked again.

Evil grin. Being the younger sister had to have
some
perks.

I hopped into my car and drove to Barry’s. I had to concentrate to remember exactly where it was. In the year we’d dated I’d been there only a few times. Barry usually came to my place for sex. It was that unwritten rule we had about keeping our lives separate, I supposed. But now that his blossom was having dinner at his place, I was beginning to think that maybe he didn’t like me enough to share his space. Pout. I was as likable as the next girl. At least I thought so.

I frowned and parked in front of his home. It was a fancy pseudo-colonial I think he’d told me his mother picked out. I remembered thinking how fussy it was, on the outside as well as the inside. Didn’t seem to suit him, but what did I know?

“Now or never.” I took a deep breath, hopped out of the car, and stalked up the walkway to the front door. Hand raised, I hesitated there for a second, wondering what I was doing. The answer was immediate: Showing my parents I was as good as Daphne. I couldn’t back down from this.

I knocked firmly, waited two seconds, and then rang the doorbell for good measure. As the door swung open, I pasted a smile on my face. “Hi, Barry.”

He stared down at me and blinked several times. “Mena?”

Didn’t he recognize me anymore? “Yeah. I was just driving by—”

“You were?”

Okay, so maybe that was a little hard to believe, because he didn’t live close to anywhere I might want to go. But that was beside the point. “Yeah. I had an, um, errand.”

“Oh.” His frown deepened. “Mena, this isn’t a good time.”

“No problem. I understand.” I nodded, wondering how I was going to get into his foyer with the way he was guarding the door. “I just wanted to—”

“Barry?” A sticky-sweet voice drifted from the living room. “Is everything okay?” Barry’s blossom stepped into the entryway, a tentative smile on her lips.

In person, she was more like Daphne than on the Web. Except for her eyes, which were a warm, approachable brown rather than an icy, stay-away-from-me blue. I tried to find something wrong with her—a big wart on her chin or bad fashion sense—but Barry’s blossom was nothing short of perfection. Long, shiny blond hair, big brown eyes, and creamy skin (lots of it—her dress was tiny). Even the expression in her eyes held no hint of malice or anything but friendly inquisitiveness.

Did I mention her dress was really little?

Barry cleared his throat. “Uh ... Um ...”

Glancing at him, I saw he was torn between complete adoration and horror. I guessed the adoration was for his sweet blossom and the horror was for me. (I’m intuitive that way.)

His blossom took the initiative. She stepped forward with her bright smile and stretched her hand out. “I’m Cindy. Are you a friend of Barry’s?”

I snapped out of my stupor quickly enough to realize this might have been the opportunity I was looking for. I accepted her shake. “Yes. I’m Mena. I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything.”

“Oh! I’m so happy to meet you.” She squeezed my hand between both of hers. “Barry’s told me so much about you.”

I flashed on Cameron Diaz in
My Best Friend’s Wedding
telling Julia Roberts something very similar right before she tried to kill Julia with her driving. No way was I getting anywhere near a car with Cindy.

Barry cleared his throat again. “Was there a reason you stopped by?”

“Barry, don’t be rude,” Cindy chided as if she had the right. “Invite her in.”

Before I could open my mouth, Cindy jerked me inside. “We have enough for dinner, right?”

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to impose,” I said politely. I really didn’t; I’d probably choke if I tried to eat anything.

“Then a drink.” She smiled warmly at me and led me into the living room. “Close the door, Barry, and get Mena a drink.”

Barry looked as shell-shocked as I felt, but I noticed he quickly hopped to do Cindy’s bidding. I pouted. He was never that obedient with me, the bastard.

Cindy sat down on a fancy, uncomfortable couch and pulled me down next to her. “You’ll have to tell me all about Barry.”

“Um. Yeah.” I smiled, hoping I didn’t look like I was going to throw up. I certainly felt like that though.

Barry returned quickly. I’m not sure I’d ever seen him move that fast. I had the impression he didn’t want to leave me alone with Cindy. I wondered why.

“You didn’t tell me why you’re here,” Barry said as he handed us our drinks.

Champagne. I wrinkled my nose and pretended to take a sip before setting it on the table in front of me. “I was going through some stuff and I found this.” I riffled through my purse and pulled out the CD. “I thought you might want it back.”

Barry frowned as he took it. “Sounds of the Forest?”

“The rainforest,” I corrected.

He studied the cover before he finally said, “This isn’t mine.”

I blinked. “It isn’t?”

Of course, I knew it wasn’t. I’d bought it once when I was having trouble sleeping. I thought the soothing sounds would lull me to sleep. Mostly it just served to improve my tropical bird call.

My idea of returning something to Barry was brilliant. The only flaw was Barry had never left anything at my place. So I had to improvise.

I pursed my lips because I thought it’d make me look puzzled. “Are you sure it’s not yours?”

“Positive.” He handed it back to me.

“Huh.” I stared at it for a second and slipped it back into my purse. “I could have sworn it was.”

Cindy patted my hand. “Now that you’re here, Mena, tell me about you.”

I didn’t want to tell her anything about me, except maybe that I’d had a parent-pleasing boyfriend whom I wanted back. How would she take that? But I shrugged and said, “I study martial arts,” so she’d know she shouldn’t mess with me.

She perked up. “For real?”

“Yeah.”

“You aren’t kidding me?”

“Nope.”

“Wow.”

Scintillating conversation. But my feathers were somewhat smoothed by her impressed gawking. I thought of telling her I was a third degree black belt and that I could break her with just a look, but I thought that might be overkill so I kept quiet.

I did, however, have the presence of mind to bring Rio into the conversation. “That’s why Rio and I get along so great. Because we’re both fighters.” I fluttered my eyelashes and glanced at Barry to see if he took the bait.

Bingo. At the mention of Rio’s name, Barry stiffened and set his champagne flute down. “Rio?”

Then I had another brilliant idea: I’d ask for Barry’s permission to date his friend.

Well, not his permission per se, but asking him if he minded was a great way to highlight that I was dating Rio. It’d give him a chance to feel jealous again too.

So I fluttered my lashes some more. “You don’t mind if I date him, do you, Barry? You guys being friends and all.”

Cindy answered for him. “Of course he doesn’t mind. Do you, Pookie?”

“No.” He scowled. “No, I don’t.”

Woo-hah. I hid my grin behind my glass and pretended to take another swig of the wretched champagne.

“I like Rio
sooo
much,” Cindy chirped in her saccharine voice.

“You do?” She’d only been dating Barry for a week and she’d already met Rio? I’d gone out with him for a year and I’d barely met any of his friends. I frowned at Barry.

He downed the rest of his drink.

Oblivious, Cindy nodded. “We should all go out sometime. Like a double date or something.”

“Right,” I said sarcastically. Then I blinked and smiled wide. “
Right
. That’d be super.”

“Totally.” Cindy smiled delightedly, not knowing how easily she was falling into my plans.

BOOK: Project Date

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