Playing by the Rules Read Free Page B

felt then, or how easy it was for her to feel that way still.
    After all, it wasn’t as though she’d ever stopped being mousy. She hadn’t needed to. When she was a poor student, no-one had expected her to be glamorous. Then she became an academic. In her profession, even in France, being ‘hot’ didn’t do you any favours. In fact, as a woman, if you wanted your ideas to be taken seriously, a certain amount of dowdiness helped. So she’d embraced her inner mouse and learned to be fine with it. She didn’t love it, exactly, but it was comfortable.
    ‘I’ve got it!’
    Kate jumped and felt the pile of earrings slide down the bedspread to rest against her leg.
    ‘You need to have a fling!’
    Kate stopped trying to fend off the earrings.
    ‘A what?!’
    ‘A fling.’ Jo gestured expansively. ‘You know . . . a snog with someone you’ll never see again. A carefree couple of days with a handsome stranger. A one-night stand. Surely you’re familiar with the concept?’
    ‘Jo!’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t do one-night stands!’
    Jo grinned at her.
    ‘I know. I just wanted to check you were paying attention. Okay, you can skip the one-night stand. But I still think you should do the rest. You need a no-strings-attached date or five. It’s absolutely the best way to get a loser boyfriend out of your system. You could start with the reunion.’
    Kate opened her mouth to argue, but shut it again without speaking.
    Maybe Jo was right. She had wanted something to boost her confidence and send her back to work looking like a woman with a secret. Maybe a fling was exactly what she needed. Maybe this was the plan she had been looking for. Kate felt her spirits lift . . . and sink again, as she spotted the flaw.
    ‘Jo, I think I can see a problem.’
    ‘What’s that?’
    ‘Where exactly am I supposed to find a handsome stranger at short notice?’
    ‘Oh, I’m sure I can think of something.’
    Kate didn’t like the look on Jo’s face. Unless she was mistaken, she had already thought of something and she was looking entirely too pleased with herself for Kate’s peace of mind.
    ‘Bearing in mind that whoever you pick might be mistaken for my fiancé.’
    Jo waved an elegant hand dismissively. ‘Like I said, I sincerely doubt anyone will remember who you said you were bringing. But if you’re worried, we’ll find someone who doesn’t mind that.’
    ‘Who? Who are you going to find who fits all those criteria? Between now and tonight?’
    Jo pursed her lips and tapped one long finger against her cheek, in pretend deliberation.
    ‘Aha! I have it! The perfect man! Good job, nice manners, not bad-looking, if I do say so myself. He owns a dinner suit and there is nothing he loves more than playing a part. When he was younger he was in so many amateur theatrical companies that his mother used to despair of him graduating from high school. Best of all, I’m sure he’d be delighted to go out with you.’
    Kate was mystified. Offhand, she couldn’t think of any man in Melbourne who would even remember her, let alone be lining up to take her to her high school reunion. Then an awful suspicion struck her.
    ‘Jo – you didn’t!’
    Jo was the image of innocence.
    ‘Didn’t what?’
    ‘Josephine Juliet Marchant, tell me you have not set me up with your brother!’
    ‘No, I haven’t —’
    ‘Thank goodness!’
    ‘But I’m going to.’
    ‘But Jo, after this morning . . .’ Kate closed her eyes to try to blot out the events of the morning. It didn’t work. Instead, disconcertingly, she found that shutting her eyes brought vividly to mind that Josh had smelled fantastic. At the time, she had been too embarrassed to really register it, but now, suddenly, his fragrance washed over her memory like a wave. A warm, spicy sort of smell, with an undertone of man that made her catch her breath.
    She hurriedly opened her eyes. The sensation disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving only the lingering