Bachelorette Blues

“What size? There’s a department store across the street. They don’t close until nine-thirty.”

Shayna was dumbfounded. “You’re going to buy me new shoes?”

He grinned. “Sure. Why not?”

Shayna sighed. Why not? “Well, let me get you some money.”

“Forget it. What size?”

“Seven, but—”

“Be right back.” He slipped out the door as suddenly as he’d appeared.

She turned back to the mirror. At least this evening couldn’t get any weirder. Ugh. What was she going to do about this hair?

Before Max returned, Shayna managed to retouch her makeup and pull her hair into a respectable French braid with light bangs falling over her forehead. The overall effect wasn’t stunning, but it was decent.

Two women had come in to fix their lipstick, when Max strolled in like he belonged there. “Hi, ladies,” he said, casually handing Shayna a bag from the shoe store.

She had to laugh when the two women exchanged looks, then hurried out.

Shayna pulled a pair of pearl gray pumps, the exact color of Max’s jacket, from the box. “These are beautiful.” She slipped them on, feeling like Cinderella.

She turned to the mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all. Maybe this evening would turn out okay after all. She looked at her watch. Nine o’clock. There was still time to find Phillip and—

“Shayna! Watch out!”

Max grabbed her arm and pulled her forward just as a ceiling tile fell right where she’d been standing.

2 (#ulink_a656ab34-88ab-5b95-9e31-aa12056f2955)

Shayna stared into her half-empty glass of white wine, fighting down a yawn. Who would have guessed that Phillip Browning, Jr. was such an incredible bore?

Her eyes had glazed over twenty minutes ago and Phillip had yet to notice. Not once had he asked her a single question about herself or her business. Instead, he stood next to her, droning on about his mention in Ebony magazine and his software products.

She couldn’t stand another minute of this, Shayna thought, glancing around for an escape route. From his spot at the buffet table, Max caught her eye and raised his glass in a cheerful salute. Shayna raised her glass in return, feeling another guilty twinge for the way she’d shrugged him off outside the ladies’ room.

He’d looked out for her tonight, pulling her out of the way before a rain-soaked ceiling tile would have fallen on her. She owed him for that…and more.

Max might not be her ideal dating material, but they definitely had the beginnings of a good friendship. She was just about to go over and tell him so, when Ruth Warner, MBO’s president, appeared at the podium for some closing announcements.

“I hope you have enjoyed tonight’s mixer. Let’s give Lynette Franklin and Ronald Johnson a big round of applause for making tonight a success.”

Everyone looked to the back of the room where Lynette and Ronald unclasped hands to wave and smile in response to the applause. The couple had become engaged six months after their first meeting. Lynette was the inspiration for Shayna’s eligible bachelors list. If Lynette could find Mr. Right among MBO’s membership, why couldn’t she?

Shayna glanced sideways at Phillip. He was definitely out of the running. How could she get involved with a man who couldn’t stop talking long enough to notice her? Thankfully, there were still two more names on her list. Candidate number two, Frederick Montgomery, wasn’t present that night, but the successful accountant was very active in the organization. Shayna was certain she’d run into him at the next event, which Ruth had just begun to announce.

“I hope to see you all on Monday night for our annual fund-raiser bake sale. Last year we raised over two thousand dollars. Let’s work toward breaking that record this year.”

Phillip leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I contributed significantly to last year’s profit with my grandmother’s award-winning peach cobbler. Ruth asked me to make it again this year,” he said proudly.

Shayna smiled politely, darting looks between her watch and the podium. Bring it home, Ruth. I can’t take much more of this.

“Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies and gentlemen, and I hope to see you all Monday night.”

The minute Ruth stepped back from the microphone, Phillip started droning again. Shayna bit her lip, feeling trapped.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ready to leave?”

She faced Max, showing her relief in her eyes. “As a matter of fact, I am.” Turning back to Phillip, she said, “I’m leaving now, but it was…nice talking to you.”

“Sure, sure, Shaunice. If you ever need any business software let me know. I’ll give you a discount.” He winked.

Shayna put her hand on her hip, staring after his retreating form. “Shaunice?”

Max took her elbow and began guiding her toward the door. “Don’t take it personally. He thinks my name is Matt.”

She stopped when they reached the hotel lobby. “Thanks for rescuing me, yet again. I guess I’ll see you Monday night?”

“How do you plan to get home?”

“I can take a cab.”

“Nonsense. I’ll give you a ride. You live in Rockville, right? That’s on my way.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

As they walked down to the parking garage, Shayna couldn’t help admiring Max’s profile. She couldn’t deny that he was a handsome man. His skin was the color of chestnuts and he had sexy chocolate brown eyes shaped like almonds. It really was too bad he wasn’t her type, because he was beginning to look better than the topping of an ice cream sundae.

But they couldn’t possibly have anything in common. The man made a living playing video games, for goodness’ sake. She needed someone who could share her appreciation for time and order. Max never showed up for a meeting on time—once he was a day late for a Saturday brunch meeting she’d hosted. She’d bet he didn’t even own a calendar. The two of them were such opposites, they’d probably drive each other crazy.

But he was sweet…She had to blink away the image of Max sitting on top of a mound of vanilla ice cream, wearing nothing but hot fudge. She had a weakness for sweets, which is why she only indulged on rare occasion. If she wasn’t careful, she’d develop a weakness for Max, and she couldn’t indulge in him at all.

He stopped in front of a dark green Pathfinder and her eyes widened. No, it couldn’t be. She looked down at the license plate. “This is your car.” She turned to him, and when she saw the guilt etched on his forehead, she knew for sure.

He held up his hands as if to ward her off. “Look, I’m sorry, Shayna. I was trying to make a yellow light. I couldn’t help—”

“It was you! I can’t believe you were the jerk who splattered my dress with mud. No wonder you’ve been so eager to help me out tonight.”

“Now, Shayna, I had no idea that was you until I saw your rain slicker in the bathroom. I came looking for you because I was concerned.” He unlocked the passenger door and held it open for her.

Shayna stood outside debating whether or not to get into the truck with him. The night had been such a disaster. It annoyed her that he had a part in it—even if by accident. She’d actually been reconsidering his dating potential. Clearly the chaos of the evening was getting to her.

In the morning she’d wake up in her normal orderly world and everything would make sense again.

Shaking her head, Shayna climbed into the truck. The sooner she got home and got into bed, the sooner this nightmare would be over.