Ivory Tower by Lace Daltyn Page B

that, trying to take
everything in. So much so, she ran smack into Sharon.
    “Why did you stop?” Jenna asked.
    “Because we’re here,” Sharon said.
    “Where?” Jenna glanced at the board in front of her. Almost
naked, totally buff men, wearing bow ties, greeted her. “ Oooh ,
no.”
    “Oh, yes,” Sharon said, laughing. “You’ve got us all revved
up and we need some release.”
    “Maybe you do, but I’ve got a fiancé at home.”
    “And where is home?”
    “Umm, not here.”
    “Exactly. Come on.” Sharon tugged at Jenna, pulling her
inside. “You’re engaged right?”
    Jenna nodded. “Getting married in a week, as a matter of
fact.”
    “Then consider this your bachelorette party. And if you
really don’t want to, um, participate, we’ll be quite happy to have all the fun
for you.”
    Minutes later, Jenna found herself ensconced at a table
that seemed to be front and center for the action. The place was packed. And
noisy, she thought, as they waited for the show. She leaned over the table to Sharon.
“How did we get such a primo table?”
    “ Dunno . Just lucky, I guess.”
Busy turning her head from one side to the other as bare-chested waiters
wandered the room, it was obvious her newfound friend wasn’t listening. Jenna
sank down in her chair, getting the distinct feeling she was being set up.
    She glanced around, half expecting to see a mass of flaming
curls. It would be well within her friend Mags’ repertoire to set up something like this.
    Except Mags didn’t know where Jenna
was before their conversation last night, did she? Jenna chewed her lower lip. Mags indicated she had no idea where the letter came from
and she doubted her friend would lie to her. But things were starting to feel a
bit contrived, especially Sharon’s bachelorette party comment.
    Jenna had no time to corner Sharon about it as the lights
dimmed and the music swelled. She didn’t want to be there, but that didn’t stop
her chest from filling with heady anticipation as the lounge and its music
worked its magic and sent the women around her into a frenzy.

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    The drum roll announcing the night’s entertainment
mellowed, giving way to a seductive, strip-style music. Jenna felt the rhythm
thrumming through her body. Her mind recorded the feelings as her body started
to tingle with excitement. This was great fodder for her next book.
    Research. That’s all this is. Research. She tried to form
the words in her mind for how her body was reacting, but the spotlight hit the
stage and deleted any coherent thought.
    Women all around her were screaming. Jenna didn’t scream.
Ever. She couldn’t, however, tear her eyes away from the stage. Anticipation
pricked every nerve ending and she sat spellbound. One part of her scoffed that
she would be so easily pulled into all this hoopla, but her fun-center stuffed
that part deep inside a box in the far reaches of her brain.
    Enjoy.
    Maybe she could, she thought, feeling a smile tug at her
lips. Just a little. After all, she wasn’t married yet. There wasn’t anything
that said she couldn’t look.
    She just couldn’t touch. Much.
    The beat of the music took on a decidedly western tone and
out through the curtains sauntered a well-muscled cowboy.
    Oh, please. A
cowboy? Could this get any more predictable?
    As the model began to sway and bump and grind, she found
herself strangely disengaged. Sure, he had a great body. And some great moves. Sharon
and the others at her table appeared riveted as they waved their money, but the
guy just didn’t do it for Jenna.
    In fact, she missed Josh. Big time. Jenna sat back and let
the chaos around her fade for the moment, and Josh took center stage in her
mind. She missed how his smile always reached his eyes. How his arms around her
felt both gentle and strong. How protective he was with her, yet he prodded her
to make her own choices.
    How his lips could set her on fire and make her body hum
with need. Hell, she was