Chapter One
Aideen
This dress is too tight. Erin opened the door, and I wiggled my hips back and forth, trying and failing to make some room in it. Short. Strapless. Glittery. Nothing like what I would usually wear, but that was the appeal of it. I intended to ring the new year in with something cute, something I hadn’t worn before.
I regretted every second of that decision as I walked into the party. Every person in the room, male or female, turned to look at me. Some with smiles. Others with scowls. Yet others with intentions and thoughts any woman could feel with her whole soul. Lust, unwanted lust.
My whim was going to ruin this night for me.
“Lookin’ good, Aideen! Wow!” Erin was a girl’s girl. When you were her friend, she supported you in everything. But her taste in men was shit. Always had been. Seemed to be worse when it came to setting me up with dates.
Her pompous fiancé looked at himself in every mirror he passed, but she loved him. Gushed over every word he said and every move he made.
All of my friends were married, engaged, or mated. Married for the human ones. Mated to those who were with shifters. Maria was mated to a dragon shifter.
“Thank you. Your new place is great.” Erin had really outdone herself with the decor.
She and Brent, her fiancé, had bought a house together less than a month after getting serious. A penthouse in the city was far out of my reach, but I was truly happy for her. From this vantage point, the views of the city were spectacular through the three walls of windows.
“It is, isn’t it?” she cooed. “Here. Have a drink.”
I carried the crystal flute of champagne around, sipping, trying to keep up appearances, but halfway through the flute of the bubbling, golden drink, my cheeks heated.
Standing near one of the huge windows, I looked out over the city and sighed. Everyone had this moment where they contemplated the ending year, didn’t they? How far they’d come or hadn’t come. What they’d accomplished. Where they’d failed.
Where they wanted to be next year at this time.
I retained enthusiasm about my job. My friendships. My health. But as I turned to look around the room at all the happy couples, my lack of any sort of relationship dragged me down into a depressing spiral.
Everyone had found love but me.
At that moment, Erin caught my eye and grinned. Uh-oh. The man next to her smiled at me as well.
Shit. Not happening. I should’ve worn a trash bag. I tipped the rest of the glass of champagne into my mouth and grabbed another one.
I would need it for what was about to happen.
“Aideen, I wanted to introduce you to Tate. Tate, this is Aideen. The friend I’ve been talking so much about.”
Tate extended his hand with a smile. His face shone with a layer of grease. Dirt underneath his fingernails seemed strange considering his new clothes, shiny dress shoes, and overpowering cologne. Maybe it was the champagne but my eyes stung from the power of it. “It’s nice to meet you, Aideen.”
In an attempt to be polite, I shook his sweaty hand. “Nice to meet you too.”
Erin did a little dance and swayed her hips. Quite pleased with herself. “Well, I’m going to go check on some things. I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about.”
I was dead sure we didn’t. Plus, not to judge a book by its cover, but I didn’t want to talk to Tate about anything. Stewingin what was and what could be in the next year was enough for me.
Tate did most of the talking. He was a luxury car salesman. The cars being the luxury, not him, he said, guffawing at his own joke.
I hadn’t realized that was a pet peeve of mine until that moment. Maybe okay if it was funny, but Tate’s wasn’t.
While he droned on about his numbers and the percentages of sales he brought in, I downed two more glasses of champagne until his soliloquy about how amazing he was sounded like the teacher fromPeanuts.
Yeah, that was better.
The other reason I didn’t drink a lot? When I did, I said all the things that were on my mind, unabashedly.
“Did it occur to you at all?” I said, my voice high-pitched. Another side effect of the alcohol.
