“No, thank you for rescuing me,” she murmured, her voice still coming out all trembly. Damn they were hot. Outrageously, panty-meltingly hot.
“What brings you to Chicago?” he asked after taking a sip of his bourbon. His voice was impossibly deep, and the way it rumbled out of him made her already trembling fingers shake even more.
“I’m supposed to meet my sister here,” she lied. If these men were trying to kidnap her, she wanted to make it seem like she wasn’t here completely alone.
Tall-Dark-and-Handsome’s dark brows pulled over his eyes in a frown and his lips thinned beneath the dark beard. “Have we scared you, baby girl?”
“No,” she whispered, another half-lie. They made her nervous, sure. But scared? No. Intrigued?Absolutely.
“So, what brings you to the Windy City, really?” he asked, leaning his hip against the bar as he stood next to her. Blonde God to her right lowered himself into the seat vacated by Skippy, angling his body toward her. “And I will know if you lie to me again, baby girl.”
She swallowed hard. This was… dangerous. And thrilling.
“I’m in town for my birthday,” Hope murmured quietly, opting for honesty. Lowering her eyes to her drink, she stirred the olives around again. “It was supposed to be a weekend away with my fiancé, but…” she trailed off, the hurt lancing through her chest, then replaced with bubbling anger. She shook her blonde hair away from her face and straightened her shoulders. “Anyway. The hotel was non-refundable.”
“So, you’re here for a romantic birthday weekend and no man to spend it with?” Blonde God asked from her right, and she turned, nodding slowly as she was captivated by those green eyes fringed with long blonde lashes. “That’s a damn shame.”
The bourbon glass was set down on the bar as a large, strong looking hand was extended toward her. She looked up and placed her hand in his, and he raised it to his lips. His beard tickled the knuckles of her hand as he kissed it, butterflies taking flight in her midsection at the sensation. “I’m Grant. This is my business partner, Van.”
“So, a business trip?” she asked, settling back into her seat, glancing between the two men.
Grant nodded. “We own and operate a small restaurant together. I run the business side; Van is our executive chef. We’re here for a food expo.”
“Ahhh,” she murmured, nodding. She turned toward the one named Van. “That’s why you smell like olive oil and lemons.”
Van laughed, showing her a captivatingly white smile. “Hazard of the trade.”
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you both. I’m Hope,” she said quietly, shaking Grant’s hand and then turning to shake Van’s. His hands were scarred but deceptively soft to the touch. “And thank you again for rescuing me.”
Grant motioned for the bartender, then said gruffly, “I’ll take another bourbon, and please send out a dessert. It’s her birthday.”
“Yes, sir,” the bartender said and disappeared, returning a moment later with the bourbon for Grant.
Hope protested, but several minutes later an oversized, gourmet chocolate cupcake was being placed in front of her, a single candle stuck in the ganache frosting. The flame flickered and bounced in the dim light.
Grant leaned down and pressed his lips close to her ear and whispered huskily, “I want you to make a wish, butterfly. Anything you want.”
She shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her, the butterflies wreaking havoc on her insides again. Glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, she stared at him for a long moment before turning her head toward Van. He remained seated to her right, his elbow resting on the back of the chair and his long, slender fingers hovering near his mouth. His green eyes blazed into hers.
“Anything I want?” she asked on a whisper.What was she doing? She wasn’t this person… this woman that flirted shamelessly with not one, but two insanely hot strangers… But then Van raised his eyes to Grant’s, where she could feel him standing to her left. She turned and raised her eyes to Grant’s stupidly handsome face again, and he nodded slowly.She could be that person… just for tonight, right? One little, totally insane birthday wish? She deserved a little fun after being a firsthand witness to her own life imploding this week, didn’t she?
Leaning forward, she pursed her lips and blew out the solitary candle, the wisp of smoke fluttering out of existence after the flame was extinguished. Three forks were stacked on the plate. Picking them up, she extended one each to Grant and Van. They each took one of the forks, Grant’s looking tiny in his massive hand as Hope sliced into the cupcake.
It was the most intimate thing she’d done in a long time. Sharing a dessert. With two ridiculously hot strangers.
When the bartender had cleared away the empty plate, she smiled over at both of them shyly. “Thank you. That was divine, and totally unnecessary.”
Grant leaned forward and raised his hand, and she froze as his thumb trailed over the corner of her mouth, picking up a smudge of chocolate. She blushed a million shades of crimsonwhen he then brought his thumb to his own mouth, cleaning the pad of his thumb with his tongue. She damn near moaned at the eroticism of the act. Her entire body was on fire, tingling like a live wire had been touched to her skin.
“So, tell us little one, what’s your wish?” Van asked from her right, his voice low and husky.
She bit her lip and raised her eyes to his, and then Grant’s again, her breathing choppy. “I don’t… I don’t want to say it.” She shivered again when Grant’s hand returned to the nape of her neck, his thumb stroking the underside of her jaw as she looked up at him.
“Tell me,” he growled, the rough rumble of his voice sending jolts of electricity down her spine. “Say the words, Hope. What was your wish?”
She was trembling like a leaf. She bit her lip again and watched as Grant’s dark eyes zeroed in on the movement. His eyes darkened and heat spread through her.
“I don’t want to choose,” she finally whispered, her voice shaking.
