I, on the other hand, had never stepped foot in the place.
The loud music, the scantily dressed waitresses, the all-but-bare dancers on the various stages, and all the drunken brutes cheering them on were not my cup of tea. Just the thought of it made my stomach turn.
So, needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled when Davis pulled into the parking lot. I wanted to question him about why we were there, but after our last conversation, I didn’t dare.
In a blink, we were walking through the front door and into a whole new world. Davis had his arm around my shoulder, guiding me toward the back of the bar like I was some shiny new trophy.
Honestly, I should’ve expected this.
This whole disaster had Lila Kate written all over it.
If someone ever wrote a book on What Not To Do in a Dire Situation, my sister could’ve contributed more than herfair share. Maybe the whole damn book. The girl never thought before leaping. She went in headfirst and trusted that she’d land on her feet.
Normally, it was kind of cute. Quirky, even.
It was part of her charm.
But today, it was going to be her undoing. Or better yet, it was going to be mine. I should’ve never volunteered to fix this mess for her, but I was her big sister. It was my job to help her. I was the one who’d spent the last twenty years carrying ibuprofen and Band-Aids in my purse because it was my job to look out for her. And I did it without question.
But I never expected this. Never in my wildest dreams.
The second Davis mentioned that he had a plan, I should’ve run.
Vanished into thin air.
Never to be heard from again.
Instead, I jumped at his offer.
He said he had a way to get his hands on some easy money. He just needed me to pretend to be his girlfriend for a few days. I didn’t figure it would be that hard. It wasn’t like I hadn’t dated before. I knew how to play the game. I just had to brush up on my acting skills and pretend that I was interested in a man who made me question all my life’s choices.
It seemed manageable.
Right up until the moment I spotted Luke and found his gorgeous green eyes staring back at me.
My stomach dropped to my shoes.
He’d always been a good-looking guy. There was no denying that. But he looked better at thirty-something than he ever had at seventeen.
Which was rude.
Aging should be an equal-opportunity kind of thing, but Luke clearly missed the memo. He was all man with broad, sexyshoulders, a tight jawline with a five o’clock shadow, and dark, shaggy hair that had me wanting to run my fingers through it.
Oh, God, he was hot.
This was bad. This was very, very bad.
The universe looked down at me with a smirk and said,Today, you are faced with the consequences of your actions. Enjoy!
Well, the universe could kiss my ass.
I took a quick glance around, looking for the nearest exit, and then Davis called out, “Luke!”
He sounded all bright and happy, like he wasn’t dragging me straight to hell. He walked straight up to him and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight as he said, “Long time no see, man.”
Luke hugged him back, but only half-heartedly. It was odd. It was almost like he knew something was off, but like me, he played along. “What are you doing here?”
“Just came by to see you,” he answered casually. “Stopped by to check in with the ol’ man. He said you’d be here.”
