Chapter One
JULIE
Eighteen Months Ago
I swipemy finger across the screen of my phone, my eyes glued to the steamy romance novel I’ve been devouring for the past hour.
My friends, Jessica and Becca, stumble over. Their cheeks are flushed from too many shots.
“Julie!” Jessica slurs, tugging on my arm. “Come on, you can’t spend your twenty-first birthday hiding at the bar!”
“Yeah, let’s dance!” Becca chimes in. “The night is young and so are we!”
I glance around the packed Las Vegas club at the flashing strobe lights and gyrating bodies on the dance floor. It all makes my head spin. I’m torn between wanting to join in the revelry and wishing I was back in my hotel room in my PJs.
“You guys go ahead,” I tell them, mustering a smile. “I think I’m gonna hang here a bit longer.”
“You sure, babe?” Jessica asks, her brow creasing with tipsy concern.
I nod. “I’m sure. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
“Okay, well you know where to find us if you change your mind!” Becca says. She and Jessica envelop me in a group hug that smells like sweat and vanilla body spray.
Then they disappear into the undulating crowd, their sequined dresses glinting under the pulsing lights. I breathe a small sigh of relief as I turn back to my book, secretly glad to be left to my own devices.
I mean, I feel a little bad. I got all dolled up in this sexy new dress and everything. And I came all the way to Vegas for my twenty-first birthday. I should be out there living it up with my girls, right?
But as I survey the wild scene before me of girls grinding up on random guys and sloshing drinks on the sticky floor, I realize I’m just not feeling it tonight.
With a sigh, I turn back to my romance novel and take a sip of my virgin mojito. At least I can vicariously experience a thrilling fantasy in these pages, even if my real life is decidedly unglamorous. For now, I’m content to sit here and read about the heroine succumbing to the mysterious, sexy stranger.
It’s not like that kind of passionate, whirlwind romance will ever happen to boring old me anyway.
I’m just getting to the good part when a deep, masculine voice booms from behind me.
“That must be some book.”
I gasp and whirl around, my phone tumbling from my fingers in my shock. I bend down to grab it, but a large, tanned hand beats me to it.
I look up, an embarrassed thanks on the tip of my tongue, but the word dies in my throat.
Holy hottie.
I’m staring into the most striking blue-gray eyes I’ve ever seen, set in a chiseled face with a sexy hint of stubble. He towersover me. His tall, muscular frame makes me feel delicate in comparison.
“I... um...” Coherent thought escapes me under his penetrating gaze. “I’m sorry, what?”
The corner of his mouth ticks up in a devastating half smile. “I said, that must be some book. To command all your attention in a crazy club like this.”
“Oh, uh, yeah, it’s... It’s pretty good,” I stammer lamely, drinking in the sight of him. With dark hair, full lips, and broad shoulders that strain against his expensive-looking shirt, he’s like a romance novel hero come to life.
“Yeah?” He leans an elbow on the bar, his forearm corded with veins. “What’s it about?”
I fidget on my stool, debating how much to reveal. “It’s uh… a romance novel,” I finally admit. I wait for the condescending eye roll I usually get from guys about my literary tastes.
But to my surprise, he just grins. “No judgment here. We all have our guilty pleasures, right?”
I exhale a relieved laugh. “Right.” It comes out more breathless than I intended.
