Chapter One
Cierra
What do yousay to your best friend when she’s going through what she calls the worst breakup of her life? Trick question—you don’t say anything, just take her out to the coolest club in San Francisco and try to get her to stop crying long enough for you to have a little fun.
“Don’t you think you should slow down, Kels? I mean, we’ve only been here for a couple of hours and you’ve blasted through six tequila sours.” I handed her another tissue as black streaks trailed down her cheeks.
“I can’t believe the asshole dumped me. I hate him!” Kelsey blew her nose, then drained the last bit of her drink.
The asshole who’d broken my dear friend’s heart was Trace Prescott. She’d met him at a charity event about six weeks before. Kelsey had used up half her paycheck to pay for her ticket to one of the most prestigious charity events of the year. It was that night that she’d met Mr. Asshole, or the love of her life as she’d gushed to me a couple of weeks before their breakup.
“Most men are assholes. Remember the guy I went out with who couldn’t make our date because he had to meet with his parole officer? He’d forgotten to mention the fact that he’d just gotten out of prison when we were setting up our date. Or the biologist who kept insisting that I was a distant cousin because I looked like his great aunt Ethel? At least you had some fun.”
“That’s what makes it worse. I’m still in love with him, and he stomped all over my heart.” For the umpteenth time that night, the tears started flowing. “I need another drink.” She jumped up and then fell back into the chair, her hands flying to her head. “Oh damn, the room is spinning.”
Rising to my feet, I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Just stay seated. I’ll get the drinks.”
“That’ll give you a chance to flirt with that hot bartender again. Oh, make mine a double,” she yelled as I walked away.
Not a chance in hell I’m doing that.I planned to bring her a limeade. In Kelsey’s inebriated state, she’d never know the difference. I snaked my way through the labyrinth of people, doing my best not to wobble on my five-inch heels as I made my way to the bar.
I’d talked Kelsey into coming to the club because I thought a night out would do her good, and there were a lot of good-looking guys who came here. And… okay, Dane, the bartender, was really hot. The last time I’d been there with Allie and Megan, I could’ve sworn he was hitting on me big-time. He didn’t ask for my number, but then we couldn’t really talk that much with the loud music crashing around us. I figured if I came here more often, maybe we’d hook up. Since Beta Club had been on Kelsey’s list for a while, it hadn’t taken much convincing to get her to try it out.
After a few more elbow punches to random patrons, I finally made it to the bar. Even though I was behind several people, I felt like I’d made it to the top of Mt. Everest. I pulled down my tight dress and fluffed my hair with my fingers as I waited for the line to move. A couple of guys were checking me out and I grinned to myself. My short dress was working its magic. I had picked it out a few weeks before and was unable to deny just how good it looked, clinging to my butt and pushing my not-so-ample breasts up to create a cleavage that would’ve made Dolly Parton blush. Pitch-black and clingy, it was the kind of dress you wore out if you wanted everyone in the room to pay attention to you, and it seemed to be doing its job pretty well so far.
Finally a space opened and I leaned on the bar. My lips curled into a smile as a couple of guys shifted out of the way after raking their eyes over me. As I waited for Dane to come over, his muscles flexed so wonderfully as he picked up cases of wine, I felt someone push against me from behind. Before I could react, a deep voice hit my ears at the same time a warm breath danced across the side of my neck.
“Hey.” His low and gravelly voice sent a shiver up my spine. “You look pretty dangerous in that dress.”
Tingles skated across the nape of my neck. I needed to find out if the guy attached to that voice was anywhere near as sexy as he sounded right then and there. But just as I was about to swivel around in my heels to look him in the eye, Dane appeared in front of me and gave me a lopsided grin while he eyed me up and down.
“Hey, Cierra.” He nodded. “What can I get you?”
I stood there staring at him while I debated whether I should pay more attention to the stranger behind me or to Dane, the guy who’d had a starring role in my fantasies for the past couple of weeks.
“Do you want another round?” he asked.
“Uh… yeah, but instead of the tequila sour, make it a limeade,” I replied, batting my lashes. He winked at me, threw in a generous measure of vodka for my drink, poured Kelsey’s drink in a glass, and then handed them across the bar to me. He made sure that our fingers touched briefly as he passed them to me, flashing me that deadly smile before he vanished to deal with his other customers. I stood there for a moment, feeling on top of the world until I saw him flash the same smile to the trio of women who giggled and leaned over the bar, giving Dane a perfect view of their cleavage.
Did you think his smile was just for you?I shook my head, mad that I had spent over an hour getting dressed for a lopsided grin and the hope that he may want my phone number.All he probably wants is a big tip.
With drinks in hand, I held my breath and spun around to see who the sexy voice belonged to, but a woman in a silver sequin dress stared back at me. Deciding the guy had been a creep who probably thought I’d melt all over him over one lousy pickup line, I made my way back to our table.
Kelsey’s tears seemed to have finally dried up, and she grinned weakly at me as she took her drink and swallowed a large gulp. “I didn’t think you were coming back,” she said.
“This place is packed. It took forever to make it to the bar, and then I had to wait in line.” The memory of the stranger’s voice washed over me. I shook my head as if that would dispel it.
“How’d it go with the bartender guy? Daniel?” she asked, poking at the ice in her drink with a straw.
“Dane, and honestly, I have no idea. I don’t know what’s him actually being into me and what’s him just doing his job, you know?”
“Yeah. Men can be such jerks. Did you guys talk?”
“Not really, but the bar was really crowded with people.”
“Maybe you can catch him when things die down at closing.”
I nodded in response. Kelsey peered over my shoulder and covered her mouth with her hand.
