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Chapter 1

Sage

I’ht at this ridiculous bachelorette party with people I barely know, and I’o to the parties of people I care about rule, but as I supposed to do when Skye invited ? Say no?

Not super iether Even less i to reaffir spiritual meditation in India, I’m the boss And the boss can’t blow off an employee invitation, no matter how much he or she wants to Not when the business is as small and close-knit as ours is

Which is why I’ here in thewomen in penis hats swill drinks and talk dirty about whatever man happens to pass by the table…It’sa lousy job disguising that fact

Then again, I’ I’ht nohich is obvious by both my lack of penis hat andthe bossBut there’s no boss or girl code in the world that says I have to wear a dick on my head or drink out of a straw shaped like one And even if there ell, that’s one code I’d have no trouble breaking

“You need another drink,” Autua studio—tells o to the bar”

I don’t want to go to the bar And I sure as hell don’t want another drink Even though Skye has a lih I drove myself here I don’t have to drive myself home, I still have a two-drink li through the years, it’s that everything’s easier when you’re stone-cold sober—which is why it’s been an hour since I’ve had anything to drink but water

Still, I follow her It’s not that hard of a choice, considering the rest of our party has just started singing dick songs Because why not? It’s not enough to drink out of a dick and eat dick cake and whistle at every dick that walks by while wearing a giant dick on their heads They need to sing an hos, too

Maybe it’s tiet out of here instead…except Autua has rendered her a lot stronger than she looks With a sigh, I acknowledge that I’ anywhere until she releases me

We’re halfway to the bar when I see him I’m so annoyed that I almost don’t pay attention, but—let’s be honest—I’d have to be dead not to notice this guy Notice hi up all the oxygen

Or otten how to breathe

But can you blalitter like black diah I can feel the cut fro in this place Maybe the hottest thing anywhere Tall, dark and drop-dead freaking gorgeous And that’s before you take into account the shoulders wider than my zip code and the biceps to die for

Is it wrong that I want to lick hiet a better look Because I do I really, really do Those narrow hips That silky-looking, too long hair Those big hands that wrap all the way around his glass and then soen has been sucked out of this place He’s like a personal playground designed especially for me

And that’s before he glances up, his eyesmine across the dimly lit bar

Norer in a bar Or anywhere else, for that et about noret about usual And instead try to keep ht to the floor

It’s harder than it should be, especially considering I’ pants

I press ether, just to be on the safe side And that’s when he sht in the feels…plus a few other, oh-so-memorable parts He shifts a little, rests his elbows behind his out in front of him And looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world And like he expects me to approach him

Which is so totally not going to happen I’ve alreadyup to hio to ly or anything I have a reasonable amount of confidence in my own attractiveness But there’s attractive and then there’s whatever that guy is, and I ah to admit I’m not in his class Hell, I’ht be the only one of his kind on the planet

“What do you want to drink, Sage?” Autumn asks, and there’s a hint of impatience in her voice, like she’s asked the question a few times It snaps me out of my trance—I swear, it’s like I’ve been dick—and I decide what the hell

“I’ll have another le my self-imposed limit just this once It’s already been an hour since I had a drink—one e I’ll still be theto let

a rule slide tonight, the two-drink lier-in-a-public-bathroom one