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Chapter One
If he winks atto introduce his nuts to my size seven stiletto
Hayden Winstead circled her ankle slowly underneath the bottle-laden table, barely repressing the urge to follow through on that visually satisfying thought With three glasses of wine huh her veins, it see s her until she snapped was his goal, so she’d be da him an ounce of satisfaction
The first ti so little finesse, she’d been forced to ask if he was kidding Granted, they’d both had a few tooexcused the line, “I’
Especially in light of what he said upon bringing her hoet it You only date men in certain zip codes His comment about her Upper West Side town house still rankled retted her own saccharine-sweet response Speaking of zip codes, shouldn’t you be getting back to yours? Or is the zoo already closed for the night?
That’s where their acquaintance had begun Froone downhill fast
Really, they should have never been required to share the saain Life would have been so much easier that way Too bad their best friends, Daniel and Story, happened to be disgustingly in love The kind of love that required the Hayden into Brent’s presence with nauseating frequency
Case in point, tonight They all sat in their local hangout, Quincy’s, waiting for Story to return fro that put Hayden across fro her best daht have already re theency Service officers Men in uniform, and all that business
Hayden’s were staying put
Daniel Chase, hostage negotiator and foruru, was Story’s boyfriend and therefore strictly off-limits As if he could even see anyone besides Hayden’s best friend To Daniel’s right, staring pensively into his beer, sat former military sniper Matt Donovan Not technically unavailable, but quiet and irl the shivers
Then there was Brent, explosives expert, or as he referred to hi pull of his beer, watching her the entire tiht had irked herSure, a six-foot-five police officer built like a brick shithouse probably didn’t get turned down very often by woht be the sh-and-tuined dreoreen eyes, he couldn’t be described as classically handsoed sailor left over from a different time The kind offrom war and threw her over his shoulder to take home to bed
And that’s
Brent saluted her with his beer bottle “What are you thinking about over there, duchess? Whatever it is looks ”
Her s nicknaht you had even a re up, I’d tell you”
“That so?” He leaned forward on his elbows, not stopping to acknowledge Matt’s irritated sigh “Let’s see if I can guess”
“Please do” She took a dainty sip of her white wine “Knockintellect”
He stroked his chin “There’s only soyour next fancy cocktail party, trying to remember if you made that crucial hair appointment—”
Daniel elbowed Brent in the ribs, giving theht? I’ve got enough on my mind”
“Like what?” she and Brent asked at the salare
Daniel opened hisanother anxious glance at the entrance to Quincy’s “Nothing”
“Aw, I knohat it is” Brent clapped a hand onto Daniel’s shoulder “You’re worried how Story’s first day went You’re afraid she’s going to vamoose back to California”
“No shit,” Matt muttered
“I should have met her at the daers through his hair, the cool facade he always kept in place beginning to slip “She has a terrible sense of direction”
“Do you want me to call her?” Hayden offered
Brent shook his head before Daniel could respond “Nah, just let her quit that horrible job in peace Then we’ll all go help her pack”
Hayden sent hi what she’d say to him when they were alone Over the last twodynauys, but when it came to Story, Daniel had always been particularly vulnerable When the twoin New York for a couple weeks before returning to her horessed, she had no intention of going back, but Daniel still spent every free retted her decision to quit the teaching job she loved and move three thousand miles to be with him
She tried once more to comfort Daniel “You know Story
She probably stopped to pet every puppy between here and the school She’s easily distracted”
Daniel leaned back in his chair, eyelids drooping a little, transfor before her eyes into the playboy he resembled “Don’t I know it?”
Satisfied that she’d taken his mind off the possibility her best friend hated her new job, Hayden took another sip of wine and continued to ignore Brent’s unwavering gaze She hated it when he did this Fixated on her and refused to look away He looked like a hungry wolf stalking a lah he also couldn’t wait for the opportunity to tell her once again how pampered and pointless he found her posh, Upper West Side lifestyle
Daniel, all restless energy once again, hopped up fro”
“I’ll co look between Brent and Hayden
The second Daniel and Matt lass clunked down on the table “Could you try just a pinch harder to be less of a spectacular asshole? He’s worried enough You don’t need tosorcery”
“I’ it worse? Why don’t you sew his name into his underwear and send him off to surowing up Some of us can take care of ourselves”
She felt her neck flush as the barb struck home, but she refused to let her reaction show on her face It would be a cold day in hell before she let hi summed up as a helpless socialite bothered her “There’s a time and a place for insults Learn the difference, dickhead”
Brent leaned across the table, his jaw tight “I don’t need lessons on how to talk to my friend”
“Disagree I think you need lessons on quite a few things”
If she’d blinked, she would have n she’d co in polite social skills and e to teach me those lessons? You?”
His expression transfore, and he drawled the final ith such skepticisid Dammit, he always made it sexual He knew it shut her down Forced her to back off She could throw around insults with the best of thein, she’d never hit her stride in that department When she dated, it was usually to keep her mother off her back The dates very rarely ended up in bed And if they did end up “shaking the sheets,” it frequently ended in disappointment