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Condoms, keys, wallet Out of habit, he reread the special conne

That was easy He didn’t like the stuff in the first place He slipped his phone into his pocket along with everything else and left his apartround lot of the Clement Hotel As he strolled into the sleek, ultramodern lobby, he made sure the lapels of his coat were down and played his usual pre-ined what his new client was like

Under Client Age for tonight, it had said thirty He sighed and corrected the age to fifty Anything younger than forty was always a lie--unless it was a group thing, which he didn’t do Bachelorette parties paid well, but the idea of destroying young love depressed the hell out of him Maybe it was pathetic, but he wanted to live in a world where brides-to-be only had sex with their grooroups of horny woainst them, and their nails were sharp

"Stella" could be a paed in sweets, spas, and froufrou canines, was therefore decadently rounded, and preferred to be worshipped in bed--so Michael had no problereen juice, and hted incline crunches Or, his least favorite, she could be a hard-ass Asian gogetter who chose hie, he looked a lot like the K-drama star Daniel Henney This last kind of wo with the the hotel restaurant, he searched the dilasses Because he’d gotten through his mail without major incident earlier, he braced hiaze skipped over tables occupied by businessed Asian wo the waitress on how to h her lightened brown hair, his sto to be a long night

No, this was the culmination of a semester’s worth of sexual tension They both wanted this He wanted this

Before he could reach her, a reed-thin older man took the seat opposite her and covered her hand with his Confused but relieved, Michael stepped back and surveyed the restaurant again No one was sitting alonebut for a girl in the far corner

Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight bun, and sexy librarian-type glasses were balanced on a cute little nose In fact, fro looked like it had been chosen froray pencil skirt, and a fitted white oxford shirt buttoned clear up to her throat It was possible she was thirty, but Michael put her at twenty-five There was soh her froas rather fierce as she scrutinized thefor a hidden ca up behind the potted plants He found neither of those things

He closed his hands around the back of the chair across from her "Excuse me, are you Stella?"

Her eyes shot to his face, and Michael lost his train of thought Those sexy librarian glasses showcased thepair of soft brown eyes And her lips--they were just full enough to be te from her overall air of sweetness

"I’ person," he said with a setic and less eirl like this had hired an escort

She blinked and jostled the table as she flew to her feet "No, that’s nize you from your picture" She stuck her hand out "I’m Stella Lane Nice to meet you"

He stared at her open expression and proffered hand for a stunned fraction of a second This wasn’t how clients greeted him They usually waved him into a seat with a sly curl of their lips and a sparkle in their eyes--that sparkle that said they thought they were better than hi forward to what he could offer anyway She greeted hi from his surprise, he wrapped her slender hand in his and shook it "Michael Phan Nice to meet you, too"

When he released her, she motioned toward his chair aardly "Please, have a seat"

He sat and watched as she perched herself on the precarious edge of her seat, her back straight as a board She searched his face, but when he arched an eyebrow at her, she switched her focus to the lasses with a wrinkle of her nose

"Are you hungry? I a to the ood here, and the steak My dad likes the laht, he could see her cheeks go crimson She cleared her throat "Maybe not the lamb"

Because he couldn’t resist, he asked, "Why not the lamb?"

"I think it tastes woolly, and if youe" She stared up at the ceiling and took a deep breath "All I’d be thinking about would be sheep and larin