by Marie Carnay
His friend’s eyes went wide and he held up his hands. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”
Clark frowned and grabbed his own phone from his jacket pocket. He pulled up the email and held it out for Mitch to read. “Either you’re a total asshole or we’ve got a massive problem.”
Mitch took Clark’s phone, his eyebrows arching higher the more he read. “Well, shit. Looks like someone’s made a mistake.” He handed it back. “I’m not spoofing you, Clark. I hired Harlow to find me a date, too.”
All of Clark’s anger deflated like a balloon with a slow leak. “You’re not here to rib me?”
“Nope. I’m here to meet this Madeline woman, but it looks like I’ve got some competition.”
Clark pulled up his blind date’s photo. God, she was gorgeous. Wavy, dark blonde hair. Just the right amount of curves. Light brown eyes. He eased back down on the stool and let Mitch see the photo. “This is the woman you’re supposed to meet?”
“The very one.”
“Fuck.” Clark pocketed his phone and ran his hand through his hair. He didn’t want to give up on the date. Not when she ticked every one of his boxes. And if she looked anything like the photo Harlow had sent earlier that day…
It had been a hell of a decision to hire Harlow at all. Giving up when she’d delivered a knockout into his hands wasn’t Clark’s style. He played to win, not fold before the action started.
He just needed Mitch to bow out. The man was a tax lawyer; he wasn’t used to fighting for a win. “Any chance I can convince you to bail?”
Mitch glanced up at the window, an answer on the tip of his tongue. “Wow.”
“What?”
“If you’d asked me that five minutes ago, maybe. But you’re too late. Looks like our date’s here.”
Clark turned toward the window and his eyes almost bugged out of his head. Damn. Sexy long legs, honey-colored hair, a red, strappy dress that showed off curves in all the right places.
He tilted his drink, hoping to wet his mouth and steel his nerves, but he only tasted ice. The empty glass couldn’t help him now. “She’s stunning.”
“That photo didn’t do her justice.”
“Not even close.”
They both watched as she leaned into the cab to pay the driver. Her ass stuck out of the window, high and lush, and Clark imagined her on his bed. Legs splayed, high heels dangling off the mattress, waiting for him to claim every inch of her.
He ground his teeth together. He’d battled with Mitch throughout law school for the top grade in almost every class. They’d competed for years, but never when it came to women. He glanced over at his old friend.
“Up for a little friendly competition?”
“Do I have a choice?”
As Mitch asked the question, Madeline emerged from the cab, smoothing down the front of her dress as she stared up at the door to the restaurant. Damn, Clark wanted her. Just one look at that body and his brain flooded with dirty thoughts. He could bend her right over this bar and show her how much she turned him on.
She was everything he could want in a woman, and his old friend could go to hell. “I’m not leaving.”
“Neither am I.” Mitch’s voice warbled on the last word and Clark grinned.
Clinking his empty glass against his friend’s, he made a toast. “Then here’s to tonight and wherever it leads. May the best man win.”
Mitch drained his drink in a single long gulp and set it on the bar, standing to meet Clark’s challenge. “Then I hope you brought your A-game, counselor. You’re going to need it.”
Chapter 3
MADDIE
This is a terrible idea. I should never have let Harlow talk me into this. Maddie chewed on her lip as she stared up at the sign over the front doors. Navu was one of those ridiculous places with entrées that cost more than a week’s worth of groceries, all with names she couldn’t pronounce.
She understood why Harlow always suggested it as a first date: it meant the guys were serious because they forked out a couple hundred dollars for dinner, and it was always full. A woman could get away from an ax murderer lickety-split in a restaurant with a couple hundred people swarming around.
But the whole thing made her all kinds of nervous. The sweaty palm, instant breakout, kind of nervous. Maddie pulled out her phone and shot off a quick SOS to Harlow.
I can’t believe you want me to go inside. It’s too fancy. I’m so out of place.
She hit send and waited, shifting her weight back and forth on her uncomfortable heels.
Shut up, quit whining, and get in there. He’s probably watching you right now from the bar while you make an ass out of yourself. GO. NOW.
Frick. Maddie glanced up at the restaurant’s huge window. She couldn’t see in, but Harlow was right; everyone could probably see out. Double frick. She stuffed her phone in her purse and hustled to the front door, slipping inside as the hostess held it open for her.
“Can I help you?”
The young woman flashed her one of those bland, pleasing smiles that said she’d been on her shift too long already. Maddie nodded through her nerves. “Yes. I’m meeting someone. Mr. Hill, I believe.”
The woman tapped on her iPad. “Mitchell or Clark?”
“Excuse me?”
“There are two Mr. Hills here this evening. Which one are you meeting?”
Maddie’s tongue stuck to her mouth like she’d eaten a spoonful of peanut butter. The hostess couldn’t be right. She was only supposed to go out with one of the Hill men, not both. Harlow had told her she’d pick one and surprise her, not that she’d serve up both like a WWE blind-date smackdown.
She opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. All she could see were the photos of both men that she’d spied on Harlow’s computer screen. Two flawless male specimens made more for the pages of a magazine than sitting across from her during an awkward date at a restaurant she’d never go to on her own.
Agreeing to go out with one of them had taken all of her courage and the last bourbon caramel she’d squirreled away in her cupboard. Two was impossible.
The hostess cleared her throat and Maddie fumbled for something to say.
“I… um… think… maybe…”
A gravelly voice filled the void. “It seems there’s been a bit of a mix-up with our reservation. We’d like a table for three, please.”
Oh, no. Maddie risked a glance to her right. A man stood—make that towered—over her, his broad shoulder edging perilously close to her ear. She swallowed and raised her eyes to find his face.
Sexy stubble. Hard jaw. Grecian nose with a slight upturn at the end. But those eyes. My oh my. Dark gray and brooding, with depth Maddie could get lost in. The man smiled and held out his hand.
“Mitch Hill. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Madeline.”
Maddie glanced down at his outstretched arm, palm up and waiting for her. She slipped her fingers over his and couldn’t hide the shudder. “Maddie. Everyone calls me Maddie.”
He smiled and pumped her hand up and down like she was a puppet on strings. Had the room disappeared? Had all the people in the restaurant suddenly fallen asleep? Because Maddie couldn’t hear a thing apart from the whoosh of her blood through her veins and the hammer of her heart against her ribs.
Even more gorgeous in person. And charming, to boot. She pulled her hand away as the hostess cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry, but a table for three isn’t possible. We are fully booked.”
“That’s not an acceptable answer.”
Maddie swiveled to her left and almost dropped her purse. The other Mr. Hill had arrived, looking every bit the charismatic heartthrob in his photo.
Black hair a touch overgrown and falling across his forehead. Heavy brows hiding blue eyes brighter than Harlow’s by a million watts. All set off by a smirk that said he’d never settle for a no.
He held out his hand and she found herself shaking it. “Clark Hill.”
> “Maddie Trubedeau.”
He tugged on her hand and she stumbled closer. “Your photo doesn’t do you justice.”
He did not just say that. When was the last time a man had complimented her on anything more than paying the bill? She swallowed as he looked her over, his eyes lingering on her hips before raising again to find her face.
“If I’d known I was meeting a woman as beautiful as you, I’d have gotten a haircut.”
Maddie answered without thinking. “I like it. It makes you not so scary.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she covered her lips with her hand. Did I say that out loud?
From the look on his face and the laugh coming from her other side, she most certainly did. I’ve got to get it together. If she said what she really thought all night, neither Mr. Hill would be asking her out on a second date.
“I’m sorry Mr. Hill, but there’s nothing I can do.” The hostess’s pleasant veneer slipped as she interrupted their introductions.
Clark let Maddie go as he turned back to the woman. “Then I’d like to see your manager, please.”
Mitch stepped up next to Clark, the pair of them practically blocking the entire reception area from view. “I would as well. This is unacceptable.”
Oh, no. Maddie squeezed herself between her two dates and the hostess stand. She couldn’t let this turn into a spectacle. It was bad enough to accidentally double book a date. But to have the pair of them start posturing and thumping their chests to secure a table…
She smiled through the heat rising up her cheeks as she looked up at Clark and Mitch. “How about we just go somewhere else?”
Neither man said a word.
Shoot. This wasn’t how this whole thing was supposed to go. This is why I don’t do blind dates. She exhaled. Maybe if I just explain myself better. “To be honest I don’t really like the food here… and you know what they say about causing a fuss at a restaurant… all those things they’ll do to your food in the back… and I know we could find…”
An index finger landed smack in the middle of her still-moving lips, and Maddie stopped talking.
“You’re sure you want to leave?” Clark looked down at her, his finger pressing against her lower lip.
It shouldn’t be sexy, but it was. The way he took control and silenced her with just a touch… Her head bobbed up and down in response.
Clark smiled and dropped his hand. “Excellent. I know just the place.” He glanced at the hostess. “You can cancel our reservations.”
“There will be a cancellation fee.”
He snorted his disapproval. “Not if you want to be open for business tomorrow.”
Tucking Maddie’s arm into his, Clark steered her toward the entrance. “Let’s get out of here. I know just the place.”
Mitch pushed open the front door and all three of them stepped out into the night.
Chapter 4
MITCH
“This is your idea of the perfect place?” Mitch glanced around at the dark wood paneling and the neon signs for a hundred different types of beer.
“Relax. They’ve got burgers the size of your head, a huge draft selection, and darts. Who doesn’t like darts?”
“Chicks in fancy dresses, that’s who.” He sipped his beer, some local craft thing Clark recommended, and tried not to scowl. The minute he found out he wasn’t alone on this blind date with Maddie, he should have called the matchmaker and straightened it out. He didn’t pay for fuckups like this. He paid for results.
Now here he sat, two beers into a dive bar date, and he hadn’t managed to do more than throw a few darts and make small talk. Sure, he’d learned Maddie liked her beer dark, her dart games best two out of three, and her men with a stable job and no ex-wives tucked away somewhere, but he still sat uneasily on the barstool.
“Relax, Mitch. She’s having fun.”
He glanced up at her, watching as she finished her latest round of darts. With every throw, she paused, her little pink tongue darting out to wet her lips before she pulled her arm back. That sexy backside of hers jutted out, her boobs practically danced the hula, and as she launched the dart, Mitch had to bite back a groan of appreciation.
Damn.
He had to hand it to Harlow, so far Maddie was a perfect ten in Mitch’s book: sexy curves, long legs, enough meat to sink his fingers into when he finally got a chance. To top it all off, she seemed to roll with the punches and handle surprises like a champ.
But admitting as much to Clark felt like conceding a loss and handing this date to his former classmate—something Mitch wasn’t ready to do at all. “Maybe she’s just putting on a show.”
Clark snorted. “If she can manufacture that kind of enthusiasm when secretly she’s hating it, then she should be in Hollywood, not Chicago.”
“I take it you’re still into her.”
“Fuck yeah, aren’t you?”
Mitch nodded as he sipped his beer. “Yeah, but that doesn’t get us anywhere.”
“Of course it does.” Clark slipped off his stool as Maddie scampered over, her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.
She grabbed her drink and gulped, draining the frosty beer in one long swallow. She set the empty glass on the bar and clapped her hands. “So who’s winning now?”
“Including the latest round?” Mitch glanced at the scorecard. Damn. He swallowed down his rising jealousy with another swig of beer before answering. “Clark, I believe.”
“You’re damn right, I am.” Clark leaned over and took Maddie by the hand before pulling her closer. “And what does the winner get this time?”
She eased out of his grasp and Mitch smiled. Clark wasn’t the only man on this date, and Maddie always seemed to remember it. When one got close, she backpedaled. When the other swooped in, she leaned closer to the first.
The three of them were trapped in a never-ending dance. One Mitch wanted to end in a king-sized bed with Maddie’s clothes all over the floor.
She smiled at both of them. “I’m stumped. Any ideas?”
Hell, yes. And all dirty. Mitch answered in a rush. “A kiss.”
Maddie turned to him. “From whom?”
“Winner’s choice.”
She hesitated, her gaze bouncing back and forth between both men, settling on Clark. “Does that work for you?”
“Of course. I’m winning.” Clark beamed, his grin full of bravado and ego and Mitch rolled his eyes. Courtroom lawyers always were the showy sort.
“Then it’s decided. Winner gets a kiss from the person of their choosing.” Maddie walked over to the dart board, both men’s gazes trained on her ass. Mitch held his breath as she reached up, tugging the darts free.
Goddamn, he was going to win this game. He didn’t care if he had to shove Clark out of the way to do it, but his were the lips Maddie would be kissing at the end of the night, not Clark’s.
With three darts in her hand, Maddie reached for the last one, rising onto the balls of her feet as she strained to grasp it in her fingers. Her dress inched higher and higher, showing off enough creamy thigh to tug Mitch right off the stool. Before Clark could say a word, Mitch drained the rest of his beer and rushed to help her.
She would know just how into her Mitch was, starting right now.
MADDIE
Come on, you pesky little thing. Maddie struggled with the last dart, fingers slipping as she strained to reach it.
If I were better at this game, this wouldn’t be a problem. Not that she minded leaving the stuffy overpriced site of her complete mortification, but darts wasn’t one of her strengths. Now that Clark added a winning kiss into the mix… she was sunk.
Whichever Hill man won would be leaning in and planting a wet one smack on her lips. The problem? She wanted them to tie.
Going out on a date with two men was crazy. Something Maddie would never have agreed to in a million years. But Harlow was right; both Mitch and Clark were amazing. Good at their jobs, confident almost to a fault, competitive without being total dickhe
ads.
The total man package. It didn’t hurt that they were both hotter than hell, either.
Just as she reached again for the stubborn dart, a hand landed on the small of her back. Mitch leaned close to pluck the dart from the wall like an errant piece of lint, and she suppressed a shiver.
Tilting her head up, Maddie glanced at him. So tall and handsome. Did I already think he was handsome? Because hoo-boy, up close…
The dark brown stubble coating his jaw gave him this rough and tumble vibe, but the black suit and pressed dress shirt screamed high-end businessman. The juxtaposition of the two had Maddie squirming as she stared up into his gray eyes, her insides turning into sexed-up Jell-O.
He held the dart out to her as he leaned closer, the citrus smell of his cologne mixing with the beer on his breath and something else… something all man… and Maddie swallowed. Men didn’t rattle her just by standing so near.
Not until Mitch and Clark.
She took the dart and gave a lopsided smile. “Thank you, I couldn’t reach it.”
“My pleasure.” He stared down at her upturned face, so close he could kiss her. “I’m sorry the date didn’t turn out like we’d expected.”
“Don’t be. I meant what I said about Navu. It’s really not my kind of place.”
“And this is?”
“Um…” She glanced past him to where Clark sat at the bar, his eyes trained on the pair of them like a hawk on a kill. “I wouldn’t say that exactly.”
“I didn’t think so. You’re way too beautiful for a dive like this.”
Mitch stepped back and Maddie sucked in a lungful of air. The man gave out compliments like most people handed out complaints.
“If this isn’t it, then tell me, what’s your idea of a perfect first date?”
Oh, no. She hated being put on the spot. If this were any other date with a guy she’d met some other way, Maddie would have lied and said something expected. A nice dinner, dancing, maybe a movie. But none of those ever did it for her.
