by Lexi Ryan
Reese bit her lip. The woman had to be creeping near ninety. “Call me Reese, Mrs. Wisenowitz.”
“Bah! I’d like to call you Mrs. Rich Man, but I can’t do that, now can I? When are you going to find yourself a man and settle down?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I will someday. I just haven’t found my Prince Charming yet.”
“You don’t need Prince Charming, you need Prince Wealthy, I’m telling you!”
Reese laughed but didn’t dare comment. Mrs. Wisenowitz was a wealthy widow who would go on and on about how she married Mr. Wisenowitz for his money but would bite off the head of the first person who dared to suggest the same thing.
“Well, think about it, and let me know if you’ll be joining us for our masquerade ball.” Pulling up her seating chart, she studied the VIP seats. She wanted every one of those top dollar seats to be full. “You could bring a date.”
“You know what my problem is, Miss Regan?”
Reese bit her tongue before saying, “I can’t imagine.”
“The men my age don’t interest me.”
“Well, why not?”
“They’re old!” she cracked.
Reese laughed. “Well, we’ll be doing a bachelor and bachelorette auction, so you could always pick your date up once you arrive.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard since my beautician said I wasn’t too young to be a platinum blonde. Is that beau of yours going to be up for auction?”
“I’m not with Lance anymore, Mrs. W.”
“I’m not talking about that idiot. I’m talking about that boy you spend so much time with—Caroline’s boy. He’s no bum, that one. Real hard worker, good family too.”
“Ben? Ben and I are just friends, and no I don’t think he’s going to participate in the auction.” But it couldn’t hurt to ask, and Reese added a note to her list.
“Want to keep him for yourself, huh?”
Reese shook her head. “There will be plenty of handsome bachelors for you to bid on.”
Reese just needed to find them.
CHAPTER TEN
Reese needed male escorts, and she knew just where to find them.
“Hey, beautiful,” Luke called as she walked in the door. “What’s the special occasion? I haven’t seen you two nights in a row since you took that job.”
“It’s been busy, but it will slow down after the masquerade ball.” She hoped, but she was beginning to get the impression that all of Halie’s staff—Halie included—worked long hours and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Ben’s in the back on a business call.”
She crossed her arms. She was friends with all of them, so why did Luke assume she was here for Ben?
“Beer?” Luke grabbed a pint glass from a wall and filled it without waiting for a response.
“Oh, thanks,” she said as she took the beer. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
Wiping his hands on a towel, he turned to give her his full attention. “Sure. What’s up?”
“You know me and Ben really well. Do you think he and I give people the impression that we’re dating?”
“Or that you wish you were?” a deep voice said behind her.
Reese turned to see Mark Hawk.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said, running his gaze over her. “I like the way you wear those jeans.”
She’d changed into a new pair before leaving the office, but she’d left on her strappy black heels, bright pink dress shirt, and dangly silver earrings. Her cheeks warmed but she made herself say, “Thanks.” Then, “People think Ben and I want to be dating?”
Mark shrugged. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
Reese shook her head. “We don’t. Want to date, I mean. It’s not like that.”
Luke grunted and Mark said, “Good to know.”
“What’s good to know?”
Reese jumped at the sound of Ben’s voice.
“Reese was telling me how much she likes her new job,” Mark said, winking at Reese.
She shot him a grateful look. “I do. It’s nice being challenged. Actually—” She rolled her shoulders back and pasted on her best smile. “I was hoping you three might consider helping me out by volunteering for my bachelor and bachelorette auction.”
Ben and Luke groaned, but Mark said, “Whatever you need.”
Reese crossed her arms and looked at Ben and Luke. “Are you going to let him show you up like that?”
“Yes,” they chorused.
“Well, think about it at least.”
“You staying for a beer?” Ben asked, waving toward his table at the back of the room.
“Sure,” Reese said. She looked to Mark and Luke. “You guys joining us?”
Luke shook his head. “Sorry, I’m doing inventory while I have Mark here to watch the front.”
“Next time,” Reese said, but Ben was already pulling her toward the back, a grin nearly splitting his face.
“I owe you one,” he said as they settled at the table.
“One what?”
“A favor. When you got here, I was on the phone with Halie. She was calling to set up a meeting to discuss my quote.”
“I didn’t do anything but tell her the truth. She’d be lucky to have you.”
Her phone buzzed, interrupting her.
“Mind if I check that?” She pulled her phone from her purse, but one look at the screen had her groaning.
Step Five: Ben tells me you’re at the bar. You’re a young, modern woman. Don’t wait for a guy to pick you up, pick one up yourself. End your night with a kiss and Sleeping Beauty may fully awaken.
“What?” Ben asked.
“It’s Halie with my next step.”
“What’s next?” Ben grabbed her phone.
“Don’t!”
But it was too late. He was scowling at the screen. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean fake it, just like we planned. Tell her you did it.”
“You mean lie.”
He handed back her phone. “Is there a difference?”
“You don’t have to look so unconvinced. I can pick up a guy as well as the next girl.” She frowned. “I just need someone to tell me how.”
Toby Keith crooned from the juke box.
“Try standing on the table and asking for a volunteer.”
Reese snorted. On Monday’s Luke’s wasn’t exactly at maximum capacity. Those who were here, lingering over their dinners and watching football, were like Ben, blue collar guys in work boots and ball caps who weren’t too politically correct to whistle at a beautiful woman or listen to Mark Hawk’s radio show. Reese could just imagine their reaction if she did what Ben suggested.
“You’re not seriously considering—” His grin vanished. “Reese?”
She met his eyes. He lifted her chin with one finger, and the intensity in his gaze sent a lick of pleasure up her spine.
This was Ben. Her friend. Friend. Buddy. Pal, she reminded her girlie parts. Apparently, Sex Goddess 101 gave those parts a mind of their own. “Yeah?”
He swallowed. Time tripped on repeat as their gazes tangled.
No. This was Ben. Ben was…Ben. They were friends. They laughed and joked. There was no tangling of gazes. Sure, he’d made sexually suggestive comments to her before. He was a guy. Once she’d made the mistake of thinking there was more between them.
It was an embarrassment she didn’t intend to repeat.
But this was different. She could have sworn his eyes dropped to her mouth for the briefest moment before he pulled his hand away. “I’m beginning to hate this program.”
Reese released her breath. “Why?”
“First of all, you don’t need it.”
Well, that was…sweet. A big fat lie, but sweet.
“You still want my help?”
She crossed her arms. “How do you intend to help me with this? Aside from your brilliant standing-on-tables advice.”
> He lifted a shoulder. “What? You’re not afraid to show me your moves, are you?”
She straightened and smirked. “You forget I’m a slut in training.”
“Prove it.”
Crap. He just called my bluff.
Ben pushed away from the table and winked at Reese as he backed away.
At the pool table, he racked a set of balls.
She was toast. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, beautiful green eyes, and a killer smile. Ben didn’t fade out next to his brother, who was taller, darker, broader, and louder. He should have but he never did.
The only thing Mark had going for him that Ben didn’t was that Mark had never broken her heart.
She exhaled sharply, pushing away the thought, and headed for the bar. If ever a situation called for liquid courage, this was it. Had she ever made out with a random guy? Despite all her bluster, even if Ben could show her how to pick one up, she wasn’t sure she was the kind of girl who could stick her tongue down the throat of a perfect stranger.
Mark had moved behind the bar and was pouring a middle-aged man a drink. She waved to him.
“I’m going to need something stronger,” she said.
Mark raised a brow. “Really?” He looked at his watch. “Isn’t it Monday?”
Reese glanced over her shoulder to the table where Ben was lining up a shot. As if he sensed her looking, Ben lifted his attention from the line-up to her and mouthed, “Chicken?”
“Tequila,” she said, turning back to Mark. “Make it a double.”
Mark shook his head but poured the amber liquid in the glass.
She shot it back before she could over think it and winced as the liquid burned down her throat. “Wow.”
Mark chuckled. “Rough day?”
Reese looked at Ben again. He’d pushed his sleeves up, exposing toned forearms. God bless manual labor. That man had really nice forearms.
And this wasn’t the first time she’d noticed. Not even the first time this week.
Damn. No wonder people got the wrong idea about them.
“Things are about to get interesting,” she said, shifting her gaze back to Ben who winked at her as he made another shot. “Another?”
Mark coughed. “Reese, I don’t think—”
She turned to him and set her jaw. “How many times have I seen you serve pretty girls far past their tolerance?”
“None of them were as pretty as you.”
“Liar.”
He put a hand to his chest. “You wound me.”
She tapped her glass, waiting.
He shook his head. “Fine. But, hey, don’t complain to me when you want to die in the morning.”
She smiled at him as he poured another shot. Why was she thinking about Ben when she could be thinking about Mark? Dark, messy curls, those intense dark eyes. She watched him as she took sipped the shot.
“Just promise me you won’t drive home,” he said.
A slow smile curled her lips as a plan hatched. “You offering to give me a ride?”
He leaned forward on the bar. “Any time and you know it.”
“I’m not sure I do know,” she said softly. Her mind spun and landed on her memories of the summer she’d met the Hawk brothers. The best and worst summer of her life.
“Reese, I’ve only kept my distance because you asked me to.”
“We both know I’m not your type, Mark.”
He lifted a brow. “What do you know about my type?” His voice was soft and it catapulted her back in time. The sun pouring in the window and the hot body next to her, her head pounding from too much tequila the night before, the panic that set in the moment she realized what she’d done.
“You never told him,” she said.
His dark eyes looked sad as he exhaled heavily. “I promised I wouldn’t.”
“I just might take you up on that ride,” she said. “I’m supposed to kiss someone tonight…step five.” She lifted her glass and he snagged it away from her. “Hey!”
“If I get to kiss you again, I’m going to make sure you remember it this time.”
She glanced over her shoulder and caught Ben watching them. She was warm and climbing up a buzz, but that didn’t change the fact that Ben was her best friend and deserved fair warning if she was going to mess around with his brother. She couldn’t take another secret.
She pulled her wallet from her purse and Mark waved it away. “It’s on me.”
She shook her head. “Let me pay.”
He inched a little closer. “Let me take you out.”
What was she waiting for? “Okay.”
Mark grinned. “Really?”
She shrugged. “Why not?”
“I’m gonna hold you to that.”
Did she need to explain that she wasn’t interested in serious? He was Mark Hawk. He was king of “not serious,” right? “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Sounds good,” he said.
She strode across the bar and gripped Ben’s arm. He didn’t need to teach her how to pick up a guy. She’d already done it. “Hey.”
He dropped his gaze to where her fingers curled around his wrist. “Hey, yourself.”
The juke box clicked to an old Nine Inch Nails grind, and Reese’s hips started to sway to the beat. Good old tequila made any beat a dancing one.
Ben was looking at her funny.
“What?” Reese smiled, feeling light and carefree. “Come on.” She headed back to the alley so they could talk in private. He followed wordlessly.
When the door slammed shut behind them, she leaned her head against the brick of the building and closed her eyes, enjoying the contrast of her heated skin in the cool evening air. When she opened her eyes, Ben was studying her, that funny look still creasing the corners of his eyes.
“I’ve got it figured out,” she said. She was almost giddy with the thought of a date. It would be fun. It’d been so long since she’d just had fun with a guy. And she could do this. It really didn’t have to be complicated at all. Six years ago, when she’d woken up in Mark’s bed, she’d still been hung up on Ben, but things were different now.
Tomorrow she’d report to Halie and move on to step six. Heck, she was halfway there.
“You do?” Ben asked. His pulse thrummed at his neck.
Impulsive with tequila, Reese reached up and touched the pulsing skin. “Your heart’s pounding.”
“Yeah.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.
She cocked her head. “I’m going let Mark take me out.”
His jaw ticked. “Don’t be stupid, Reese.”
“Wha—”
He cut her off with his mouth. He cupped her face in his big palm and brushed his lips across hers. He was warm and gentle.
And from the first brush of his lips, she wanted more.
Maybe tomorrow she’d blame the tequila or maybe she’d blame the lingerie shopping or the dirty stories she’d been logging into her notebook. Maybe she’d blame their tragic beginnings and her endless months of waiting for him to want her, but right now she didn’t even need an excuse. She moaned against him, loving the feel of his mouth, the light scratch of his scruff. Ben was so painfully male. A hot and delicious, long-denied craving.
Ben slanted his mouth over hers and slipped his tongue inside. He tasted like beer. Like male. Like something wicked and addictive. He wasn’t one of those rushed and sloppy kissers. He kissed like it was making love. Like he had all the time in the world. Like his most important task was kissing her. It was a kiss she’d known once and had never forgotten.
He slid his hands under her jaw and into her hair.
Reese grabbed a fistful of his shirt in her hand and pulled him closer, thinking of his eyes on her in the dressing room, thinking of the only other night they’d kissed.
He slid a hand behind her ass and lifted her, pressing her between the wall and his body and nestling his hard-on right between her legs. She gave a moan of approval and rubbed her tongue against his, exploring his mouth
for all she was worth. She reached around his neck and slipped her fingers into his hair, tugging gently. Groaning, he pressed himself even closer to her. She cursed the day denim was invented. She wanted closer, closer even as part of her brain told her this was a mistake, told her to end this before they ruined everything.
He tore his mouth from hers and latched onto her neck. Sucking, nibbling, tasting until her eyes closed and she arched into him.
His teeth grazed the shell of her ear. His breath was hot as he whispered, “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let my brother help you with the best parts of this program.”
Reese froze. “Ben.” She pushed at his chest and he backed away, lowering her softly to the ground.
Keeping a hand behind her head, he toyed with her hair.
Reese studied him. His face was serious, his eyes hot, pupils dilated when she asked, “What was that?”
“A kiss.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “A fucking good one.”
Her jaw worked, but none of the words that came to mind would do. “This is my fault. The lingerie shopping—”
“Was the best part of my weekend.” His mouth tipped up in a lopsided grin. “And I think you liked it too.”
God, had she. “We’re playing with fire.”
“We’re adults. We can manage a little fire.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth before she forced her eyes away. Been there. Rejected by that.
She swallowed and forced a smile. “Thanks. On to step six, right?”
He brushed a thumb over her lip. “Let me drive you home?”
Her mind was spinning—from the kiss, from the tequila, from the hard-edged craving pumping through her veins—and she knew she couldn’t drive herself. Mark had offered, but then she’d kissed Ben, and—Oh, hell. “Sure.”
Reese was vaguely aware of Mark watching them as they returned to the bar to retrieve her purse. She was vaguely aware of his eyes on them as they left together. But mostly she focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not making a big deal of the first kiss she’d shared with Ben since the day they met.
On the ride home, she did her best not to think about how pathetic she’d been in those early days of her friendship with Ben, those days when she was so sure he would come to his senses and she waited like a loyal dog.
