One drink. One drink wouldn’t hurt. Nor would another night she didn’t have to spend alone. She put her wallet away, got down from the stool and sauntered toward him, hand held out in anticipation of touching his. Of touching him.
“Yes.”
2
“HOW ABOUT THAT ONE, OVER there? The tall one?” Justin nudged Troy and pointed to a trio of women who’d just walked into Esmee Restaurant, where he and Justin were sitting at the bar. “She’s hot. More than that, she looks nice.”
Troy turned and gave a cursory look. The female in question was taller than her companions, probably five-eight or nine, blonde and attractive, dressed provocatively. He nodded wearily. Yes, Justin, she was hot. Yes, Justin, she looked nice. No, Justin, Troy wasn’t going to offer to take her out, because for all Troy knew, she was newly released from the cozy facilities at Milwaukee County Mental Health. Plus, Troy already had his eye on a woman at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, though he hadn’t mentioned that to Justin in case he and Candy arranged a double wedding before Troy even got up the nerve to ask Missy for a first date.
Justin was a good friend, had been since they were in college together at UCLA—in fact, Justin had moved from California to Milwaukee after Troy invited the talented writer to be his coauthor on an interactive computer manual they’d finished last month. Troy couldn’t blame Justin for his…enthusiasm when it came to matchmaking. For one thing, he was over-the-top in love with his fiancée, Candy, and was therefore in that blissful state where he wanted everyone else to be as happy for the same reason. For another, Justin had made the acquaintance of arak tonight, liquor Troy’s half-Lebanese friend Chad had turned Troy on to. The stuff was delicious, but lethal, about fifty-percent alcohol. Not that Justin was in danger of embarrassing himself, but he was definitely feeling no pain. Good thing Candy had an event nearby and was showing up shortly to drive him home.
“Oh, wait, never mind.” Justin waved away the concept of the blonde with obvious irritation. “She’s too young.”
“What defines too young?”
Justin leaned over confidentially. “Jonas Brothers T-shirt.”
“Ooh, yeah.” Troy hid his amusement. “Way too young.”
“Don’t worry, man.” Justin sipped arak and thumped his glass down on the bar. “We’ll find you someone. Sooner or later.”
“We?”
“We.” Justin pointed to himself. “We’ll find you someone who will light you up the second you lay eyes on her. Who makes every nerve ending in your body come to life in a way you’ve never felt before, ever, not even close. It’s like life-heat, it’s like…the hotness of life. It’s like you’re—”
“Seriously sloshed. Listen to yourself, buddy.”
“I know. But it’s true. It happened to me.” He thumped his chest proudly. “I looked into Candy’s eyes and thought…whoa. This is it. This is her. I just met the rest of my life.”
“That’s what you were thinking? Really?”
Justin frowned. “Okay, maybe not consciously. Consciously I was thinking she had nice eyes and a nice mouth. And legs. Great legs. Even her feet are sexy. And her—”
“Okay, dude.” Troy socked him in the shoulder. “That’s plenty, thanks.”
“I love good feet on a woman, too.” The voice came from the guy on the stool to Troy’s left; he looked as if he’d been in the sun all day, though more likely he’d been here in the bar all day. “Good feet and good lips. Good hands and sturdy hips.”
“Poetry.” Justin beamed at him across Troy. “Lips and hips. I love it.”
“Thanks.” The guy went abruptly back to staring at his drink as if someone had turned his power off.
Troy rubbed his hand over his face. When was Justin’s fiancée coming?
“I may sound over-the-top when I talk about Candy, but I’m telling you, being in love is the greatest. Really in love, not the torture you went through with Drama Queen Debby and that I went through with Attention-Needing Angie—”