Rebel (Wolfes of Manhattan 1)

“Are you kidding? The night is young. I’m meeting some friends for a drink. You should come.”

I looked down at my wrinkled work clothes. “Maybe another time.”

“You look like you could use some fun. Just one drink. I’m buying.” He grabbed my arm. “Come on.”

I sighed. Why not? “At least let me change first.”

“Why? You look great, as always.”

I could feel the bags under my eyes. I had to at least check my face. But before I could, he was pulling me out the door. We grabbed a cab, and within a few minutes, Paul was leading me into a bar.

Crowded, though not overly so. It was Monday night, not Friday night. A group of three waved us over to a table in the corner.

“Hey, guys,” Paul said. “This is my neighbor, Lacey Ward. Lace, meet Jon Gregory, Lena Thomas, and Fox Monroe.”

I smiled. “Fox? As in Mulder?”

He laughed. “I was named after him, actually.”

Whoa. Young, then. No more than twenty-five at the most, and I’d put him younger. He had to be at least twenty-one to be here. I was suddenly feeling very ancient at thirty-one. He was gorgeous, though. They all were, including the woman. And dressed for a night out, which I so very wasn’t.

“Have a seat.” Fox patted the chair beside him.

What the heck? Paul took the spot on my other side, and our table was complete.

Fox signaled a server. When she arrived, he asked, “What would you like?”

I had no idea. Then I thought of Rock. “Bourbon. On the rocks.”

“Any particular bourbon?” the woman asked.

“The first one the bartender can get his hands on works for me,” I said, mimicking Rock’s statement at the restaurant.

“Now there’s a woman after my own heart,” Fox said, laughing. “Bring me the same.”

The others placed their orders, and Fox turned back to me.

“What do you do, Lacey?”

“I’m an attorney. What do you do?”

“I’m a model.”

Of course he was. His face was finely chiseled, not a single flaw, and his jawline sported a few days’ growth of sandy brown hair. His eyes were clear and blue. Really beautiful and sparkling and very focused on me.

I squirmed a little. Why was this making me so uncomfortable? His age? Nah. I wasn’t ageist or any -ist. Another time, I’d be loving his attention.

Why was he looking at me, anyway? My hair was no doubt a mess, my lipstick non-existent, and I was wearing clothes more suitable for a courtroom than a night out.

He continued staring at me, the silence becoming unbearable.

“A model?” That was intelligent, Lacey.

“Yup.”

“I have a friend who’s a model. Maybe you know her. Riley Wolfe?”

Riley was hardly my friend, but I had to say something.

“Oh, sure. I know Riley. She’s gorgeous. Very talented. No one can navigate the runway quite like she can. She’s as close as we have to an old-school supermodel these days. The way she moves is like a reincarnation of Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell, except with her own twist. She’ll be one of the classics. Amazing.”

I nodded. Why did I bring up a gorgeous woman again?

“How is she doing?”

“Fine.” As far as I could tell. Though I did think she was hiding something that she’d wanted to tell me but chickened out.

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad she’s doing better.”

Better? So Riley did have some issues, one of which was no doubt anorexia or bulimia. I couldn’t ask Fox about any of this, though. I’d said Riley was a friend, and if she were truly a friend, I’d know about whatever he was talking about.

Plus, this was so none of my business.

Our drinks arrived, which gave me something to do besides sit there saying nothing. I took a sip and gulped back a choke. The flavor was smoky and intense.

And damned good.

Why had I never tried bourbon before? To hell with cosmos and all those other frou-frou drinks I usually preferred. From here on, I was a bourbon girl.

“What brand do you suppose they gave us?” Fox asked me.

I had no idea. This was my first foray into bourbon. “I don’t know,” I said, “but it’s really good.”

“That it is. Nice and smooth. I’ll bet it’s a boutique bourbon from upstate. Some of those are amazing.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“What’s your favorite?”

I took a sip. “This one, as of right now.” Good save.

“Here, here.” He clinked his glass to mine and took a sip.

I took another. Wowza. This was good stuff.

Fox signaled the server. “We’re going to need another round here. I can tell already.” Then he smiled at me. “This night is just getting started.”23Rock“What can I get for you?”

“Bourbon on the rocks,” I said.

“Any particular bourbon?”

“The first one the bartender can get his hands on works for me.”

The waitress laughed. “You’re the second person tonight who’s said that to me. You realize that’s an excuse for Johnny to give you the fifteen-year Pappy’s. It’s sixty-five dollars a shot.”