Tempting (Inked Hearts 1)

He gets our drinks and moves closer.

Then he's sitting next to me.

His body is warm and hard. And there's my drink, my vodka soda. I take a long sip and set it down.

I'm supposed to be sparring with Joel.

I'm supposed to be pulling back from my relationship with Ethan.

Fuck, I really am terrible at this.

Okay, need a second to think. I'm here as a wingwoman. I can do that.

The bar is mostly men. But there is a cute blond sitting by herself. I motion to her then to Joel. "What do you think?"

"You a pimp, Valentine?" he asks.

"I've never been a wingwoman before."

He laughs and shoots me a tell me something I don't know look.

Ethan laughs too. It's a damn, you're adorable laugh. It's an I think I'm falling in love with you laugh.

The flutter in my stomach turns to something ugly. I keep up my smile enough to push past Ethan. "Come on, Joel, let's do this."

Joel shakes his head but he still gets out of the booth.

He leans in to whisper in my ear. "You okay?"

I nod but from the expression in his grey-green eyes, I'm pretty sure he doesn't believe me.

Joel steps in front of me. "Follow my lead, okay?"

"Okay."

He shakes his head to say you're hopeless at this but he still moves forward. He goes up to the bar, one seat away from the blond, and he hails the bartender.

He looks back to me. "All right, sis, time to get you drunk enough you forget that bitch."

The blond makes an aww, poor girl face.

Okay, I'm Joel's sister apparently. And I'm forgetting some bitch. Oh—

"I know you wanted to marry her. But she never deserved you." He calls out to the bartender. "Two shots of whiskey."

"How about I get those?" The blond moves over. She offers me a look of solidarity. "My ex didn't even have the decency to get a hotel room. I caught him with his secretary."

I nod at her. What can I say about my fictional lesbian ex? My gaze drifts back to Ethan. He and Mal are watching us. Ethan looks charmed. Mal looks slightly irritated.

I'm supposed to be selling this story…

Uh…

The blond introduces herself to Joel.

Then he's introducing me and telling her an incredibly detailed, sordid story about my bitch of a cheating ex-girlfriend.

But I'm not paying attention to Joel's words. My eyes are locked with Ethan's and the way he's smiling is melting every bit of sense in my heart.