Adore Me (Austin Singles 3)

she said, “Don’t you look good.”

“I feel like shit. What do you want?”

She pouted and slid onto the bar stool at my kitchen bar.

“Can’t a friend come visit another friend?”

Taking a drink of my whiskey, I replied, “It depends on why the friend felt the need to visit.”

“Company. An ear to listen. One friend to help another out. Someone to—”

“All right, I get it. What happened?”

Raine shrugged. “I didn’t get the promotion I was hoping for.”

With a shake of my head, I let out a laugh. Raine worked at a major banking firm. She’d been up for a VP position, and it was a sure thing with her uncle being on the board.

“How in the hell did you screw that up, Raine?”

She sighed. “God, Blake. I was stupid. Really stupid. I was having a little . . . fling with one of the guys in the office.”

I raised my brow. “Who?”

“His name was Ryan. Ryan Lancer. He was the VP of marketing. He was also married . . . to our boss’s daughter.”

My mouth fell open. “No way.”

She nodded. “Yes way. He happened to leave that bit of information out when he asked me out the first time. My luck, right?”

“Hell, Raine. How were you not fired?”

Shrugging, she answered, “I have no idea. Maybe Mr. Collins thinks I’m worth hanging on to. Who knows? All I know is I needed someone to talk to.”

“So you came to me?” I asked.

“Well, we have a . . . history.”

“We messed around in college when we should have been studying, Raine. That doesn’t make for a history.”

“It does when I need you.”

I lifted a brow and knew I would regret my next question.

“Need me how?”

“To pose as my boyfriend.”

I laughed. Hard.

“Blake, I’m serious. My parents are throwing a charity event, and I promised them I would bring a date. Ryan said he would go with me but, well, as you can imagine, he isn’t now.”

With a shake of my head, I let out a sigh. “When is it?”

“It’s on Wednesday night. And it’s black tie. You have a tux, right?”

I shot her a smirk.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”