Free All the Right Things (Love in LA) by Audrey Harte Page A

was sure she was going to embarrass herself by the end of the night.
    After a few short moments Casey returned, bending close to ask what she’d like to drink. She asked for a Sea Breeze, and he disappeared again. When he slid the requested drink into her hand, Annie smiled up at him gratefully, and then gingerly took a sip. It slid easily down her throat, making her hum softly with appreciation. The proportion of vodka to cranberry and grapefruit juice was perfect, making the fruity cocktail refreshing and enjoyable. Raising her eyebrows, she looked up at him and smiled before inclining her head.
    “Not bad, not bad at all.”
    “Oh yeah, Casey is a great bartender,” the guy sitting next to her said. She was pretty sure his name was Chris, if she remembered correctly.
    “Had to be. Couldn’t always afford to support myself on dance alone.”
    “He’s only that great because I taught him everything I know,” the girl sitting across from her interjected, smiling coyly at Casey. She then flicked a glance at Annie as if she was an afterthought and gave her a very fake smile. Annie immediately identified Trisha by her voice when she spoke. “He was such a good student.”
    Casey had just taken a swig of his beer as Trisha spoke up, and he choked as he swallowed, wiping his mouth against his arm as he tried to compose himself .
    “Trisha, behave,” a guy leaning on the wall behind Trisha admonished in a low voice, making her visibly bristle for a moment before rolling her eyes. But then she leaned back in her chair and redirected her attention to the guy sitting in an armchair next to her.
    Great. Again—who the hell is Trisha?
    Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Annie quickly drained the rest of her glass. The rest of the evening was going to be interesting. She got up and asked Casey if he could show her where to make another drink, and he beckoned for her to follow him with a nod of his head. Annie’s eyes widened as he led the way into a bright, spacious kitchen which was fully furnished with every convenience a gourmet chef could possibly wish for. A full bar was set up on the middle island with a bag of opened ice sitting in a stainless-steel sink next to it.
    As she moved to make herself another drink, Casey stopped her and smoothly extracted the glass from her hand.
    “I got it,” he said, pecking her quickly on the lips before he turned to start mixing.
    Annie grinned as she leaned back against the counter to watch him measure the liquids separately, pouring everything into a stainless-steel cocktail shaker with a little ice. Covering the top, he shook the container with one hand, and then popped the lid to pour. All of his motions were smooth and practiced, a sure sign that he’d been doing this for years.
    “So, Trisha,” she said as he turned to hand her the drink.
    He laughed and ran his hand back over his head as he looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry about that. We go way back – old family friends, but she can be kind of protective of new people coming into my life… especially girls.”
    Nodding, Annie took a sip of her second drink. Just as delicious as the first. “Did you guys ever… you know?”
    “Nah, we’re just friends. She might wish it otherwise, but that’s never going to happen.”
    “I see. Well, she didn’t seem too thrilled to meet me.”
    “She just doesn’t know you, yet. Like I said, she’s protective. Just give it some time. Once you get to know her, I bet you guys would get along great.”
    He sounded so hopeful that she hated to be a Debbie Downer, so she forced a smile and nodded at him.
    “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”
    “Come on—let’s go mingle for a while. I’ll kick them all out of here after an hour or so, two hours tops, I promise.”
    A couple of hours seemed like an eternity, now that she had the pleasure of sitting across from Trisha while the girl glared daggers at her whenever Casey wasn’t looking. At least Chris had given up