Free Hooker (L.A. Liaisons Book 2) by Brooke Blaine

shoulder I could see that the girls had moved down the bar and were now directly in my line of view, but they weren’t who had caught my attention. Standing next to Quinn was someone completely unexpected, and I swear if it was possible for eyes to bulge out of your head from shock, mine would’ve been rolling across the floor already. Because just behind her was Nate.  
    Nate Boxer Briefs. Nate Target Aisle. And now Nate…Vegas.
    No way. It couldn’t be.  
    I squeezed my eyes shut to clear the obvious hallucination from my brain and then opened them again.  
    Nope. Still there.
    And not only was he there, but from the way Ryleigh was excitedly gesturing toward his back once she saw I was watching, he was with our group.  
    “Sweet fuck,” I said under my breath.  
    “Is everything okay?”
    In those frozen seconds, I’d completely forgotten about Ace sitting there, and his voice made me jump halfway out of my seat.  
    I sat up and flashed a bright smile, putting my PR Shayne mask back on. “You bet. So would you like to meet at my office, or—”
    “Do you know them?” he interrupted, inclining his head in the direction of my friends. The moment our gazes hit them they all spun around and pretended to be focused on the scenery.  
    Way to be stealth, guys.
    Focusing back to Ace, I said, “Never seen ’em before in my life.”  
    He chuckled a bit and took a sip of his bourbon. “Never, huh? That guy seems to disagree.”  
    I looked back up to see Nate watching us with interest. When he had my attention—and let’s be real here, when did the guy not have my focus if he was around—he lifted up his drink to us, much like he’d done at The Vortex.  
    Though I tried to keep my face unemotional, my heart felt like it was going to explode. What were the chances he’d be here and that my friends had run into him? A snowball in hell would’ve stood better odds.  
    And it made me squirm in my seat to think he probably had the wrong impression of what was going on between Ace and me. Probably thought I was on a date, and my friends were just Peeping Toms. The latter was right. And really, I shouldn’t care, because both times I saw him, it didn’t end so well.  
    Maybe I should insert my foot in my mouth and leave it there when I saw him coming.  
    God. Why did the guy cause my stomach to flip-flop and my body to break into a cold sweat every time he was nearby? I mean, those physical symptoms are usually associated with someone you don’t wanna see. With dread.  
    Not with…lust. Because that’s what it was. It had to be. Dirty, dirty lust. But looking at the guy, could anyone blame me? No. No, they could not.  
    “Shayne?” Ace’s voice cut through my inner monologue. When I looked at him, he smiled and said, “I’ve got to get going soon, but maybe another shot for the road?”
    “A shot? Oh. Yes, great idea.”
    Well, I’ll be damned. Ace was shaping up to be a non-douchebag. I was surprised to find I actually liked the guy. Not in a sexual sort of way—too much waxing going on for my tastes—but he was down to earth and seemed genuine.  
    Then again, he was an actor.
    Hottie waiter came back to hand us repeats of the lemon drops, and then one of Ace’s bodyguards approached and gave him a nod.
    “And that’s my cue,” he said. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Shayne. I’ll be in touch soon if it’s a go on your end?”
    “Definitely a go. We’d love to work with you.”
    “Well, uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If it’s all the same, I’d rather work with just you. Val is a little…”
    “Eccentric?”
    “‘Fucking crazy’ are the words I’d use.”
    “Then I’ll make sure to work with you directly,” I said with a wink.  
    A wink? I totally winked at Ace Locke. How come this guy didn’t make me ramble and stutter all over the place, but twenty-four-year-old over there had me falling over and lashing out at every turn? It made no sense.
    After we