Free Drunk Dial (Hard Core #1) (Hard Core Series) by Carly Michaels

with some losers over the years. After the last douche cheated on her, she said she was done with men, but this Brent guy somehow convinced her he wasn’t like all the rest.” He shrugged. “I don’t think she’s serious about him. They’ve gone out on a couple of dates at most.”
    “Has she said anything to you about me?” I could almost hear Lacy screeching in my ear, warning me to back the hell off, but that didn’t stop me from asking. “I know this may sound like a stupid question, but you think she’s into me?”
    Ash laughed, raking a hand through his short dark hair. “Man, that’s tough to say. Wasn’t all that long ago she swore she’d never go on another date again.”
    “Why is that?” Seemed like an extreme statement for a beautiful young woman to make, even one who had been burned one too many times.
    Ash sighed. “If you grew up in our house, you’d understand, York.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    “Let’s just say we didn’t have the best role model growing up. Our mother was—is—pretty messed up, and Lacy didn’t want to follow in her footsteps.”
    “So she hasn’t dated a lot?” I found that hard to believe. Sweet and innocent weren’t words I’d use to describe Lacy. If that had been my perception, I never would have pursued her. A girl like that would get chewed up and spit out in my world.
    “I didn’t say that. She’s dated, but she’s…” Ash checked his Rolex. “Man, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get back out there.”
    Before I could stand to shake his hand, someone tapped on his door and popped her head in. “Ash, Brendan said you were back here.” Lacy stared at me, her eyes narrowing as she threw open the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
    “Busted,” Ash said under his breath as he rounded the desk. He kissed the top of her head as he passed her. “We can talk later. Go easy on him, sis.”
    “Like hell I will,” she muttered, slamming the door as she glared at me. “I’ll ask again. Why are you here talking to my brother?”
    I leaned back on Ash’s desk, crossing my arms. “You wouldn’t talk to me. What choice did I have?”
    I wasn’t big on backing down, not even when I knew I should. So I stood my ground, preparing to let her tear a strip off of me because I deserved it. If she’d gone poking around in my life, asking other people questions she should have asked me, I would have been pissed too.
    “You could have taken a hint and backed the hell off,” she said, stepping closer. She was too small to be intimidating, even though I knew those little feet and hands could be lethal weapons to someone who wasn’t trained in self-defence. “Who do you think you are, insinuating yourself into my life like this? I barely know you. And what’s more, I’m not even sure I want to know you!”
    She had every reason to resent me, but that didn’t mean I was going to let her write me off that easily. “There’s something between us.” I waited, daring her to challenge me. “You feel it; so do I. So when I saw you flirting with that asshole in the park today, I got pissed.”
    “You had no right to. We’re just friends.”
    I wasn’t sure whether she was talking about me or Brent the bonehead, so I asked, “You really gonna go out with him?”
    “Why not?”
    “Why waste precious time with him when you could be spending it with me instead?” I wasn’t arrogant. I just knew a good thing when it was staring me in the face, and I suspected she did too.
    “You’re so full of yourself,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What makes you think you’re so much better than him?”
    “I didn’t say I was better. But I’m more your speed.” I knew she’d have more in common with me than with a guy who wore thousand-dollar suits every day and got weekly manicures. “You can’t deny that.” When she didn’t try, the light bulb went off. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? He’s a safe bet. I’m not.”
    “I don’t have time