Free Dirty Little Secret by Ella Sheridan Page A

recently divorced.”
    True sympathy colored Sam’s voice. “I’m sorry.”
    Cailin shrugged and gathered her purse. “It’s fine, believe me. And now, I have to get a move on. Alex is waiting.”
    Sara Beth sent her a wide smile. “The longer he waits, the more appreciative he is. Trust me.”
    Again that feeling that she’d missed something passed through her, but Cailin brushed it away. A few minutes later she stepped back into the sunshine, lugging Alex’s dry cleaning once more.

Chapter Six
    What the heck was I thinking? Cailin asked herself as she climbed onto a padded bar stool on the shadowed end of the bar at Thrice. Friday night hopped—or thrashed, depending on which corner you looked at. Various enclaves had developed in different areas of the room: headbangers, goths, twentysomethings… You name it, Thrice had it going on. The wild feel to the air rankled her nerves, already shot at this, her second trip to the nightclub. She’d met Alex here a month ago; surely she could meet someone else, anyone else. She had to get him out of her head.
    “What can I get you, beautiful?”
    The bartender leaned across the wide expanse of the gleaming bar toward her. The tag on his shirt said Brad . When she met his eyes, a glittering smile told her he was a charmer she would want to keep an eye out for.
    Tongue-tied, Cailin found her answer caught somewhere between her head and her brain. She could count on two fingers the amount of times she’d ordered an alcoholic drink in her adult life. It’s not like there was a menu! What the heck should she order when she didn’t know for sure what anything was called, or what was in it, for that matter?
    “Um…” She bit down on her lower lip in an effort to curb her embarrassment.
    Brad seemed to sense her dilemma. “Not much of a drinker then, huh, beautiful?”
    Cailin shook her head, figuring that was plenty of response with the pounding drums blaring from the stage below.
    “Okay,” he answered, “let’s play twenty questions. But don’t worry,” he assured her as her eyes widened, “there’s really only two. Okay, maybe three.”
    Cailin nodded.
    Brad’s laugh was deep and throaty, sexy, and yet not so much as a tingle went through her. On an aesthetic level, she could see the appeal, but her body wasn’t getting the message. Doesn’t mean it won’t, girl. Just give yourself a chance.
    “So, first question: Sweet or bitter?” At her obvious confusion, he clarified. “Do you like your drinks bitter or sweet?”
    “Sweet.”
    He jerked a nod. “Good.” Making a show of considering his next question, even going so far as to tap his chin with a long forefinger until she laughed, he finally asked, “Frozen or on the rocks?”
    Cailin was getting the hang of this game. “Frozen.”
    “Hot damn, we’re on a roll!” Brad slapped his palms together and rubbed them vigorously. “Let’s see…strawberry or coconut?”
    That one was harder. “Hmm. I like both, but let’s go with strawberry.”
    “Okay, how about a frozen strawberry margarita? Good staple. Can’t go wrong with it.”
    Cailin agreed. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
    “No problem—” He lifted a brow in inquiry.
    “Cailin.”
    Brad reached across to shake her hand politely. “Nice to meet you, Cailin.” He tapped his name tag. “Guess what my name is?”
    “Would I win the game then?” she asked with a laugh.
    “You’ve already won our game, beautiful.”
    Brad shot her a seductive smile that should’ve sent the temperature in the room soaring several degrees, then turned to start on her drink.
    Cailin went back to people watching. As much as she enjoyed interacting with others—when they carried the conversation, of course—she was always more comfortable on the outside looking in. It was easier watching than trying to figure out how to actually do, how to get involved with people and not become mired in their expectations and rules and just plain crap sometimes. Part