Free Reckless Whisper by Lucia Jordan Page A

was
different. She wanted to be as comely as possible to attract the right target.
    She
smiled at the bartender who poured another drink into her empty glass. Did she
just imagine the handsome man give her a tiny wink before he went off to attend
to another customer? Cheeky devil, she thought, eyeing him and checking out his
ass in the too-tight trousers. Probably gay, she guessed, deciding that hitting
on the bartender would be out of the question. She needed someone she could
flirt with blatantly and then leave with equally visibly.
    Before she was two sips into her newly
filled drink, a figure appeared at her side. She hid a smile and looked up
expectantly to find a familiar face smiling back at her. Her forehead scrunched
up thoughtfully for a moment, and then she grinned in recognition. “Oh, hi,
Henry.”
    “Carla,
such a surprise to see you here,” he said in a friendly tone as he placed his
hand on the counter.
    Carla’s
eyes flicked over him speculatively. Good looking; a bit nerdy with those
glasses, but nice blue eyes. He was one of Rick’s pals undoubtedly, and he
worked in accounting. But was he the right candidate? She really did want
someone to make Rick green in the face when he found out what she’d done.
    “I can
imagine,” she said drily, in answer to his last statement. The whole crew
probably knew about the breakup she figured. In fact, she was sure of it. They
probably knew the reasons, too. She could bet that Rick would make the picture
look just bad enough to make her seem the perfect fool for ever trusting him.
    Her
smile widened as she noticed Henry looking her over with frank admiration. He
really was nice – too nice to be put in the middle like this. Besides,
was he really the type to want to zone in on his pal’s ex-girlfriend? Some guys
had no principle, she knew, but she wasn’t sure she wanted Henry involved in
her scheme. But if there weren’t any other takers…
    “But as
you can see, a girl like me always likes to take things easy,” she said
lightly, lifting the glass to her lips and as her arm raised, managed to tilt
her cleavage out even more invitingly. She could swear she saw Henry’s throat
gulp. She added with a shrug, “I don’t let anything bring me down.”
    “I
understand,” Henry said, in a voice somewhat strained. Now he couldn’t seem to
keep his eyes above her neck. “I mean, considering that you and Rick…I mean,
now that it’s over – it doesn’t mean your life shouldn’t go on um…as
normal.”
    “Exactly.
You so get it. Right back on the wagon, that’s me,” she said, pointedly placing
down her glass with a smack of her lips as she faced him with purpose. She had
to admit; it just might be fun seducing someone like Henry…bringing him over to
the wild side will definitely be loads of fun…
    Just as
she was thinking of making a very targeted suggestion to the now
pink-in-the-face Henry, someone shouldered in between them with a polite
“excuse me” as he addressed the bartender. Carla frowned at the intrusion, till
she caught his profile and then gasped – audibly.
    He
turned suddenly at the sound, and she was face to face with the most beautiful
man she’d ever seen. He smiled a little at her dazed expression, before turning
once again to the bartender. “Your usual, Mr. Holt,” the man behind the bar
said respectfully.
    “Thanks,
Rob,” he said, and Carla swallowed as his deep, gravelly voice washed over her.
Just then, Henry spoke from the other end.
    “Mr.
Holt – I mean sir,” he said in a stumbling voice. “Didn’t see you there.”
    “That’s
okay, Henry; and sorry to break in between you and your…lady friend,” he said,
turning so that his back was to the bar. He switched to Carla who still hadn’t
been able to close her mouth, which she finally did with a hot flush of pink of
her face.
    Henry
seemed to have suddenly developed a stutter, as he said, “Oh, uh, sir, this is
um…Carla Stevens. Carla, this is Mr.