Free Ace's Key: Book 1 by Abbie St. Claire Page A

put his card in my bag and smiled when he touched my arm
softly before walking away.
    “What are you doing, Mia? What about Ace?” Claire bit at me.
    “Ace doesn’t do relationships…his story, not mine. I want
more.”
    The bar may have been noisy, but my table was quiet. I noticed
Ashley’s eyes got really big.
    “What? I’m free to do—”
    A firm hand grasped my right arm and pulled me around so
quickly, I nearly fell out of my shoes.
    Connor.
    “What are you doing here crashing my party?” he asked angrily.
    “We’re out celebrating my promotion. What are you doing here?”
    “The guys and I…um…we’re out together.”
    It was then that some of the other guys with him joined us at
the table, including none other than Zane Copperman.
    I looked at Connor and then back to Zane. “Zane, how do you
know Connor?”
    “Fraternity brothers. He’s the guy getting married. You two
know each other?” Zane asked before chugging his beer.
    “Something like that,” I uttered.
    Zane’s eyes bounced between Connor’s clenched jaw and my angry
stare. “Oh no, I’m sorry. I just made the connection. You pronounce your name
as Mee-ah and Connor always said it like My-ah. I’m really sorry, I…uh…I feel
like an idiot, I had no idea when we were…um, when I gave you my card.”
    “Don’t.” I put my hand up to silence him.
    Movement occurred beside and behind me, and that’s when Claire
and Ashley surrounded me, silently joining force.
    “Go away, Connor. You’re not welcome here,” Claire said.
    “Claire, it’s my party. I’m not leaving, but you three bitches
are free to take your trash-asses to any other joint in town.”
    There was an immediate scuffle, and Connor hit the ground. I’m
not sure if Sean or Claire threw the first punch, but Claire was holding her
hand and smiling, and Sean had Connor pinned to the floor.
    Connor was a mouthy wimp and no match for Sean.
    When Crush’s security team arrived, both parties were tossed
out of the club, but it was worth it to see Connor sporting what looked like a
broken nose with blood all over his face and his expensive cashmere sweater.
    Zane tried to speak to me as we got in our hired car, but I
told him to get lost. I had no interest in shagging Connor’s friend in order to
get even.
    Happiness was definitely going to be the best revenge.
    I was still holding the bottle of champagne I’d grabbed from
our table, and I took a swig before passing it around.
    “They let you walk out with that bottle?”
    “With the commotion, I don’t think anyone saw me. Cheers to
whoever plastered his face. I loved it.”
    “That would be me,” Claire laughed as she soothed her knuckles.
    Connor is getting married? Why the rush, I wondered.
Then it hit me, Connor hated condoms, and I came to the quick conclusion that
Laci had to be pregnant.
     
    Chapter Fifteen
     
     
    The next couple of weeks flew by in a blur, as I was buried
under a mountain of to-do’s at work and a business trip to New York. I started
my days before sunup and finished them long after sundown. Communication was
minimal with Claire and Ashley, which had less to do with my schedule and more to
do with them spending time with their new significant others.
    “It’s Friday, and we haven’t seen you since we all went to
Crush. Go out with us tonight?” Ashley pled.
    “Ash, I’m working late tonight. I just got in early this
morning from New York, and it’s been a long week.”
    “Fine, then let’s go to brunch tomorrow. We miss you, and I
have something I want to tell you.”
    “Why don’t you tell me now?” I asked while I ate my lunch at my
desk.
    “No. I need to see you and Claire does too. Brunch tomorrow at
Crescent. Ten-thirty. Chow.”
    She hung up on me.
    * * *
    Dressed and ready for brunch over a half-hour early, I decided
to walk over to Crescent and grab our table. When I looked at my watch again, I
realized I was almost two hours early, I’d never changed my watch