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Lucy rolled her eyes as they got into the back of the limo that was waiting for them. “Right,” she said with a chuckle. “Well, maybe that’s because when it came to the three of us, it was easy for men to spot the easy lay.”
Grace gasped. “Have you lost your mind?”
Melina frowned. “What’s that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t ‘nothing’ us, Lucy. Out with it.”
“There’s nothing…” As Melina and Grace continued to glare at her, Lucy gave in. “Jamie’s upset with me.” Granted, that’s what she’d wanted—to drive a wedge between them. But now that that had happened, it was almost more than she could bear.
Lucy told Melina and Grace what had happened the night before. About getting up and stripping on stage in front of the entire nightclub. About Jamie, hauling ass and storming the stage to grab her and take her away. “He lost it when he saw me up there.”
“Of course he lost it,” Melina said. “You were stripping. In public! God, you were about to show your breasts and hoo-hoo to his friends! He was probably so jealous he couldn’t stand it.”
“Why would he be jealous? There’s nothing between us.” Right. Say it enough times and maybe you’ll believe it, Lucy.
“Nothing but explosive chemistry and unresolved feelings,” Grace snorted, calling Lucy on her bullshit.
Not about to give in, Lucy shook her head. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I broke up with him. He let me. He knows just as well as I do that I wouldn’t fit into his world.”
“His world? You’re barking up the wrong tree, Lucy. You make it sound like he lives on another planet.”
“He might as well. He has a private jet, for God’s sake.”
“Correction,” Melina said. “His family’s company has a jet, one he very nicely used to take you to see your sister. And I’m not sure what him being rich and reacting to seeing you strip have in common.”
Memories of Mason filled her mind. She’d loved her high school boyfriend, only she’d proven to be something he didn’t want in his life. Something that embarrassed him. Lucy shrugged. “Let’s forget Mister Billionaire Former Professor, shall we, and talk about Rhys and Max’s big night. I’m excited to see what they have up their sleeves.”
Lucy didn’t miss the look Melina and Grace shared, but thankfully they went along with Lucy changing the subject.
The new theater was only a ten-minute drive from Lucy’s hotel. Several splashy signs outside advertised the grand opening. Grace told Lucy that this first show had already been sold out for over a month.
The Dalton Magic Show had changed its focus, and rumors were buzzing that the new act would be something fantastic. Entertaining. Sexy. The guest list tonight was limited to the media, who’s-who in entertainment, a few Las Vegas dignitaries, and close friends of Rhys and Max Dalton, the sexy identical twins whose magic show was about to blow the lid off all magic shows.
Lucy had watched both her best friends fall one after the other for a Dalton brother—first Melina and Rhys found love and marriage and babies together, then Grace and Max did the same. Well, not the marriage and babies part—at least, not yet.
Too bad the Dalton twins weren’t triplets. She could use someone special to help get her mind off Jamie.
The theater sported a dramatic entryway with red velvet curtains and vaulted ceilings that opened up into a large theatre that seated over a thousand people. Next to the theater was a more intimate lounge, with a full bar and cushy high-backed red velvet chairs arranged around dark cherry wood tables, where patrons could have drinks and appetizers before the show.
“Come on,” Grace said. “Drinks are on me.”
The waiter gave them menus and took their drink orders. Lucy’s dirty martini had just arrived when she heard Jamie’s voice. Automatically, she turned around. He was wearing a black sports coat and a crisp electric blue shirt. Her heart started pounding double-time and she almost couldn’t resist the desire to walk up to him. To apologize for having upset him. To tell him she’d only been trying to push him away when all she wanted was to pull him closer.
Knowing she was about to cave, she immediately excused herself to go to the bathroom. She dabbed at her face with a wet towel, took deep breaths, and told herself to get it together. When she returned, Jamie was talking to Melina and Grace, so Lucy headed to the bar.
“Hello there,” a male voice said.
Lucy turned to look at the man leaning against the bar beside her. He was gorgeous, and just her type. He had longish, shaggy black hair and pretty deep green eyes. He had a sexy and nicely trimmed goatee and a trim little mustache. He wore a black sleeveless T-shirt and his muscular arms were covered in colorful tattoos, and to top it off he wore round plugs in his ears. She wondered if he was pierced and where.
He held out a hand. On his wrist he wore black leather bracelets with silver studs on them, and his long fingers were adorned with skull shaped silver rings. “I’m Damien. Damien Cruz.”
Lucy took his hand and he held it a little longer than necessary after shaking it. When he let go, she leaned back against the bar and faced him. He smiled, and a deep dimple flashed on the left side of his face.
If she was looking for someone to take her mind off Jamie, she suspected she’d just hit the mother lode. She hadn’t had sex since breaking things off with Jericho, and this man was a perfect specimen.
She was about to ask if he was alone when she heard someone clear his throat.
