Stepping into the bar, Sophia was met with dark lampshades and modern furniture, on which many women sat upright in slinky cocktail dresses, sipping their drinks as they flirted with strangers.

Sophia hated going to bars.

She would much rather be at home, in her pajamas, going over her next design. Instead, she had promised her friends that she would join them, and she knew that if she ever wanted to have a social life again, this was not the party to miss.

A large crowd was gathered towards the back of the bar, where it looked like a private party room was set up. Heading that way, Cynthia caught sight of her and squealed loud enough to be heard over the club music.

“Sophie! You came!”

Sophia smiled at her old friend, who rushed up to her, wrapping her in a fierce little hug. Cynthia had always been petite. With a small build, jet black hair and bright blue eyes, she had been the desire of every man they had ever come across, and Sophia had often been more than happy to pawn suitors off on her unassuming friend just to get them off her back.

In her limited experience, men had been a nuisance—a distraction from what really mattered. Sophia would not be hampered down by some man who would keep her from achieving all she was possible of doing. It just wasn’t going to happen.

“Of course I came! I couldn’t miss my best friend’s engagement party now could I?”

Cynthia took a sip of an intensely red cocktail, her eyes bright. Clearly she was already on her way to drunk, and she grinned broadly as she squeezed Sophia’s hand and pulled her towards the party. When she got there, her other friends took quick notice, and she was enveloped in a series of hugs and smiles.

It was heartwarming to see all of her old friends. Sophia had been driven in college, but it was Cynthia who had made her get out and enjoy the college experience every once in a while. Because of her, Sophia had some wonderful memories from her time at school. A glass was placed into her hand, and she drank from it, feeling oddly thirsty.

The lack of food or drink all day suddenly mattered very much.

“Have an hors d'oeuvre, Soph. Stay a while!”

Sophia gratefully pulled a small savory pastry off of a tray, resisting the urge to palm four or five of them. Her belly was in full protest at her neglect now, and the drink in her hand only made the urge to stuff her face even more pronounced. Cynthia stepped up to a tall, blond gentleman and laced her arm with his, beaming.

“Soph, this is Lucas, my fiancé. Isn’t he just perfect?” she sighed, gazing up at him with adoration shining in her eyes.

Lucas grinned down at Cynthia before holding his hand out for Sophia to shake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sophia. Cynthia has told me a lot about you.”

“Likewise,” Sophia lied.

The truth was, she had barely kept in contact with her college friends after all these years. While it was good to see them, she could instantly tell that there was something off about the situation. Somehow it was obvious that she didn’t belong, but she couldn’t quite tell why.

“Sophie! Come here and meet my husband, Josh!”

She turned to another one of her friends, Kirsten, politely introducing herself to her spouse. They chatted amiably for a while, Kirsten asking about what it was like to be named thirty under thirty, before going on and on about their young baby who was at home alone for the first time.

“I just hope she’s okay. I mean, of course I basically did a criminal background check on the sitter, who we’ve known for quite some time, but you never really know if someone might do something, you know?”

“Uh-huh,” Sophia agreed, accepting another drink as a tray passed her by.

She listened for another several minutes about how reliable the woman’s babysitter was before another one of her friends tugged her in a different direction, and introduced her to the new husband.

That was when it hit her.

Sophia was the only single person at the party.

All around her, cozy couples were drinking and sharing little intimate secrets with one another, clearly enjoying a special lifestyle that Sophia knew nothing about. Her whole life, she had never been interested in romance. She was a worker bee. A go getter. There were so many things that she wanted to accomplish in her life, and marriage and babies was not even near the middle of that list.

Still, as she looked around her, she keenly felt like she was being left out of an elite club. Was she wrong in focusing so strongly on her career for so long? All of a sudden it looked as though she was about to be left behind, when she had spent her whole life ahead of the curve.

Shaking her head, she chided herself for such stupid thoughts. Sophia knew her own mind, and she knew what would make her happy. Having a bunch of screaming kids and a husband who didn’t help enough (at least, that was what she assumed always happened, based on most stories she’d heard from married women) was not the life for her.

So there.

Slurping at her drink, she grabbed another, feeling the distinct need for fresh air. Her eyes darted around the bar as she looked for some method of escape, and she saw a series of steps that led to a rooftop deck.

Bingo.

“Sophie? Where are you going? There’s someone I want you to meet, if I can just find him.”

Cynthia was gazing around the bar. If Sophia wanted to make an escape, it would have to be fast.

“Oh no you don’t! I’m getting some air. I’ll be back. If you try and set me up, I will be out of here before you can even say my name!”

“You are so stubborn! He is a perfectly nice man, and successful too!”

“I can’t hear you!” Sophia called as she mounted the steps, trying not to bolt up them in her need to get away.

When she reached the rooftop, a cool breeze danced along her skin, and she shivered, wishing she had brought her jacket with her. At some point she had left it on a chair somewhere—somewhere between meeting Jessie’s husband and hearing about Melanie’s fussy toddler.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped towards the edge of the roof. The whole area was draped with little bulbs, the muted light adding a soft ambiance and a quieter atmosphere compared to the one below. Seeing the bar, Sophia finished her drink and grabbed another, feeling sufficiently tipsy at that point, though not beyond control.

Sophia was never out of control.

Staring around, her eye caught a lone man sitting on a sofa, staring into his drink. Finding it curious that a man would be sitting alone at a bar looking so down, Sophia decided to join him. The alcohol gave her all the courage she needed to do so, though that would have hardly been necessary. If he wanted her to go away, she would, but she was miserable and he looked miserable, and there was some kind of saying about misery loving company.

Plopping down across from him, she took a deep pull of her drink, staring him down. The man looked up at her, his piercing green eyes striking, even in the dark. His hair was somewhere between black and brown, though in the dark it was difficult to tell where it fell. He wore a fully tailored suit, as though he had also come straight from work, and his expression remained unchanged.

“Are you here for Cynthia and Lucas’ engagement party?” she asked.

The man considered her for another moment before he nodded, though his gaze continued to be wary.

“I am, yes.”

His voice was deep and masculine, deeper than she had expected. He couldn’t be much older than her. Sophia nodded.

“Me, too. Doesn’t it suck?”

His eyebrows lifted at her blunt comment, and after a moment, the corner of his lip turned up ever so slightly.

“What makes you say that?”

“Oh please. Let’s not mince words here. You’re sitting up here alone, frowning into what looks like a very fine whiskey. That can only mean that you hate these kinds of parties just as much as I do, which means you are officially the only person I want to be speaking to for the moment.”

“You deducted all that from me just sitting here, huh?”

“Yep.”

“What else can you tell me about me?”

His gaze was challenging as he leaned in, and she leaned towards him, staring him down without hesitation. She very slowly looked him up and down, and she could tell he was hiding a smile as she did so. She sat back after a moment and took another sip.

“You must be the one other single person at the party, likely invited as a set up for me. Cynthia was trying to find you to force a connection, which was why I ran away. Turns out I found you on my own, anyway.”

“How do you know I’m single?”

“Aren’t you?”

The man paused for a moment, as though considering his answer.

“Yes,” he said.

Sophia nodded.

“As I said. You and I are the pity invites in a world of married people with children. Judging by your suit I can tell that you put career first, as I do, and that certainly is something I can respect.”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he took a greater interest in her at those words. He sat back, looking slightly more comfortable.

“You’ve got quite good perception. I could use someone like you at my firm.”

“What do you do?” Sophia asked.

As she sipped at her straw the last of her drink disappeared, and she frowned at her empty glass.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” the man said, waving to a staff member, who nodded as she headed toward the bar.

Within a minute, another drink was placed in Sophia’s hand.

“It’s like magic!” she laughed, sipping at her now full beverage.

Her eyes met his again.

“Where were we? Oh yeah, you were going to tell me who you are.”

The man took a sip of his own drink before placing it in front of him on the glass table.

“I’m Jed Shields.”

Sophia stared at him, blinking as she took him in. Of course she had seen pictures of him, but seeing an image and actually meeting someone were two very different things, apparently.

“As in, Shields Group? That Jed Shields?”

He nodded, obviously used to being recognized.

“That’s me. I take it you’ve heard of me?”

Sophia nodded, doing her best to act nonchalant. It was clear the man had an ego the size of New York, and she didn’t want him thinking she cared one way or the other about his wealth and success. She had her own, anyway.

Shrugging, she answered his question.

“I have. You work two buildings away from me. I had to research the neighborhood in depth before I developed the plan for my building.”

“Your building?” he asked.

Sophia shrugged, acting humble.

“Oh, yeah. I designed the rose gold one down the street from you. I’m Sophia Simms.”

This time Jed looked impressed, and Sophia did her best not to gloat inwardly. He might be some fancy billionaire in advertising—and she had seen many of the ads he had put out all over the city—but she had erected her own building. That was tough to beat, even with the highest of standards.

“Miss thirty under thirty. I must say that it is an honor to meet you.”

Sophia laughed, the sound bursting from her.

“An honor? I wouldn’t go that far.”

“You wouldn’t? You have managed to accomplish more in your twenties than billions of people will in several lifetimes. I can see why you’re up here with me now. You and I are cut from the same cloth.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

This time Jed allowed his eyes to run along the length of her form, and Sophia felt a tingling sensation as his gaze caressed her. The alcohol was making her lower her guard, clearly, though Jed Shields was hardly a man to look away from. He was handsome, he was super successful, and he was staring at her like he wanted to devour her, now that he knew who she was.

As successful as Sophia was, that wasn’t usually the response she got from men when she told them what she had accomplished. Usually they cleared their throats, excused themselves, and never came back. Sophia was used to a world in which men were intimidated by powerful women. It was refreshing to meet one who found that part of her alluring.

“You’re wearing a clean, tailored suit, so you’ve clearly come to this party straight from the office just like I did. You’re single, so clearly you’ve realized the importance of putting your career first and romantic involvement second, like an intelligent person. You’re ambitious, and you’ve succeeded at life, which not many people are able to do, in my opinion.”

“I suppose if being one of the most celebrated architects in the city by the age of thirty counts as success, then yes, color me guilty,” Sophia said, her drink sloshing slightly in her glass.

“Now tell me, Jed Shields, if you think that we’re cut from the same cloth, then what is your mantra? Every successful person has one. What is it that you live for?”

Jed’s gaze was steady as he stared into her eyes, willing her to look away. She didn’t. Sophia would never back down from a man, in any capacity. She held his stare head on, and the longer their eyes met, the more she wanted to jump onto his lap and kiss his stupidly perfect mouth.

“My mantra? It’s simple, really. Nothing lasts forever. Live life to the fullest, and don’t let anyone drag you down.”

Sophia blinked at his words. It was something she could have easily said herself, verbatim. Rising, she moved over to his sofa and plopped right next to him, uncaring that her body nestled right into his.

“You know, I think you and I are one hundred percent on the same page.”

Jed gazed down at her, his eyes lowered as he considered her move.

“Then what say you and I move this party to a more private location, and leave these married people in the dust?”

Sophia met his gaze again, though her vision blurred ever so slightly as she did so. She thought maybe she should just go home alone. There was no reason to complicate her life by jumping into bed with a handsome, cocky billionaire.

Then her gaze dipped down to his lips, which tilted closer to hers until suddenly they pressed against her own, her whole body igniting as they did so. When Jed pulled back, Sophia gave him her best sexy smile.

“Let’s get out of here.”