“Happy Birthday!” Alyssa cried loudly over the noise in the bar/restaurant they had chosen for the milestone celebration.

“Ugh, thirty,” Diana mumbled, tucking her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear. “Can you believe it?”

“You don’t look a day over twenty-one,” Alyssa told her, smirking when Diana raised an eyebrow. “Okay, twenty-five.”

“More accurate, but not the truth.” Diana laughed, lifting her Cosmo to clink Alyssa’s rum and coke. Although they joked, Diana really hadn’t aged in the last few years, despite the rough patch that had lasted over a year after her divorce. Her hair, which was shorter, shone with health, and the small lines around her blue eyes were visible only to her when she was in a mood.

Alyssa smacked her lips after sipping her drink and lifted her menu. “Today is definitely a cheat day,” she announced, smiling. “Not only is it your birthday, it’s Friday. I don’t have to weigh in until Monday.”

“You make it sound like your job depends on your weight,” Diana told her, giggling as she too opened her menu. “I’m ordering an appetizer and a meal. I might even splurge on a dessert. A birthday brownie, perhaps.”

“You can still eat anything you want and you never gain a pound,” Alyssa grumbled, scowling as she looked at the calorie count listed next to every item.

“Stop looking at the calories and eat,” Diana admonished her. “We have Camp Gladiator tomorrow. You’ll work off everything you’ve eaten since Wednesday in that class.” Camp Gladiator was a fitness class that lasted for an hour and a half and designed for both cardio and strength training. Diana hated it, but she went for Alyssa.

Alyssa hadn’t been lying when she’d commented on Diana’s metabolism. Diana was willowy, had been her whole life except during the month after her divorce when she’d quit eating and become dangerously skeletal. At 5’8”, she only weighed 120 pounds and desperately wished she weighed more because of the lack of breasts and hips. But she ate like a teenaged boy and gained nothing. She supposed she should be grateful for it and was when she scarfed down a large order of fries or ate half a pepperoni pizza by herself.

“I’m thinking about this Cajun pasta…” she murmured as she glanced through the menu. She lifted her head and looked around the restaurant. They had never been here, but it was classic New Orleans with mostly Cajun food and specialty drinks with French names. The food that wasn’t Cajun was filled with Cajun spices, so essentially was Cajun. Returning her attention to the menu, she frowned. “Or maybe the shrimp etouffe. Or the crab cakes.”

“Yeah, well, be careful. Now that you’re thirty, you might lose the advantage of a fast metabolism,” Alyssa warned unnecessarily, inserting her usual rude comment into every conversation.

“Or maybe I’ll be skinny my entire life,” she retorted, winking to ease the comment’s snark. “I don’t know what you’re so worried about. You look like Marilyn Monroe!”

“Yeah, but one bad food weekend, and I gain ten pounds,” Alyssa reminded her. “But you’re right. It’s your birthday. I’ll enjoy my food and drink tonight, and work my ass off in the morning.”

“That’s the spirit,” Diana announced, returning to her menu and her decision. As she read, a table of men erupted into laughter, drawing her attention. She glanced in their direction without really looking at them and continued perusing her menu as she sipped her drink.

The waitress stopped by a moment later, smiling brightly. “Hey, y’all need anything? Decided what you want?”

Alyssa indicated that Diana should go first, and she ordered a spinach dip with tortilla chips for an appetizer and the etouffe for dinner. Alyssa ordered a peppercorn steak with steamed veggies, as off her diet as she would ever go, and they both asked for a second drink.

“Oh!” Alyssa said excitedly when the waitress turned to leave. “Wait, today is her birthday!”

“No, no, it’s not,” Diana replied quickly, shaking her head at the waitress, whose face had lit up.

“Yes, it is, you liar!” Alyssa insisted. “Do y’all do something fun for birthdays?”

“We do, but I think I’ll make it a surprise for this pretty girl,” the waitress said, winking at Diana and brushing a hand down her shoulder to her elbow, lingering there. “Don’t worry, it isn’t too embarrassing.” She sauntered away with a promise to bring their drinks back quickly.

“You are such a bitch,” Diana said, laughing. “There is no way I’m standing on my chair and shaking my ass with an alligator on my head.”

“You damn sure will,” Alyssa announced and wiggled her phone. “And I’m recording every second!”

“By the way, I think the waitress was flirting with me,” Diana hissed, leaning closer.

“You are such an egotistical bitch,” Alyssa smirked. “Everyone always flirts with Diana.” She ended with a raspberry noise with her tongue out.

Diana tossed her napkin at her friend just as the table of men erupted into laughter again. The table was behind a wall, blocking her view of the majority of the men. The two she could see she didn’t know, but one of their laughs was familiar. She watched the table for a minute, waiting to see if the hidden two would poke their heads out, but no such luck.

When she returned her attention to her table, Alyssa was watching her. “What?” she asked defensively.

“You looking to get laid tonight? A little—well, hopefully not little—treat for the birthday girl?” Alyssa asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a funny way rather than suggestively.

Diana snorted, shaking her head. “Um, no thanks. The two I can see are absolutely not my type. A little old.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know what the other two look like, and when you’re horny, there is no such thing as a type!” Alyssa giggled.

“Good Lord, Alyssa,” Diana murmured, glancing at the tables near them to see if she had been overheard.

“Seriously, how long has it been since you’ve had sex?”

“Longer than I like to think about,” Diana huffed. She missed sex. After her divorce, she’d waited nearly two years before dating. A couple of disastrous dates later, she decided a one-night stand or two might be better for her. She’d enjoyed a couple of fun nights with friends, but neither of them were men she wanted to date. So, she thought to herself after calculating, almost three years. And I am not saying that out loud.

Alyssa watched the group of men while Diana was lost in the memory, or lack thereof, of sex, and leaned closer to hiss, “There’s nothing wrong with the two I’m looking at. Except their ages maybe…”

Diana glanced again when they laughed, frowning. “Man, one of them has a laugh like—” She bit her tongue and stopped herself.

“Like who?” The waitress set down their drinks and the spinach dip. Diana hoped the interruption would refocus Alyssa on the food, but she looked at her with a mouthful of tortilla chip and spinach dip and asked again, “Like who?”

The laugher erupted, and she heard the sound again. “Like Travis.”

Alyssa jerked her head back, swallowing hard. “Ew. Why would think of that asshole after all this time?”

“Because one of those guys sounds just like him when he laughs,” she answered quietly. “I’m surprised I even remember what his laugh sounds like.”

“Please don’t get all sad tonight. Besides, I don’t really know why you would want to remember what he sounds like,” Alyssa said bitterly. “The man treated you like shit and let you go like you meant nothing to him.”

Diana’s heart clenched a little at her words. “You know, it was a long time ago, but you don’t have to say that crap so callously. It still hurts my feelings.”

Alyssa sighed. “The two of you split five years ago, Diana.”

“Yes, five years ago today. Remember?”

“I do remember because you remind me every year,” Alyssa grouched. She tilted her head and put a more sympathetic expression on her face when she saw a sheen glisten in her friend’s eyes. “I think it’s time you let go of that disaster and move on with your life.”

“I have moved on with my life,” Diana grumbled, taking a longer sip of her drink than she meant to. Coughing a little, she covered her mouth delicately with her hand. “Damn. I think this drink is stronger than the last.”

“That’s because I tipped the bartender to juice you up a bit,” Alyssa gushed, chuckling as she sipped hers carefully. After a shudder, she set her drink down. “I think he made mine stronger too.”

“Well, hell,” Diana blurted with a snicker. “Who’s going to drive us home?”

“We can Uber if we have to,” Alyssa assured her. “Our cars will be just fine here in the parking lot for one night. I’ll be right back. Have to go to the bathroom.”

“You used to be able to hold your liquor better,” Diana called to her retreating back, and Alyssa flipped her off. Diana chuckled and shook her head, glancing around for any small children. They’d chosen to sit near the bar, though, so Alyssa hadn’t inadvertently corrupted a kid.

As she scooped up a tortilla chip covered with spicy spinach dip, she allowed her mind to travel back in time to her life with Travis, despite the warning bells telling her not to. When they’d been dating and the first year of their marriage had been wonderful. They’d enjoyed each other and had spent every free moment together. But those free moments became fewer and fewer as he pursued what he called their dream. The idea of a big house with a pool and fancy cars and vacations had never been a part of her dream. She’d wanted to be with him, end of story, but he’d always wanted more.

With a sigh, she acknowledged her part in the end of their marriage. She’d allowed her loneliness to whisper addiction in her ear, and rather than drugs or alcohol, she’d found gambling. Though it hadn’t destroyed her body, it had infected her mind as easily as a drug, and her credit had been destroyed. With her boss’ encouragement after a breakdown in his office, she’d attended meetings and classes once she realized her many mistakes would follow her for several years if she didn’t control herself. She never went to casinos or even bought lottery tickets anymore, but she was still at least a year away from paying off the debt she’d created.

Thankfully, she had found a job that was high-paying and offered several benefits. The law firm she worked for was quite prestigious and handled high profile cases often. The specific lawyer she worked for, Cameron Rhodens, was a lesser partner in the firm and handled the lower profile cases, but he was rising slowly in the ranks and promised his staff they would rise with him.

She received periodic bonuses, all of which she put towards her debt, and had insurance that rivaled the top companies in the country. Diana loved her job as an assistant to the lawyer whom she respected a great deal and who had helped her find the willpower to defeat her gambling issues. Many thought the two of them were having an affair until they realized Michael was gay and had a partner of ten years.

The raucous sound of male laughter interrupted her reverie for the third time, and she wondered what the group of men could possibly find so hilarious, betting they were drunk and laughing at raunchy jokes she would appreciate more than she would admit out loud. Travis had always told her raunchy jokes, making her laugh and turn red at the same time. We had so much fun when we were young, she reminisced sadly as she sipped her strong drink.

The man who sounded like Travis laughed again, but Diana shook her head. Her ex-husband—how she hated that term—wouldn’t be at a place like this. She had followed his career through mutual friends and knew that he had finally achieved his dreams. He’d made the money he had hoped for, bought the house he’d longed for, and was living in style while she lived in a crummy apartment in an effort to save money.

When she heard about his successes, a twinge of jealousy had hit her briefly, but it had disappeared just as quickly. She was proud for him and of him. He deserved to be successful after all he’d been through. She reminded herself that while her life wasn’t exactly what she had expected it to be at thirty, she certainly couldn’t complain. Her only real regret was not having children yet, but her time would come, she was sure. He was single still as well, though she liked to think she really didn’t care about that fact.

Alyssa slipped back into her side of the booth and blew out a breath. “There was a drunk woman puking in the bathroom.”

Diana snorted derisively as she glanced at her watch. “It’s not even eight yet! She must have a weak constitution.”

“I felt kind of sorry for her, but her friends were with her,” Alyssa said as she scooped up some dip and shoved it in her mouth, a long string of cheese on her chin. She wiped her chin with her napkin and looked around. “This place is crazy busy.”

Diana joined her scan of the bar and said, “And not a good-looking guy in sight.”

“Not that I saw, but I didn’t get to see the hidden pair at the loud table,” Alyssa replied, leaning precariously out of the booth to look at the table. She sat up with a huff. “Nope. No luck.”

With a shrug, Diana mused, “Wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” She finished her drink and frowned into the glass. “You know, these are way too good and go down way too smoothly. I think I’ll have some water.”

Alyssa shook her head. “It’s early! Have another.”

“I don’t want to be the next embarrassing chick in the bathroom, thanks,” Diana asserted with a lifted eyebrow. “Who knows what’s on that floor? And kneeling there to puke where a million people have peed? All the bacteria! I’m literally making myself queasy.”

Alyssa giggled like a silly girl and hiccupped. “Hmmm. Maybe I should have a water as well.”

“Water with dinner, then back to drinking?” Diana asked, smiling broadly.

“Amen!” They clinked their glasses together and signaled the waitress, who was at the next table.

“Ladies, your food will be out momentarily,” the waitress began. “More drinks?”

“We need a couple waters to balance the alcohol,” Alyssa told her.

“Oh, good idea! I’ll be right back,” she chimed and hurried away, returning quickly with two tall glasses of water. “I checked and your food is just about ready.”

“Perfect, thanks,” Diana answered, swigging nearly half the water as soon as the waitress turned away. “Damn, I was thirsty.”

“All the salty chips,” Alyssa said, eyeing her. “You seem a little down. Are you still thinking about the asshole?”

Diana decided to leave out Travis. “Actually, I was thinking I’m thirty and still don’t have a husband or children.”

“Ew, why would you want either of those things?”

Diana laughed at the horrified expression on her best friend’s face. “Because I want to grow old with someone, and I love babies and children.”

“No thanks,” Alyssa said. “I like my life the way it is now.”

“You meet the right guy, and I bet you change your mind.”

“I doubt it,” Alyssa argued. “Men are good for one thing, and when they’re done, they need to go on back home.”

“Slut.” Diana giggled. “No, I’ve had my single time. I think it’s time to start dating, not simply messing around.”

“Well, good luck. The dating pool at our age is shallower than a Kardashian,” Alyssa quipped, pursing her lips at her joke. Diana snorted and rolled her eyes as the waitress reappeared with their food. The pair dug in, chatting about nonessential topics. After finishing their dinners, they ordered more drinks and sat back to relax and enjoy some people watching.

“Look at that guy with the mullet,” Diana whispered, using her chin to point in the man’s direction. “Is that the new style?”

“Apparently. I’ve been seeing it more and more,” Alyssa added as she glanced at the man. “It’s a shame, too. He’d be good looking without it.”

“Eh, I don’t like the beard. I like men clean-shaven so his face feels smooth against my cheek,” Diana commented, leaning her hand against her face.

“Nope. A beard is the way to go,” Alyssa replied, giggling when she added, “Tickles the inner thigh, if you get my drift.”

Diana snickered behind her hand. “Oh, my God! You’re dirty!”

“I wish I could be,” Alyssa grumbled, looking around them again. “And there’s nothing here at all interesting.”

Diana chuckled again, jerking her head around at the sound of a man’s voice yelling, “Everybody listen up! We’ve got a birthday in the house!” She glared at Alyssa.

As a troop of waiters and waitresses scurried around tables to reach their booth, Diana tried to scooch down in the seat so they couldn’t see her. Alyssa clapped her hands and pointed with both at Diana. She screeched, “It’s her! Diana! My best friend!”

“Up in the seat, Diana!” a handsome waiter announced when the group reached their table. He helped Diana sit up, then stand and climb onto the seat of the booth.

“Want to wear the hat?” their waitress asked, brandishing a huge, furry alligator hat in neon green with red, flashing lights for eyes.

“Um, no. This is embarrassing enough as it is,” she replied, smiling broadly when they began serenading her with some weird version of “Happy Birthday.”

“Shake that ass!” Alyssa yelled, standing to record a video with her phone.

“I’m not that drunk!” Diana laughed, though after another second, she began dancing on her seat and laughing louder. “Too much fun!”

* * *

Travis heard the loud yelling of the waitstaff pronouncing the birthday of some unlucky patron who would be forced to embarrass herself. The name Diana caught his attention, and he jerked his head around to watch. A pillar blocked his view, so he stood and stepped to the other side of the table to see. His eyes widened when he saw her, laughing beautifully as her face reddened with slight embarrassment. When she started shaking her butt playfully, his groin heated with the lust he used to feel for the magnificent woman he had been married to.

The jeans she wore were tight and dark, probably what women called skinny jeans. Her figure, always slim, was willowy and a model’s dream. She wore a loose-fitting top, modest in its cut but so sexy on her he wondered if she’d had it specially made. Her face, also beautiful enough for a model, shone brilliantly with her laughter, and he stared at her as if she were a goddess deigning to visit the earth to bestow her beauty on their eyes.

As the song ended and she climbed down, he jerked back behind the pillar so she wouldn’t see him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see or speak to her so suddenly. The woman had broken his heart as surely as he’d broken hers, and seeing her both hurt him and elated him. That’s the problem, he mused as he resumed his seat. She evoked such opposing feelings in him that he didn’t really know how he felt about her anymore. But the tug in his groin had been matched by a tug in his heart.

“Travis?” his business partner, Michael Stein, called, interrupting his thoughts. Travis’ head swung towards him, and Michael’s eyebrows were up in question. “The clients are leaving.”

“Oh!” Travis rose again, shaking his head. “My apologies, gentlemen. Got a little lost in thought.” He held his hand out and shook each man’s hand warmly. “We look forward to pursuing this business venture with you.”

“We’ve heard wonderful things about your company, gentlemen,” Dr. Cartwright commented, stepping back to let his partner speak.

Dr. Smith shook Travis’ hand. “So next week, right?”

“I’ll be at the site first thing Monday morning to look at the building and start preparing a list of construction that will need to be done to make it appropriate for a medical facility,” Travis assured the doctors, smiling brilliantly. He’d learned early in his life that his smile often won him his way.

Both doctors, older men with graying hair and jowls, returned his smile and took their leave, weaving carefully through the tables. Travis glanced again at the table with Diana now seated though still laughing. Alyssa sat across from her, and he frowned. The woman was poisonous, but Diana loved her, which had always shocked him.

“I think that went very well, don’t you?” Michael asked as he sat down again. Travis didn’t answer and remained standing with his head facing away from their table. “Why are you staring at that table?”

“Huh?” Travis murmured, shook himself, and said, “What? I’m not.” He sat down quickly and grabbed his bottle of beer to take a drink.

“You were,” Michael accused, drinking a long, slow drink, eyeing his friend. “Who are those women?”

Travis cleared his throat and downed his beer, avoiding Michael’s gaze. Michael leaned over and looked again, a smile crossing his face slowly, and Travis growled, “No one.”

“No one,” Michael repeated with a snort, leaning on the table and gesturing with his beer bottle at his friend. “I’m going to bet that one of those women is the lovely Diana, goddess of your heart after all these years.” He leaned over again and looked. “Let me guess which one.”

“The brunette,” Travis supplied reluctantly. “The other is her best friend.”

“Oh, that was bitter!” Michael laughed. “Don’t like the best friend?”

“I do not,” Travis answered. He had leaned forward, and his black ponytail fell over his shoulder. He’d let his hair grow long after he and Michael had established their company and it had become well-respected in the medical field. As the boss, his appearance was his decision rather than company policy. “She and I never got along.”

“That’s weird.”

“Why is that weird?”

“Because everyone likes you,” Michael informed him with a shrug. “Why didn’t she?”

“Now she hates me because of the divorce and because I rejected her afterwards when she hit on me,” Travis intoned.

“Holy shit!” Michael exclaimed, his eyes widening at the same time as his grin. “The best friend hits on you after the divorce. Jesus.”

“The ink was barely dry on the papers,” Travis added, his discomfort with the insane moment clear on his face.

“Details?”

Travis smirked. “Not really any to tell. She showed up at the apartment I’d rented, with wine, and told me she’d always wanted to fuck me.”

“Goddamn! That’s pretty hot, but also really shitty,” Michael commented, glancing around the pillar at Diana and Alyssa. “I’m assuming your ex doesn’t know about the Brutus she has as a best friend.”

“You know, I don’t think Alyssa really wanted to fuck me. I think she wanted to add to the rift between us,” Travis admitted. “She never liked me. Hated me, really.”

“What a bitch.”

“Diana would never be friends with her if she knew about that,” Travis assured him. “She thought I was having an affair while we were married.”

“Hmm, I remember,” Michael hummed, losing interest in the topic. “I think this venture is going to be our best yet. With Smith and Cartwright’s recommendation, we’ll win at least two more contracts from their group.”

“Yeah,” Travis agreed, his lack of interest perturbing his friend.

“Dude, if you’re going to brood over her, either go talk to her or let’s go to a different bar,” Michael suggested in a heated tone.

“I’m not brooding,” Travis argued, looking up at his friend, who stared and waited. “Okay, yes, I’m brooding.” He swung his head toward Diana’s table though he couldn’t see her and said quietly, “Today is her birthday.”

“Yes, I heard the announcement,” Michael replied sarcastically.

“And it’s also the day we decided to get a divorce,” Travis revealed, a sadness slipping into his voice.

“Jesus, man, you left her on her birthday?” Michael shook his head. “That’s cold.”

“The decision was mutual,” Travis defended, wishing the waiter would swing by and interrupt this uncomfortable conversation.

“Hey, why don’t you send her a drink? Kind of a ‘no hard feelings’ sort of thing,” Michael quipped, preparing to signal the waiter though he wasn’t visible.

“I haven’t seen her since our court date five years ago,” Travis said quickly, shaking his head. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

“Not appropriate?” Michael asked skeptically. He shook his head as if he thought his friend was an idiot. “Whatever. I gotta take a leak. If the waiter stops by, order another round.” He stood and retreated to the bathrooms at the back of the bar.

Travis glared at his buddy’s retreating back. The man had never been in a serious relationship, enjoying his good looks and the women who appreciated them since before Travis had met him. Michael had attempted to pull Travis into the same different-woman-every-weekend lifestyle when they’d begun working together four years ago, but Travis didn’t like trying to remember the names of the women he’d met and eventually dove head first into his work. He had no wife or girlfriend to complain about how much he worked anymore, and he used his freedom to build his company, of which he shared ownership with Michael. It was the most successful company of its sort in this part of Louisiana, having built several stand-alone ERs as well as two small hospitals in small, rural communities that had lacked local medical care.

Travis was incredibly proud of the business he and Michael had built, but in the last six months or so, he’d grown lonely. He wanted someone to come home to, even if he was only home an hour or two before he went to bed. He often wondered if, now that his business was more successful than he’d dreamed, he would be able to work less and actually enjoy life. His first million had been made the year before, and he was well on his way to making two this year, but he’d barely spent a dime.

Maybe it’s time to make a change in my life, he pondered, leaning forward to peek at Diana. Watching her laugh at something Alyssa said was a breath of fresh air. She was still so beautiful—more so, he’d bet. The five years apart had been good to her, and he admitted to himself that he still wanted her, as much as he had when they’d met. After their divorce, he’d dreamed of her for nearly six months before they’d tapered off. The fantasies had been unbelievably hot, and he’d awakened with a boner almost every time. Easing his need with his hand had been incredibly unsatisfying, but he’d had no other choice.

I can’t believe I still want her after all this time, he mused, shaking his head at himself. After what she’d put him through, he should hate her. Of course, if he was honest with himself, he had put her through hell too. He was slowly conquering his workaholism, and he wondered if she had kicked her gambling habit. With those two problems gone, they might be able to have a healthy, long-lasting relationship. And the problem of Alyssa, which was a barrier he wasn’t sure could be removed.

With an abrupt jerk, he said, “What the fuck?” out loud, startling the waiter, who had stopped beside the table.

“I’m sorry, sir?” the kid asked, wariness in his expression.

“My apologies,” Travis replied, remembering his manners after being lost in thought. Before he could think better of his decision, and thinking of Michael’s encouragement, he asked, “Could you bring us another round, and I’d like to buy the birthday girl a drink.” The waiter glanced at Diana’s table skeptically. “Don’t worry, we know each other.”

“Oh, that’s good! She didn’t see you here?”

“No, the pillar blocks me. I didn’t know she was here until the staff sang to her,” Travis said with a grin to further ease the waiter’s concern. “Please find out what she’s drinking and bring it to my table. I’d like to deliver it.”

“Will do,” the waiter answered with a grin.

Michael returned shortly after the waiter had disappeared, frowning when he noticed only their empty bottles. “Where’s the damn waiter?”

“I ordered another round. Calm down, titbag,” Travis jeered. He cleared his throat and said, “So I ordered Diana a drink.”

Michael’s eyebrows shot up as he spun his head around to look at him, removing his eyes from the hot blonde two tables over he’d been making eyes at throughout the meeting. “Did you now?”

“No harm in buying her a drink,” Travis growled, glaring at the table and wondering if, in fact, there was.

“You’re absolutely right,” Michael responded, returning his gaze to the blonde. He banged his fist quietly on the table and said, “As soon as my beer gets here, I’m going to talk to the hottie at table three.” He swiveled his head again to look at Travis. “While you go over there and talk to your ex.”

“Is that an order?” Travis asked, amusement on his face.

“Do you need it to be?”

As Travis opened his mouth to speak, the waiter reappeared with two beers and a mixed drink of some sort in a martini glass. “Your beers, and this is the drink for the lady.” He set all three on the table with a flourish.

“What is that?” Travis asked so he knew if she asked him.

“It’s a Cosmo. Very popular with the ladies,” the waiter explained. “Do y’all need anything else?”

“Not right now, thanks,” Travis said dismissively. He heard the tone in his voice and smiled so he didn’t come off as an asshole. However, now that he had the drink, his nerves had ratcheted up to a nearly unbearable level. He was completely unaware that Michael was watching him until the man thumped his arm.

“Dude, get off your ass and take that woman her drink. Say hello, chitchat if it feels right, then walk away,” Michael advised. “She’s not a stranger you’re trying to take home. You spent how many years with that woman?”

“Four,” Travis said in a hushed voice. He sat back as if surprised. “I can’t believe it’s been nine years since I met her.”

“And five since you divorced her,” Michael pointed out, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “Do you regret the divorce?”

Travis frowned but didn’t answer right away. He hadn’t at first, though the sexy dreams had plagued him. Sometimes, randomly throughout the years, she had appeared in his mind and brought a smile to his face. But he remembered the fights during the last year of their marriage, the ugliness of her gambling that he did understand was caused, at least in part, by his work. Had she, like him, kicked the bad habit that had ruined their marriage? With a sigh, he realized there was only one was to find out.

“Earth to Travis!” Michael called loudly. “Man, I said your name three times.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“You want to know what I think?” Michael asked with a grin.

“Not particularly.”

Michael scoffed. “You’re afraid to go over there because you do still feel something for her.”

Travis jerked as if Michael had slapped him across the face. He started shaking his head, looked at his pal, and sighed. “Yeah, maybe. She was great before the gambling issue.”

“And I’m sure you were great before the working issue,” Michael replied with a knowing look. “You told me everything. It won’t hurt a thing to go talk to her.”

Travis stared at his suddenly sensitive friend. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Michael chuckled. “That blonde has hypnotized me.” He hauled himself out of his chair and said, “Get up off your ass and take that drink to Diana before it gets warm.” He walked away before Travis could reply.

Travis mumbled under his breath, grabbed the drink, and stood, hurrying to Diana’s table before he could stop himself. She glanced in his direction while he was still fifteen feet away, and the look of shock that crossed her face nearly froze him. But he forced a smile on his face and made his feet keep moving towards her table.