“Is everyone accounted for?” I asked the group of women, hoping to be offered a chair. My charm had not yet gained this goddess’ trust. I was fast, but not that fast.

“We’re all here. Thanks for your help,” Harper said, then put her scalding hand on my arm but removed it all too quickly. She had initiated the gesture, and that gave me hope she’d like to place her hands on other parts of me as well.

Her friends teased her about being gone for so long with me and got her all flustered, which was cute as fuck to watch. I’d love to stay, but obviously I intruded on girls’ night.

“I’ll leave you, for now. Harper, was it? I’m Jack.” I shook her delicate hand. Christ, if the skin on her hands was this soft, what about the rest of her luscious body? “Ladies, I’m delighted everyone has been found. Have fun.” Damn. Nobody asked me to stay.

They laughed and chatted as I left. Guess if I couldn’t move the mountain, I moved the girl. Or removed the girl. Hmm. This was going to take some work. Good thing How to Lure a Girl Away From Her Friends 101 happened to be my specialty.

Something my mom used to say randomly popped into my head. She and my aunts had their own version of girls’ night, during which, they often kidnapped me and gave me dating advice against my will.

“Jacky-boy, you meet the woman of your dreams, you make her this drink and she’ll be putty in your hands,” Mom would say while sloshing said pink beverage around in a margarita glass.

Damn. What the hell were those called? Now I had to find out, and there was only one way to do that. “Ma? Are you awake?” I clung to the phone.

“Jack? Yeah, just in bed, everything okay? What’s all the racket?” she asked, concerned about both the noise and the late hour of my call. Even out in the hall, I had to plug my other ear to hear.

“Everything’s good. Listen, do you remember what those drinks were called that you and your sisters used to make? The pink ones in the margarita glasses?” I outed myself in a big way, and it had better be worth it.

“Oh, the pink squirrels,” she squeaked. “Those were potent. Let me tell you.” A fit of giggles was followed by a minute of silence. “Wait. Oh my God. Jacky, did you meet someone? Who is she?” Shit. That didn’t take long. Mother’s instinct.

“Ma, I gotta run.” The very last thing I wanted to do was discuss a woman with my mom.

“You met a girl,” she gasped on the other end.

“Nobody special. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Go get her, baby. Good luck.” And she hung up. Exactly what a guy needed right before he tried to pick up a girl—encouragement from his mother. Fuck.

I went back to the bar and found Ben, the owner. We became fast friends once I opened Vine. He was a good guy and worked twenty-four seven—taking some time off to chase skirts, but not much else—to keep his business running smoothly.

“Yo, Jack. What’s up? I haven’t seen you in a while, buddy,” Ben said as he reached for my hand. He tossed his long-ish dark hair while he pumped my hand enthusiastically.

“Good, Ben. You?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” he said, showing off his perfect white smile.

“Good to hear.” I geared up to ask a stupid question. “Have you ever heard of a pink squirrel?”

“Pink? No, man. In Mexico we have gray squirrels. Oh, and red-bellied ones. No pink, though, muchacho,” he said skeptically, giving me a bit of a wary eye.

I laughed and said, “No, as in the drink. Not the four-legged variety.”

“Hmm, I don’t recall those either. Give me a minute and I’ll google the shit outta pink squirrels.” He walked a few steps, then stutter-stepped back. “This for somebody special?” Luckily, Ben understood the art of charming the panties off a woman and had no problem going the extra mile.

“Guess we’ll see,” I said and looked him directly in the eye.

Again, his easy smile emerged. “Really? You’re shitting me?”

“Well, she may be gone by the time you’re done googling.”

He sighed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on it, buddy. Leave it to the master.”

The next part of the scheme to extract Harper’s ass from that table and over to me involved Heidi. She was one of the more outgoing servers and most likely to agree. For a price.

After successful negotiations with Heidi, I zeroed in on Harper like a hungry hawk waiting for a rabbit to pop out of its hole. Stand up, Harper. Stand up. Come on, baby. Stand the fuck up and walk over here so we can officially start this thing. Time seemed to crawl, and I was a fucking bundle of nerves.

She stood, thank Christ, and glided straight to me. “You came.” I smiled at her and passed the server her due. “Thanks, Heidi. Well done.” She said something, but I had no idea what. Nor did I care. I was too busy concentrating on Harper’s beautiful mouth and all the things I wanted her to do with those sexy lips. “White wine, correct? And Ben made this delightful concoction.” I slid the magical pink squirrel in front of her. Red and white sprinkles were around the rim and a cherry was on top. He went all out with this one. The monstrosity looked more like a dessert, but I bet the farm that Ma and my aunts were right. “It matches your lipstick,” I told her and continued staring at the stunning woman looking back at me.

“Here, I’m being rude. Sit,” I said and held the barstool out and snagged her hand again to help her up.

“The pink one looks interesting. I’ve never seen that drink before.” Then Harper leaned over, and I nearly groaned out loud as she stuck her tongue out and pulled the straw inside her mouth. Fuck. That was possibly the hottest thing ever. “This is delicious. Like a naughty milkshake or something. Mmm.” Her little moaning noises made my cock jump. “What’s it called?”

It’s called “How to get into your panties.”

“Pink squirrel. Do you like it?” It only cost me my manhood and self-respect with a side of blue balls. Not to mention my mother was at this very moment calling my aunts to plan our wedding.

“I do. I really, really do.” Then it was all fucking worth it, baby. Every second of shit the women in my family shoveled on me from now until the end of time was worth it.

“Do you want to taste some?” she asked, and the double entendre there made my balls ache even more. Fuck yeah, I’d like to try some.

“I’m pretty sure they’d take away my man card if I did. I’ll stick with whiskey, thanks.” For now. But I’ll be trying you out later. I took a swig from my glass, and she started giggling. Did she read my mind? God, I loved how she lit up when she laughed—it was melodious and adorable. Not to mention contagious. Thank God. Some women sounded like fucking foghorns when they cut loose. “Wanna let me in on the joke, sweetheart?” I was worried she was laughing at my expense.

“Nothing. Well, I was just imagining you holding a pink squirrel in those manly hands. Oh my gosh, that would be hilarious.”

Hmm, I wanted a lot of things in my grip right now, but the stupid drink wasn’t one of them.

“My manly hands? Well, my hands thank you, I think. Maybe if I poured this into a beer mug? Would that look better?” And that set her off again. Watching her body lost in laughter was the most fucking beautiful thing I’d ever seen. The way her blonde curls moved with her giggles made me itch to touch her.

“Sorry, I’m usually not this socially unacceptable in public.” She smoothed out her dress and tried to control herself, but I couldn’t imagine why. Her beauty only multiplied when she forgot about containing herself.

“What about when you’re not in public? Hmm?” I whispered into her ear and watched her shiver with resulting goosebumps. Yeah, she liked me this close. I played with a curl, wrapping it around my finger. “What are you like then?” Like say when I finally got you naked on my couch? I couldn’t resist getting closer to her.

An odd look of sadness washed over her face. “I’m actually quite boring.”

This woman boring? Certainly not.

“I doubt that,” I said and touched her cheek lightly with the back of my hand. Fuck, I wanted to kiss her, so I leaned in.

“Harper? Is that you?” A man stole in beside her. Damn. Hesitation could be costly. I knew that. Take opportunities when they presented themselves or you’d lose out. Probably the only thing my father and I ever agreed on.

Her head twisted quickly to the guy. “Oh. Gabe,” she said a bit stilted, not exactly excited to see him.

“You look amazing, baby,” he said and ran his hand down her bare arm. I stood up straight and nearly growled at him.

She cowered away from him and said, “Gabe, please don’t.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped around Harper and did my best to put some space between them. “I think the lady would like you to leave,” I said, glaring down at the guy. He was good-looking. I’d give him that. Muscular, too. The kind of guy that girls fell for absolutely. But I had inches and pounds on him. No match for me.

“And I think you should shut the fuck up and let me talk to my wife,” Gabe said as he stuck his chest out in an attempt to make himself as big as possible. Wife? Hmm, I didn’t see a ring, and her body language screamed for him to go away.

“Wife?” Immediately, I scanned Harper’s face.

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Ex-wife.”

“Seems like you left off the ex part,” I said and undid the buttons of my jacket. “Let me amend my previous statement. Your ex-wife would like you to leave.” He silently glared at me, assessing the situation.

“This who you go for now? Stuck-up bastards?” he questioned Harper.

“Everything okay over here?” Ben asked as he nudged my shoulder.

“Yeah, our new friend, Gabe, was just leaving,” I said, giving Ben a knowing look.

“Gabe, buddy.” Ben grabbed Gabe’s arm. “Let’s you and me go outside.” And that’s all he got out before Gabe shook out of his hold and pushed him backward.

“Whoa, pal.” We suddenly heard, and before any of us knew what was going on, Harper’s tall, blonde friend came out of nowhere and grasped Gabe’s arm in a punishing hold behind his back. Gabe grimaced and grunted at the pain. “We’re going for a nice stroll outside, you and me. You’re going to cooperate because what kind of guy wants an entire bar full of people to watch some stupid, weak woman take him down? And, honey,” she leaned in and said in a menacing tone directly into his ear, “I will take you down.”

The shocked look on his face was priceless. But he wasn’t completely dense. The blonde had him at a disadvantage, and he knew it. “Harper, I…”

“No, my man, that’s not how this works.” She flung her long locks over her shoulder. “You walk forward and out the doors, or my bony knee goes directly into your back. Maybe even your kidney if I do it right. I can’t promise to save your teeth. However, this floor is cement, so that’s going to make an awful fucking mess.” Who was this woman?

Gabe acquiesced and started walking in the direction of the doors.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Harper said to both of us as she sighed and stared while her friend guided her ex through the bar. She seemed a bit shaken. Tears threatened her eyes, and her hands were more than unsteady.

“You need a ride home?” Ben asked, but I quickly intervened.

“I’ll take care of it. Thanks, buddy,” I said and patted him on the back. He gave me a nod before following Gabe and his captor out.

“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to get a good assessment of Harper without prying too much. It was clear she was trying to get ahold of herself. Finally, she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’m fine. We haven’t been together for over a year. I can’t believe he called me his wife. What an ass,” she said and nervously played with her napkin. “He’s the fighting type. Let’s just say that’s not the first time he’s tried to start something. Well, it’s not my problem anymore, I guess, right?” Her sad eyes dug deep into my soul. Part of me wanted to rush outside and beat up the ass who made her feel like this. Instead, I decided to try my best to lighten the mood.

“Your friend some kind of ninja? What does she do for a living?” I asked and stepped closer to Harper, pushing her hair over her shoulder so I could see her face.

“Nah, Riley just takes a lot of self-defense classes. After this, I’m guessing she can slow down a bit on her attendance,” she said and giggled. I was amazed at how well Harper was coping with what just happened. “She works in a law firm somewhere. Not exactly sure where, but they keep weird hours.”

Sighing loudly, she glanced up. “Well, thanks for the drink, Jack, but I should get back to my friends. It’s girls’ night out, after all.” What the fuck? Her hands were on the bar, ready to push off and go. That bastard completely ruined my chance.

“Can I come with you?” I asked, like a whiny, desperate little girl. Fuck, even I couldn’t stand to listen to myself. “I’ll be good, I promise. Unless you want me to be bad? I can do that, too.” And I would love to be bad with you, beautiful girl. She started frowning, and I could tell she was having second thoughts about this. Unbelievable. I usually had women eating out of my hand by now, but she was not sold. I needed to think of a way to close this deal before she ditched me. Pulling her in, I gave her a wicked smile and my best I’ll-take-good-care-of-you eyes.

“Uh, I guess so? It is girls’ night out, though.”

“That’s fine. I can be girlie.” What? Inspiration hit, and I grabbed her glass with my pinkie finger stuck out and took a huge gulp. That did it. Another fit of giggles ensued. Her fingers wiped the sprinkles off the side of my mouth. Fuck, they felt like heaven.

She quieted, then looked at me teasingly under those beautiful long lashes, “Uh-oh, will you have to hand in your man card now?” she said and teased me about my earlier comment before her ex interrupted us. At this moment, I’d hand in anything for you, gorgeous. Including my balls, which I think I just did.

Before Harper shied away, I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “No problem. It hasn’t exactly done me any favors.” Unless you called a string of bad relationships a good thing.

Not letting go, he guided me off the stool. I was grateful for something to hold on to, as my feet were a bit unsteady. What was in that drink? Leaning on Jack wasn’t exactly a hardship. More like the single greatest feat. Ever. The magnetic pull he had on me was astonishing. I’d known him for five minutes, and I found every opportunity possible to be as close to him as decency allowed.

We arrived, hand in hand, and hand on squirrel at our table. Not in a million years would I ever live this down. I never wanted to let go of his hand, but the girls were going to tease me forever over this.

He looked down his chiseled, classic nose—that probably belonged to a king somewhere along the line—and said, “Do you ladies mind if I join you? Harper was worried I couldn’t pull off girls’ night, so if you’d rather I didn’t stay, that’s fine with me.” The women were visibly stunned, but his manners and etiquette, and let’s face it, his smokin’ hot looks smoothed things over.

“Of course, Jack. You’re always welcome. You don’t have to ask. By the way, this is Audrey and Riley,” Vivienne said, and the other girls nodded. Riley had since returned from throwing out my jackass of an ex.

“There’s not enough chairs,” I realized.

“Well, you could sit on my lap?” He was kidding, but the visual it created made me all tingly again. I hoped he couldn’t see the blush on my cheeks. “Or, I could grab a chair?”

“Yeah, another chair, I guess,” I said as Jack shined his dimples at me and stroked his thumb over the hand he held. My knees felt weak at that sweet gesture, and part of me wanted to feel his callused fingers on other parts of me.

“I’ll be back, ladies.” And off he strode in search of a seat.

Relieved for a moment to have Jack gone, I sighed and slumped down in the chair. The inevitable flood of questions began.

“What in the name of all that is holy is in here?” Audrey grabbed my glass from the table and took a sip. Would you like to try some? Sheesh.

“A pink squirrel and it’s absolutely delicious,” I said, staring off into space, wondering why Jack was joining girls’ night out.

“Oh, this.” Audrey held up the glass in delight. “This is my new favorite drink. Girls, you have to try it.”

“Mmm, so good. Okay, sweetie, now quick, tell us how things are going before he comes back,” Riley asked, still holding my poor kidnapped squirrel.

“How are things going? Umm, how about we start with you bouncing my ex-husband’s ass out the door?” I said and frowned at her. “I mean, I’m grateful you were there, but how did you know what he was going to do?”

“I noticed him approach you guys, so I just kept an eye out, that’s all,” she said and shrugged. “Now, tell us what Jack said before he comes back.” See? There she went changing the subject again.

“Uh, I don’t know. He keeps calling me ‘beautiful’ and ‘sweetheart,’ then he kissed my hand.” I frowned and looked up, waiting for an interpretation. “I’m kind of freaking out here,” I told them as I nervously wrung my sweaty hands together. “He went all alpha the second Gabe showed up, too.”

“Don’t forget, he held your hand on your way over here carrying this pink glass of happiness,” Audrey said and took another big gulp. “He’s smitten. Just go with it. Any man who has a line on drinks like this is worth keeping around for a while.” She licked her lips. “And, Riley, you need to sign us up for those self-defense courses. I’d love to try some of those moves on Murray,” she said and giggled hysterically.

By this time, my drink was nearly gone, and I wanted more. My stomach was growling, and I regretted being too nervous to eat before leaving the apartment.

“Here, Jack, I’ll move over and make room,” Vivienne said.

“Thanks.” He settled between Vivienne and me, the legs of the chair scraping the wood floor.

“Glad you changed your mind and decided to come to the lounge,” Vivienne said, one eyebrow raised. “I was surprised to see you here after our meeting,” she said in a tone I couldn’t decipher. I’d ask her about that later.

His mouth twitched as he looked at me and said, “Me, too.”

Audrey devoured my pink squirrel, cherry, sprinkles, and all. I stared at my empty glass, scolding myself for not eating the cherry before we walked over here. I was starved.

I felt heat on my bare arm. “Do you want another one, Harper?” He caressed me then motioned to the drink. “I’ll go talk to Ben.”

Before I opened my mouth, Audrey pushed the glass toward him. “Honey, we all want in on this. Do you think Benny-boy could mix up another batch for us?” Her smile was convincing, I guess, because Jack stood at once.

“Of course. Anything else?”

Before I could stop myself, I answered, “Maybe a few extra cherries? Please?” Suddenly positive that florescent fruit was the answer to staving off complete starvation.

I was treated to his devilish grin once more.

“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” he said and bent down to kiss my cheek before leaving to forage for food and drink, I hoped.

“That man is one hot piece of work,” Riley said as she and the rest of us pervs observed Jack walking away. I prayed he didn’t glance back as we gawked, but to be honest, it was more than worth the risk. His tight ass in those pants was a sight to behold. And we weren’t the only ones looking—women far and wide turned to look as he passed by. I couldn’t blame them, but I also wanted to scratch their eyes out for checking him out.

A cell phone bleeped and we all looked at our phones.

Audrey laughed. “That big helpless tool is asking how to turn on the water in the boys’ bathtub.” She tossed her head and cackled again. “Now I have to hope that he’s just trying to make me feel guilty. Because otherwise, it means I married a complete moron.” Her body shook as she texted furiously to her inept husband.

“Sweetie, are you, umm, prepared for tonight? Have you got all the bases covered, so to speak?” Riley looked at me, concerned. I wished I knew exactly what she was talking about, but instead of asking, I just stared. Confused.

“For the festivities to follow. When you finally get yourself some?” clarified Audrey. Oh my God. What were they thinking? My lips pursed tight, and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s been so long it’s probably grown in by now. Not that there was much to grow in. Gabe and I weren’t exactly very…umm…active. To be honest, I could take it or leave it.” The women sat with their jaws on the floor, but it was the truth. I mean, I liked the closeness and tenderness of the act, but it certainly wasn’t a big deal. “I never understood what all the fuss was about anyway.” I waved my hand and dismissed society’s obsession with sex. “I enjoy just going to bed early and reading. And he was always watching TV, drinking, or playing hideous video games.”

No one spoke, and it made me more uncomfortable by the second. I examined my fingernails, wishing like hell I hadn’t shared quite so much.

“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. That sounds awful. You need to know, though,” Vivienne reached over and patted my hands, “that’s not at all how it’s supposed to be.”

The pity on their faces was getting to me, and my eyes started to well up. “I’m fine. Really.” Sheesh, that seemed to be my go-to answer for everything the last year and a half. Fine. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Everything’s fine. I like my newfound independence. It’s fine. I’ll just stay home, alone on a Saturday night. But the truth? I was so far from fine, it wasn’t even funny.

“I was all right with it until he decided to screw my cousin in my bed while I was at work.” Ugh, now I’d gotten myself in a lather again. Truth be told, my cousin did me a huge favor. I should send her a gift basket or something. However, remembering Gabe’s deception still made me sick after all these months. My stomach didn’t know whether to growl or vomit.

“Here’s our savior. Bring those over here, mister,” Audrey said and pointed to the table. Jack set down our drinks and a soup bowl full of cherries. Bless that man.

I smiled at him, relieved he was here in time to interrupt that awkward conversation. He handed me my drink, and when our fingers grazed, it did funny things to my stomach and lower regions as well.

“You know, Vivienne, I thought of one more thing after our meeting was done,” he said, and a work discussion followed, but I didn’t try to eavesdrop. The cherries were calling. Mmm, sweet and succulent shiny red orbs. How did they get produce that color?

Enjoying my cherry gorge, I neglected to notice Jack staring at me, rather perplexed. Hopefully, he couldn’t hear my stomach growling over the loud music. I smiled at him somewhat guiltily and wiped the juice off my mouth.

“Are you hungry?” he asked me, and I turned as red as the cherries.

“Umm, yeah, a little. I didn’t eat much supper,” I replied, swallowing. Wow, that must be such a turn-on.

He gave a full-on smile. “Now you’re speaking my language.” He scooped up my hand, and I did a double take. “Ladies, excuse us. It seems Harper is famished.” Leaning down to my ear, he said, “Bring your drink.” His face briefly touched mine and his scent filled my nose, and I no longer cared where he was leading me.

Hunger beat out confusion, so I stood, shrugged my shoulders, and followed a hot guy to heaven knows where.