Going out for drinks was possibly the last thing on Earth I wanted to do. But Riley was adamant that I needed to get out of my four walls for a few hours. I only said yes to shut her up. Her constant hounding was endearing, but also annoying as hell.

Getting up early to prepare for my evening out was more of a hassle than anything. After work, all I needed was a quick freshening up. My phone beeped while I was driving, but I didn’t pay it any attention. Always a rule girl, I never answered my phone while I drove. Just a few more blocks and I’d be at the bar anyway.

Riley suggested we try a different bar—one that wasn’t attached to a certain restaurateur’s business this time. I’d never been a real bar-hopper, but hopefully she would let me go home early so I could sit and do absolutely nothing.

I parked in the back and got out, again looking around for stray ex-husbands. None to be found right now. The outside of the bar was rather plain looking—brick exterior, the odd tree spattered here and there, rocks filled in where grass or flowers would look more appealing. Perhaps bar owners didn’t really care much for landscaping.

A burly, large, probably had steroids for breakfast and lunch guy let me in after giving me a good once-over with his bulbous eyes. Creepy. My stomach sank as I walked farther into the bar, and the lights and music engulfed me. Meat market. That was the phrase that came directly to mind. This was so not my scene.

How could there possibly be this many people off work already? It was difficult to find Riley, but I finally did. She was at a table, talking to a good-looking guy. From their body language, I could tell things were progressing. I had half a mind to take off and just leave them be, but she spotted me.

“Okay, McIntyre, take off. My date is here,” she said, waving him off and smiling at me. He pushed his chair out and gave me a panty dropping grin.

“Hi, I’m Jesse,” he said, grabbing my hand for a light shake. “I’ll be over there if anyone needs me.” He motioned with his hand while staring directly at Riley.

“Sit down. I’m so happy you came,” she said, ignoring Mr. Wonderful and pushing the chair out for me. “I was scared you’d back out at the last minute.” She raised her eyebrows in an accusatory tone. Yikes, the woman could read minds.

“Of course, I came. Sheesh,” I said and sat down where Jesse had just vacated. My eyes scanned our vicinity, and I added, “How did all these people get off work so early? I left right at five o’clock, and I hustled.”

Riley nearly spat out her straw. “Honey, it’s Friday night. You have to get here early, or your choices dwindle as the night goes on.” She laughed and tossed her hair as half the men in here zeroed in on her. Her blonde curls and tight blue top were magnets, as was the way she had of looking at you and fluttering her eyelashes just so.

A waitress came over and took my order. I was driving, so I asked for a plain pop. “I can drive you home, or we can cab it?” Riley offered, but I really wasn’t in the mood.

“Cab? Why cab it when we can drive you beautiful ladies anywhere you want to go?” Oh boy. Two guys stood by our table, beers in hand. “I’m Arnie, and this is my buddy, Joe,” he said, jerking his thumb toward his pal. Arnie grabbed a chair and made himself comfortable beside Riley.

“Mind if I sit?” his much more polite friend asked. I shrugged and moved my chair over slightly to make room. “I’m Joe, and you are?” he asked once he was seated beside me. His body turned toward me, and it gave me a funny boxed-in feeling. Everything in my body told me to leave, but I took a deep breath and shook his hand. His very big, strong hand. Hmmm.

“Harper. Nice to meet you,” I said in a strangled voice. Nice to meet you? Nice to meet you? Is that what you said to a hot guy in a bar? Good grief. His dirty blond hair shook as he laughed and took a pull of his beer.

“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Harper,” he said in a devastatingly sexy voice, leaning his hand on the back of my chair and moving in closer to me. Yeah, this guy was a player. I didn’t know much about the game, but whatever it was, he knew all the rules. Hell, he probably made all the rules.

His warm beer-scented breath washed over me, and even though this guy was probably considered a real prize here, I wasn’t falling for his moves.

“You girls want some real drinks?” Arnie asked, hailing a waitress over.

“I’m good, but thanks.” Well, I wasn’t good. I was uncomfortable as hell and counting down the minutes until it was time to leave. The guys stayed, and we exchanged meaningless chitchat for far too long. God, I wanted to go home. Joe was starting to get a bit handsy. He’d put his hand on my bare thigh a few minutes ago, and now his thumb was inching a bit too close to home base. Should I just push his hand away?

We somehow heard a phone buzzing, and then I remembered the missed call in my car. Dammit. I was so nervous, I’d forgotten to check. We all searched for our phones, but it was definitely mine going off.

“Hello?” I yelled into the phone, plugging my other ear with my finger. “Hello?”

“Harper? What the hell’s the noise?” Murray, my work manager, asked. Why was he calling me on a Friday night? He’d taken the day off because his wife Audrey was sick. Hope it wasn’t serious.

“I’m out with Riley. What’s going on? Is Audrey okay?” I asked, worried that something was wrong with my friend.

“The doctors think it’s a kidney stone. We’ve been at the hospital all day, and they want to operate soon,” he said, his voice wavering.

“Oh no, Murray. I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” I felt sick just thinking about poor Audrey lying in a hospital bed in pain, and here I was out at some bar.

“Well, if you could pick up Nicki and Levi for us? They haven’t been home for a while, and I’m sure they’d like to get back to their own beds.”

“Of course, anything you need. Are they at Audrey’s sister’s?” She was the most obvious choice. All their other siblings lived out of town. I bet those kids had broken her prized trinkets by now.

“Uh, no. That’s the thing. They’re at Jack’s.”