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“He hit you or something?” I cracked my knuckles, preparing to go and fight James Preston. “Is he some kind of freak?”
“Nope,” she said.
I immediately believed her. But there was still some problem… If James wasn’t abusing her, and they’d been havinggreat sex, the issue was that she probablylikedhim. Elena warned us all the time that getting emotionally involved with your client was dangerous. It could only lead to heartbreak.
“You cross some kind of line with yourself?” I asked.
Audrey sniffled. “Something like that.”
“S’okay, Dre. That happens to everybody.” I hugged her. “The thing is, nobody knows what those lines are but you. That’s why it’s awesome that feelings and thoughts areinvisible. They’re like magic. Nobody knows the truth but you, okay? You’re safe.”
“Okay.” But she sniffled some more.
“So you do what you think is right,” I told her. “And remember, if it gets too bad, just close your eyes.”
“Because then it’s like it never happened.” Audrey nodded. “Jenny, I probably haven’t told you this lately, but you’re smart.”
“I know,” I said. “It’s my secret weapon.” I gave my friend a long look. “And Dre—just because it’s not going to happen for me, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen for you.”
“What?” she asked.
“You know.” Audrey should be the exception to the “no emotional attachment” rule. She was a good girl, and she was good enough for anybody—including a proper billionaire like James Preston.
She shrugged. “Jenny, it’snotgoing to happen for me.”
I shook my head and pointed at myself. “No billionaire’s gonna buyme. Because I’m a whore, Dre, and I don't even feel bad about it. But you’re different. You're doing this to take care of your brother. You’re actually a good girl. Mr. Suit knows that. I can tell.”
“He’s not going to buy me,” she said.
“He might.” I grinned at her. “Crazier shit’s happened, that’s for sure.”
“What about you and Cole?”
I laughed. “I am going to suck him as dry as I can—him and his wallet!”
Audrey finished drying her eyes, and I linked my arm through hers. “You ready?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Then let’s go bat some billionaires around like cat toys,” I said, giving my friend a wicked grin.
Our little groupwas quite popular that evening. Everyone wanted to have a drink with the two gorgeous billionaires and their super-hot, mysterious dates. Even Evie—the skinny, bitchy, bride-to-be—seemed impressed.
She and Todd, James’s brother, were talking to us. Upon closer inspection, Evie was pretty in a snotty, tailored, Boston-proper sort of way. She was wasted, teetering in her fancy shoes as she eyed first James, then Cole up and down.
“You own part of the Thunder?” Evie asked, her flat chest pressed out toward Cole. She looked at him as if he was some sort of rock-star, farm-team-owning Greek God. And she was totally ignoring the fact that he had his arm around me, his date! Not to mention her fiancé standing next to her.
Not on my watch, bitch.
I stepped in front of Cole. “Yeah, he does,” I said. I thrust out my much more formidable chest, daring Evie to come closer.
She was about to say something back when Todd interrupted. “Are you flirting with the best man’s best friend?” he asked his fiancée. They were both slurring their words a little; the cocktail “hour” had been going for three hours straight.
Evie tossed her hair and narrowed her eyes at him. “Sorry, baby,” she said in what sounded like her version of a sexy voice. “Old habits die hard.”
“You mean once a slutty sorority girl, always a slutty sorority girl?” Todd asked, grinning at her.
“That’s exactly what I mean.” She grabbed his tie and pulled him in for a quick, hot kiss. Todd lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him. They headed to a dark corner for some serious making out and grinding.