Page 50 of Sins of a King

“Can I come up?”

“Um, sure.”

I buzzed her in and tried to wipe the look of puzzlement from my face before she showed up at my door. It was odd, seeing her outside the club and in street clothes. Her brown hair hung just past her shoulders and had a slight wave to it. Her makeup was light, and she looked amazing in her dark skinny jeans, calfskin boots, and cream fisherman sweater.

“I know I showed up unannounced,” she began, holding up a shopping bag. “So I brought supplies.”

I peeked into the bag. “Vodka? And olives?”

Lacey grinned. “Martinis.”

Waving her inside, I closed the door behind her. “Not that I’m not grateful for the liquor, but what are you doing here?”

“Beautiful tulips,” she said instead of answering. She gazed around, taking in my home. She nodded like she understood something.

“They are.”

“Flynn has good taste,” she said, heading into the kitchen.

“He does.”

I knew we weren’t really talking about flowers.

“So, Alia told me she’s been helping you learn a dance routine.” She began to unpack her ingredients from the bag and opened a jar of olives.

I went to the freezer and pulled out a tray of ice and handed it to her. Lacey cracked it and dropped a few cubes into the waiting martini shaker.

“Yeah, I’m having fun. She’s a good teacher.”

“You think you might be ready to perform?” she asked.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Lacey smiled and shook the martini shaker. “I pitched the idea to Flynn already. He totally approves.”

“He does?”

“He’s pretty excited to see it, actually, but he wondered why you didn’t tell him yourself.”

“I was waiting—until I was sure I wanted to dance in public.”

“Have you talked to him?” she asked, handing me a martini.

“Not recently. Not since he left. Again.” I took a sip of my drink. It was cold and salty and perfect.

“Brad mentioned you stopped by the hotel the other day.”

“Ah,” I said. “This martini is designed to get me to spill my guts.”

“Only if you want to. Can we move to the couch?”

We took our drinks and settled into more comfortable seats. I stared at the greenish tinted vodka when I said, “I appreciate that you’re willing to lend an ear, but there are some things I should say to Flynn first.” Like my run-in with Chelsea at Central Park and my tumultuous feelings for him.

“I respect that.”

“Can we just sit here in silence and drink our martinis?”

Lacey smiled in understanding. “Can I do it while staring at your tulips? They really are gorgeous.”